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Tuesday, September 30 As the lab is set in a rather affluent neighbourhood of London, a fair number of the customers were of the glamourous/loaded variety. Thankfully the majority of them (rich young mothers with toddlers) were extremely outgoing and pleasant to serve. Of course there was the occasional snobby posh kind who acted like they had every right to walk all over you but these were few and far between. I was greatly encouraged to see the manager Kay show little tolerance towards that kind of attitude. Along with Kay, the other two people on shift with me (Sam and Corrina) were all extremely kind and accomodating. All were more than happy to go out of their ways to help me figure things out. I'd like to think that I tend to get along with most people quite easily anyway but it was so easy working with my brand new co-workers that it almost felt like I'd already been there for quite some time. The work was light throughout a good portion of the day which you'd think means we just stood around bored out of our minds but the day actually passed by surprisingly fast. I'm thankful for enjoyable repetitive work that involves dealing with people face to face. Sure beats sitting in front of a computer 9-10 hours a day performing super urgent and critical tasks that only you yourself can do. The physical exhaustion from standing around all day was a welcome change to the emotional and mental ones that I carried home with me everyday as an IT professional. For the journey home I decided to try my luck with the buses. Despite having to catch three different sets of buses, waiting time for each was kept to a minimal 2-3 minutes so the changes were very smooth and I got home in a record-breaking 3/4 of an hour, which might sound like a long journey but is actually quite impressive by London standards. No doubt I'm going to miss the smooth connections on my next attempt and end up taking twice as long. And here's to hoping that it won't get dark at 3 in the afternoon any time soon. Going to work/Getting home in the icy darkness is an extremely disheartening affair...
Monday, September 29 Just to be safe I had warned my friends to arrive by 7:30 at the very latest as I was worried they'd not manage to get in any later. But when the first band got on stage at 8:30 and found themselves playing to a half-empty room, I felt a little embarassed about dragging everyone out so early. Anyhow it was good to catch up with a number of Hong Kong friends I hadn't seen in a while, some as long as six months. My fault for befriending students and their hectic university schedules I guess. But it was very nice to see them bring along a large number of their own friends too so it was pretty neat to have this little HK posse happening in addition to the usual awkward mix of overweight balding English fans and Misato girls. And when we finally took the stage the room was comfortably packed out but not overcrowded. The performance itself was pretty decent in light of our 5 month hiatus and the fact that we were working with a new member. I think (as usual... heh) Ergi and I managed to keep things tight in the rhythm section but one of the guitars was a little out off tune through the entire set so that kind of threw Mika off a little in the vocals department. Still that didn't really hinder anyone in the crowd from dancing along and it was great to see English and Japanese singing along side by side to every word. I personally had a great time playing again and it's really exciting that we have a few different shows lined up in the coming month. I'll probably be taking over the Mika Bomb site in a week or two as well so hopefully that will mean more messag board activity. But anyway I probably should stop here as I need to get up bright and early for my first day at Snappy Snaps tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.
Friday, September 26 This job hunt has been a lot more enjoyable and far less daunting than the previous one. I guess since I'm not aiming so high, there is no need to continously sell myself like I'm the greatest gift to humanity and employers seem far more down to earth and uncritical of my 'credentials'. Anyway two days into the search and I've already gone in to one of the Snappy Snaps branches for an interview. It looks like they're keen to have me on board so I will be losing my unemployed status come Monday morning. It'll most likely be a couple days work a week which is exactly what I want as I'm not prepared to give up music or any of my other aspirations yet. Pay will be just above minimum wage but perks such as having free reign on using the lab for my own photography plus half-price on all films and accessories should make it worthwhile. Also, it would be nice to get a little photo lab printing/processing experience under my belt should I desire to pursue more work down this line. Now I need to rush off to Farringdon for the first real Mika Bomb show since my debut back in May. A free show in a venue that holds 40-50 max. It's going to be a riot!
Sunday, September 21 Yesterday was spent in Brighton as planned. Despite the pessimistic cloudy forecast mentioned on weather.co.uk the day before, it turned out to be an incredibly warm and sunny day, which made the markets, beach and amusement parks all the more attractive. Boo to all my cheapskate friends for not willing to fork out for the £13.90 train ticket. Transport and a meal within London would cost almost as much. My last birthday in the UK and you decide to skip out :P But yay to Ann and Haruna for being superb friends (and bandmates!) by keeping me company. Due to everyone's punctuality at Victoria Station, we managed to catch the 12:08 express train moments before it was due to depart and so we arrived in Brighton at around 1 in the afternoon. With food on our mind, we dashed along the many colourful shops and cafes, pulling Ann away from various used bookstores, and cutting our way through the huge groups of people who like us had decided to flock to the seaside for the weekend... our first destination being the fish and chip shop along the seafront that I visit religiously everytime I'm in town. Armed with our cod, haddock and chips we walked over to enjoy our lunch by the part of the beach near the decaying West Pier. My heart broke the moment I saw it from a distance. All that was left was the skeleton of the pier, a far cry from its heydeys in the earlier part of the 20th century. What I saw of it half a year ago right after the collapse was already in a rather pitiful state but I just didn't think the authorities would allow it to slip into an even more appalling condition. Perhaps they realized that it was just going to be too much work preserving this old piece of Brighton history and decided it was best to just let it crumble into the English Channel. But of course I wasn't about to let the ill fate of the pier ruin my day. Just between the gorgeous weather and the tasty chips (haddock wasn't so great despite them being freshly cooked), I was already enjoying myself immensely. The three of us sat on the beach in silent contemplation for a good 45 minutes, the gentle crashing of the waves and the laughter of delighted children creating some sort of hypnotic tune, and the small pebbles beneath us were too tempting a bed to not lie down on. We could've easily remained out there by the waters until sunset were it not for all the many other things we had on our agenda, as well as needing to catch a train back into London before it got too late. So we reluctantly picked ourselves up and went off in a semi-daze towards the West Pier's modern rival - The Brighton Pier. Along the way we stopped in an old Penny Arcade which was jam-packed with age old amusement games from an era long gone, including some early pinball prototypes as well as various peep-show machines that require the voyeur to continously turn the crank in order to watch the spectacle. I had my MD recorder with me and managed to inconspicously capture some of the nostalgic sounds that permeated out of the arcade, as well as the waves, carousels and various other seaside trademarks scattered along the promenade. After my 5-6 visits I'm still not sure how I feel about the Brighton Pier and its odd mixture of snack stalls (pushing American fanfare such as hot dogs and donuts), rock candy booths, casino, restaurants, video arcade and amusement rides, all accompanied by the sound of a horrible radio station that never fails to blast only the most dramatic cheesy tunes from the 80s (which always makes me feel like I've been transported back onto the set of Miami Vice). But despite my mixed feelings I still always make it a compulsory part of my Brighton experience and this visit was no exception. Never possessing much nerves for rides, I instead chose to waste money inside the video arcade. But all this was pretty bland compared to the joy I found in simply watching toddlers getting a kick out of their initial experiences with mini bumper cars, mini rollercoasters and of course the trampoline. I had my Lomo on me and the excitement they carried on their faces would've made for some remarkable Kodak moments, but unfortunately we live in a world where it's unacceptable for grown men to be taking pictures of little kids they don't know, and so I had to simply resist the urge. But I tell you, if I ever have kids some day I'm sooo going to force them to do these things just so I can photograph them! Ha. We concluded the afternoon by popping into the Wai Kika Moo Kau for a quick bite and drink. After failing to find the restaurant version of this Brighton veggie institution in the Lanes, we settled for the cafe offshoot situated in a different part of town. Ann kindly offered to buy me dinner but I was still rather stuffed from the fish & chips; and I forgot to mention earlier that I did gobble down some cockles, whelks and (Ben's) cookies along the way. By the time we boarded our train we were all dead tired, our feet sore from a good day of walking along the seaside. A quiet and sleepful journey back into London ensued. Having spent a warm afternoon breathing in the fresh sea breeze and walking under the clear blue sky, the warm tingly sensation on my skin and my exhausted limbs prepared me for a very deep and comfortable sleep as soon as I got home.
Thursday, September 18 Alright so it's that time of year again. The plan is to have a nice low-key dinner tonight with my parents and a couple of friends. How the rest of the day will unfold is anyone's guess although Lolly did suggest something about the British Museum so maybe we'll spend the afternoon there if she's not too tired from jetlag. Highlight of the day will of course be when we take her back to her hotel room where, in exchange for the ride, she'll pass along the many gifts that the faithfuls in HK have decided to bestow me with. Hehe. The real celebration though will take place on Saturday down in Brighton but it seems that almost everyone I've asked to come along is either busy or flat broke, which is understandable in London I guess. And of course there are those who have not returned from their summer vacation yet. It's probably a good thing as I was a little worried over how my different circles would mingle. So it'll probably just end up being a tiny group of us having a wonderful afternoon by the English seaside, filling our lungs with the fresh sea breeze, stuffing our mouths with just-caught seafood and perhaps having a go on some dodgy rides at the amusement park. Of course we're also going to have to relax upon the pebbly(?) beach and admire what's left of the West Pier for a good amount of time. And yes I'll have my camera on me. One thing that came as a bit of a shock though as I went through the invitation list was the appallingly small number of boy's names. In other words, I know way more girls than I do boys in London, which some of you male readers might think is worthy of a high-five, but I actually find it rather frustrating. Of course since joining Mika Bomb my social life with the opposite gender has increased by ten-fold but I don't know what it is with it being so hard to find nice easy-going boys to hang out with over here. It'd be an entirely different story in HK or Chicago but it's not like I'll be celebrating in either of those places. As much as I enjoy the company of girls, I think it unfortunately imposes certain social/emotional restraints that would be far less of an issue with people of my own gender. Anyway I'm going off a tangeant here. I thought it'd be a good exercise to summarize the last 8 or so birthdays in my life. A few of them were so uneventful that they'd successfully slipped into the very back of my subconscious, so I thought it'd be nice to get them out for a little dusting as well as to reminisce over the better ones, thereby consolidating them once and for all. Hopefully this will teach me and anyone else to be more appreciative of birthdays and to be bold enough to really do something memorable with the occasion. 2002: DBA at edesigns. Co-workers chipped in to get me a bunch of HMV gift vouchers. Dinner at home with parents. I was an absolute emotional wreck. No doubt one of the worst days of my life. 2001: Day 1 of my new life in London. Received a really sweet little pouch from the girl I was once too crazy about. 2000: Went for fish and chips at the Red Lion Pub with 3 friends. All boys ;) 1999: First birthday in Chicago. Slipped by unannounced. 1998: Turned 21. Last birthday in Melbourne. Went for a movie with Ben and best friend Calvine. The closest bunch from my CS course pooled in their resources to get me a Lava Lamp. 1997: I think my hardcore band Callous had rehearsal that night and I vaguely remember Phil baking me a birthday cake. 1996: Jacinta suffered the same fate as Ben and I by being in Melbourne that year and I think it's safe to say she baked me something or another. 1995: First birthday in Melbourne. The day I turned 18 was also the day my last girlfriend Genevieve decided to break up with me.
Wednesday, September 17 Weather-wise it's still incredibly gorgeous in London. Been this way pretty much ever since I got back from tour. So much sun. Poor David Blaine must be baking inside that plexi-glass cage of his. Went there with Haruna to see him for the 4th time on sunday afternoon. I believe it was Day 9. Security had been stepped up to the point where you have to get your bags searched in orer to walk into the previously unguarded area right around beneath his box. David seemed to be in good spirits, albeit slightly bored, continuosly waving and signing at the far-too-many supporters down below. Hmmm... what else. Oh yeah. Birthday in two days. Wow, it sure has crept up unsuspectingly. I guess in the back of my mind I knew it was coming but I just haven't been too interested in giving much thought to how it can be spent. My yet-another-flight-attendant friend Lolly will happy to fly in to town on the day so I'll probably spend the afternoon with her (in order to collect all the many - well there better be! - presents from HK friends and fans), followed by asking some people over for dinner in the evening. I've been trying to round some people up for a little Brighton getaway on saturday but it seems that almost everyone I've asked is unsure or busy, so I might just have to let that one slide, or do it on my own. It's how you make the most of the situation that matters. I know I can have just as great a time at the seaside on my own. Well... at least with a camera or a good book.
Monday, September 15 Josh Tilman wrote: this has gone on unaddressed for too long. the fact that our band does not employ lyrics seems to imply to christian kids, who attend christian rock festivals, who only know of one instrumental band (and know of that band only because of the songwriter's first band's affiliation with christian rock conglomerate tooth and nail), that we are blatantly attempting to steal some kind of gimmick that is exclusive to that band. all i have to say to these over-churched children whose religious training has somehow narrowed even their perception of the arts and frame reference regarding the universal employment of musical device is this: the microcosm of music, which you regard as a "scene", known as christian music, offers you very little, and you are robbing yourself and denying your moral obligation as a human being to be discerning concerning your role in, and reception of, the arts. this may come as a shock to you, but there countless instrumental bands existent in the world today. some that have even been around since before unwed sailor! can you believe that? what bothers me is that the majority of "emo" and "hardcore" bands in your scene sound identical and get no flak for being such. listen to our record and really compare it aesthetically to other instrumental records (many of these will not be available at your local family bookstore) and if you honestly cannot discern then i feel sorry you will never enjoy music outside the realm of small politics.
Friday, September 12 I logged on to Friendster late last night to find a couple of messages from my friend Sarah Hepburn regarding a gig opportunity later this month in Copenhagen that would involve me being flown over and joining her on guitar. She even mentioned something about a small payment for my troubles. Well it just so happens that the her show will fall squarely on the day before my first Mika Bomb show in three months. Talk about bad timing. It would be refreshing to play with someone else for a change. And I've never really managed to know Sarah and her husband too well so a big bonus would've simply been the chance to spend more time with them, as well as that drunken lot from Washington Inc. On a more sombre note, friends of Unwed Sailor may have heard that I am no longer in the band. Yes the rumours are true but I don't feel comfortable at this point in time to discuss a delicate matter so publicly. Johnathon and I have unanimously arrived at this decision and I'll leave it at that for now. If you are genuinely concerned and want to know why feel free to drop me a line and I'll try my best to give an honest answer. It was a good four and a half years run... now you can kick yourself for being too lazy to come see us on the last tour.
Thursday, September 11 The plan is to celebrate mid-autumn tomorrow over at Tomy's house in true Hong Kong fashion by a combination of mooncakes and pyromania. Should be a wonderful time apart from the fact that Hong Kong and Japan is currently divided over the time of day that we should get together. The Japanese girls want to hold it during the day, worried that it may get too cold at night whereas us Hongkies are swearing by the cold dark night for the sake of being able to play with lanterns (and maybe 'boil some wax' on the side). It is pure blasphemy to celebrate the festivity in broad daylight as half the fun comes from children scrambling in the dark with their lanterns and glowsticks. Apart from horribly dry hair and the occasional runny nose, the recent drop in temperature seems to have also brought on me a newfound appetite for curry dishes. Of course I love spicy Asian food as much as the person next to me but it's not often the very first thing that pops into my mind when hunger hits. Until last night. So I decided to get myself some take-away Indian to keep me company whilst I checked out a VCD of Beyond's live concert in 1991, the very same one that I wasn't allowed to attend with a couple of my classmates for one reason or another. I think it had mainly to do with my age; asked mum about it but she also could not remember. For those of you who grew up outside of HK, Beyond has got to be THE most influential and successful band to have ever come out of HK in the last couple of decades. If you happen to meet a musician from there who was born in the 70s or early 80s, chances are that they were influenced by the band growing up. I'm proud to say the same goes for me. Of course they never enjoyed mainstream success outside of Asia like say Jackie Chan or Chow Yun-Fat, and yes some of their songs can come across as dated or cheesy, but the fact remains that their music and lyrics embodied the voice of the people of HK in a way that never quite existed before and has never been replaced since. In short, I feel they defined the 'sound' of HK at a moment in time. It's just too bad I never got to see them live. Hearing how magnificent Ka Kui's voice sounded on the night of the concert filled me with both awe and regret. The former because he sang with passion and with a voice that was truly his own, and the latter... well... because he passed away from a coma-induced accident a couple of years later (1993), which means I'll never have the chance to hear him sing live. But he did leave behind a vast collection of incredibly well-written songs that should continue to serve as strength and inspiration for the people of HK. But on a lighter note... the other three members are still alive and well. The other guitarist Paul Wong was the main reason I decided to play the guitar in the first place, and so if anyone he's the one I'm most excited about meeting, which I'm secretly hoping I'll be able to do this Christmas. Hehe. So it looks like Ephraim still hasn't given up his relentless search for the ultimate Friendster girl. Ha. Unfortunately his recent suggestions have been consistently getting worse. Within a week or so he has managed to cover countries as vast as Japan, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and UK. Now he's resorting to random searches within his personal network. I gave up on this a while ago but I've found new amusement from using the 'suggest a match' tool to link friends up. Hehe. Hours of fun. But despite shaking off the addictiveness of Friendster, it looks like I've traded in one addiction for another. I recently got to know a few Hong Kong and Japanese kids living in a house not too far from my own. To demonstrate their generosity, they sent me home after my second visit with a buttload of VCDs... films, music videos, anime. This afternoon was wasted on episodes 1-6 of the new Saint Seiya 'Hades' series. My friends and I were so hooked on this 12-13 years ago and it was amazing how sucked in I was within minutes of popping in the first VCD. I found myself remembering a lot of the characters' names as well as a general outline of how the previous series ran. It's also incredible how much the technology has improved on the quality of the animation. As a result my email communication has gone downhill like an avalanche but I WILL find the time to do some of it tomorrow as well as replying to all the nice people who have signed the guestbook recently. Now it's on to episode 7...
Tuesday, September 9 Despite the time constraint we covered a substantial amount of the city (South Kensington, Soho, Whitechapel, Bricklane) and even managed to head over to Tower Bridge to see how David Blaine was doing. This was my third visit. I had ventured out there for a second time two nights earlier with misc. members of Mika Bomb and friends, only to find he had already turned in for the night by 9:45 pm. Today's afternoon crowd was a lot more well-behaved than the other night where you'd hear rowdy young lads yelling his name every few minutes, expecting him to get up and perform like some kind of zoo animal. David Blaine sat in his box with his back pressed against one of the plexi-glass walls, his face revealing a slight hint of boredom and hunger. It was day 5 so he should've already overcome the gnawing hunger that usually grips one during the first 30-40 hours (although I don't think it helps that hotdog and ice cream stalls were in hectic demand less than hundred yards away). And hopefully he's successfully rid the system of all the number 2's so that he no longer has to sport nappies. I also learned from one of the security guards (who are there to prevent idiots from hurling rocks and other projectiles at the suspended cage) that the used diapers are to remain in the box with David for the entire 44 days so you can imagine the kind of contribution it may make to the existing stench generated by his unwashed, starving body. The temperature in London is continuing to drop. At this rate he won't just have hunger and boredom to fight off. I hope he brought a thick enough blanket.
Sunday, September 7 Later on in the day Mika and I brough her to a couple of places in the West End, namely Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street to get some US dollars exchanged and then to Soho's Berwick Street to show her the best places to buy records in town. There was also an underlying reason behind walking down Berwick as I wanted to swing by Reckless Records to play a little prank on Daniel. The plan was for Ann to go in and ask him if they had any Mika Bomb CDs in stock. As predicted, Daniel got all excited and immediately launched off on a long rant about how his girlfriend had recently joined the band as well as anything remotely-related to the band. Mika and I interrupted before he got too carried away and you should've seen the look of embarassment on his face. Hehe. I'll be sure to send plenty more of my Asian female friends down to the basement of Reckless in the future asking similar questions. Angela Kwok happened to be in town for the day so we met up later in the evening to grab a bite. It's pretty tough the flight pattern that Cathay Pacific flight crews now have. They get into London first thing in the morning, spend the night in town and immediately have to fly back to Hong Kong the following afternoon. I think most of them end up spending the time recuperating in the hotel rooms. As a result there's also been a huge cut in their allowance. Anyway, we ended up eating in Chinatown of all places. Just when I thought she'd be in the mood for something a little more British, having just flown in from Hong Kong, she surprised me by saying that she would rather eat in a restaurant where chopsticks were used. We ended the evening by catching the tube over to Tower Hill and crossing over Tower Bridge to witness Day 2 of David Blaine's suspended isolation spectacle by the river. We got there at around 9 pm and although by then he had pretty much laid down for the night, he did manage to get up a couple of times, much to the delight of the hundred or so onlookers gathered down below and he returned their kindness and support by a short succession of waves.
Saturday, September 6 Comments are now attached to the recent tour pics so hopefully they'll breathe some excitement into the dull images. I've also made available snaps from the photo shoot I did for Holland's finest This Beautiful Mess so maybe you'd want to take a look at those before they start appearing on their label's site, press kits, billboards, etc. I think I've said it before but I'll say it again... I was very happy with the way these turned out and it was liberating to shoot with my Olympus OM-4 for a change. Don't really have anything too exciting to add at the moment. Ann should have boarded the plane in Detroit about an hour ago and will get into Gatwick tomorrow morning, which means I'm going to have to get out of bed before 11 a.m. for a change in order to meet her at Victoria station. Heh. I'm really excited about having her here in London, although it is a bit of a brave move if you ask me, leaving her friends and familiar surroundings behind and travelling to another part of the world for a stab at joining a rock&roll band. Little does she know of the mess that she's really getting herself into. Ha. I hope we won't disappoint (too much).
Tuesday, September 2 That's probably the only release I'm looking forward to in the coming months, although I've read some reviews indicating a drastic change in sound so I don't really know what to make of it. Of course with the way the last full-length/soundtrack turned out, it's really anyone's wild guess whether they'll manage to recapture the magic of 'Sinister' or 'Tigermilk', or that they've decided to pretty much abandon all that in favour of re-inventing themselves with a modern day twist. I think for me, things can't possibly be all that bad as long as Stuart Murdoch continues to remain at the vocal helm and not let Beatles-wannabe Stevie Jackson ruin things with that horrible voice of his. Well at least they're carrying on the tradition of using a duotone photograph for the sleeve image. I spent a good portion of last night going through a poorly neglected Wing On plastic bag of old photos, dated mostly during my last year in Australia as well as the long 'summer breaks' Ben and I would spend in Hong Kong over the Christmas period every year. Contained within were also half a dozen old FIS class photos, Callous gig/tour memorabilia and even a worn-out notebook jam-packed with Punkture lyrical ramblings. I'm glad I took the time to go through the photos and split them up according to both geographical and chronological orders. Now I just need something a little more solid to store them in. Sitting in one corner of my room are a pile of rolled up Unwed Sailor show flyers which should get sorted at some point as well. I think there's enough room over there to put in a little cabinet of some sort that can be used as storage for my prints and negatives. Right now they're just kind of all over the place. Naturally, along with the photos there came a strong flood of old memories (which I've realized is so much easier to acidentally discard when your life is contantly spent in different countries, assuming different identities). Faces that I'd temporarily forgotten about suddenly popped back into my life and I began trying to imagine in my mind where in the world some of them were and whether they were content doing whatever it was they were doing. Also, the recent drop in temperature here in London has created a dry crisp sensation in the air that bears much similiarity to winter time in HK, the very season I identify the place best with, which has only sent me walking further down memory lane. On top of that, I've kinda given myself an extra little nudge by listening exclusively to the late 80s New England indie rock sound, or 'alternative music' as it was better known back then - Husker Du, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Lemonheads, Sonic Youth, etc - I guess the bands that defined the early part of my adolescent years. Even though I haven't touched most of these bands in ten years, my recent return to them has been even more refreshing than when my ears first caught the sound.
Monday, September 1 Ok so the site was down over the last couple of days due to exceeded bandwidth usage. In simple english it means too many people have been clicking repeatedly for images to load. Can't really blame them as the random function is the main culprit. The plan is to get it sorted out in the next day or two. I've been studying a few different sources so hopefully I'll find an algorithm that can be adapted to my code. Meanwhile I'll slowly shift images over to ImageStation or something. Of course the other solution is Flash but I might put that on hold until it's time for a complete site redesign. Oh by the way, in case you haven't noticed, photos from the most recent Unwed Sailor tour have been scanned and uploaded onto the server. I think there are some decent pics from the three rolls. I decided to experiment with other varieties of film this time so some of the results were not as satisfactory as I would've liked. Captions to be added at a later date. In more Friendster news, Ephraim and I have found a new way to amuse ourselves. Basically we've been taking turns forwarding to one other random cute girls on our personal networks, although I have found his taste rather questionable on a number of occasions. Hehe. In the end we did both settle on one person as being the cutest of the lot but let's not embarass anyone in case they're reading. Can't deny that there are lots of sweet looking girls on Friendster but just what is up with all of them having this morbid fascination with R&B/hip-hop or actors like Vin Diesel?! |