just a short one
if ever i have had a music recommendation, this is it:
Circa Survive
I just bought their album 'On Letting Go', and the lyrics are smart, insightful and poetic, the music experimental, the vocals are emotive and experimental as well. They're not a band to like on first listen, they're not catchy enough for that. But give them a go, and if you don't like them, that's ok, but if you do, fantastic!
I only know 2 people besides me that also like them, so, yeah, they're great.

I would go to their gig later this year but for one problem.. they're supporting My Chemical Romance. How annoying to pay $70 for 30 mins of good music that goes unappreciated.
This happens a lot I should point out: good bands from the US come to Aus, but cos they don't have the support by themselves they have to support horrible bands:
Jimmy Eat World (great) supported Green Day (average) at Telstra Dome (i think MCR supported too.. hmm)
Jack's Mannequin (great) supporting Fall Out Boy (average)
now Circa Survive supporting MCR
in the US you barely ever pay more than $25 for a gig. I wish I was in America sometimes.

Im going to the footy to see st kilda play fremantle. I haven't been to the footy for a long while. should be good. Cat's a big saints fan so that works out well i think, im going with her and her nan. Even though i go for West Coast, my second team would be the saints (my family goes for them, and of course Cat).

I hope you're doing well. I want to make more time for you but I find it hard. But I want you to know that I think of you constantly.

so yeah
lots of stuff has happened in the past few weeks since i last blogged
my parents came down - which was really cool, always love hanging around with them, talking about whats going on in our lives. i always find myself missing them more and more the more they're away from the rest of us kidses.
uni has started again, last thurs, not clear on how it's all working but alrighty.

in the holidays i've hung out a lot with my new church friends and it's been really refreshing seeing a lot of new friendships blossom. the best of which i'd like to announce: i have a friendship that has blossomed into romance, with catherine clarke (you can call her cat, i will be), who i've gotten to know very well over the last 2 months or so, and who i can now say is my girlfriend, as of friday the 13th of july. which we both think is funny! we're both excited about the future, as you can imagine! haha

i got my results for uni, well.. most of them anyway. i have 1 result still pending, but in the other 3 subjects i scored 3 HDs! pretty crazy stuff. got 80, 83 and 85. they're my first HDs and it's quite encouraging. only problem is there's a high chance i'll fail the other subject, which would look odd as you can imagine.

if i passed that subject, then this semester should be my last at deakin! i'm doing an internship with bayside media (the media department at bayside church) all day on monday and tues, an online subject, and a collaborative subject. i have about 3.5 contact hours for the entire week, not counting the internship hours. so i should have plenty of time to do work on films and such. it's all quite exciting.

and in other news, my oldest brother mark is moving in with me mat and pete, so 4 of us in a 3BR house. it's a bit scary, with the amount of stuff we're trying to fit in the house, but i think it'll be good for all of us to develop our relationship with my oldest brother, cos when you've got a brother or sister who's a fair bit older i think it's harder to be close, especially when you've got a twin and another brother who's 13 months older. haha. so that's big news.

still been thinkin a lot about the emerging christian faith, and recent events have brought up a lot of the issues i've been thinking about in terms of a contrast.

at the moment i'm actually quite sick, too many late nights, which is totally my fault. and things haven't been particularly regular (meals, commitments, work, cars, starting uni again) so yeah. i need to look after my health a LOT more.

seeing as i usually blog about music and that, i found a new band through a magazine called frankie that i picked up while waiting for the washing to be done at the laundromat, the band is called 'the kissaway trail' i bought their cd at jb. they're relatively small, from denmark, and they have a very intriguing sound. go to their myspace and check them out:
www.myspace.com/thekissawaytrail

also! nathan's girlfriend anna has come down from america to study with the rest of us deakinites and she bought me the shiny toy guns cd! woo. it's funny though cos you actually get the cd here now.. hah. timing is funny.

holidays were great, got up a lot of a lot. hanging with callum was great, having dave stay over was great, goin out with people was great. very happy with how it went. saw 'the scare' with callum and cat at click click (plenty of the letter c involved clearly) and they were very impressive, a little provocative, the crowd was a bit err cos i had beer spilt on most of my body but oh well. oh yeah, and i tried my very first alcoholic beverage! it was a corona with lime. was alright for the first 80% but i was drinking it too slow so the last 20% was like bad tonic water haha.

ahh i hate being sick. oh well. i should be used to it. im probably gonna see the doc tomorrow or tues or sumthin, cos i'm just gettin a bit tired of it.. though they generally don't have any good advice to give me anyways. dagnammit.

wow too much info in this blog. haha gotta learn to keep em short. anyways. i think you all are great, no matter what. so there.

haven't blogged in a while, there's a lot that's contributed to that.
anyway
i've learnt a lot in the last while, and i think im beginning to grab hold of the new thoughts that our society will probably base itself on in the next few centuries. the idea of being born on the threshold of a whole new system of thought, philosophy and ideas about how things are done is such a liberating, exciting and wonderful thing.
been reading a book lately thats given a bit of a taste of stuff, and i feel like getting more involved in seeing how deep i can get entrenched in the reading of other people.
anyway, it's cool cos i feel like i haven't really had a grasp on why i've thought a lot of things differently to friends, and things are changing still. i like it when my unique character is shown by the things i find myself interested in.
some really good friends have been hangin round, a lot of exciting progress in my world and in the lives of practically all the people around me. and it's so exciting.
bye
ben

i am now on holidays
and looking to join in on every and any activity thatyou can put your mind to. as long as it is exciting and new and cool and awesome i'll do it. that should narrow things down considerably. :)
time to go and work on my first night of freedom from uni.
mmm 5 weeks. tasty.
ben

im becoming ok with being me. lots of stuff i still want to change, but i'm getting to that point of peace with myself.
going to the city yesterday, and exploring who i am made me realise that i'm an ok guy
i'm not a great guy, i've made too many promises that i've broken, and i don't follow through on my words a lot. my mouth is so often looser than i'd like it to be. at the start of this year i said i'd talk less, it's not going so well.. i feel like im talking more, and i don't like it. i want to listen. yesterday in the city i listened and was talked to. i let the city talk to me, i let the beauty of the creations of man and God fill my heart.

so often i have defined myself by certain things.. like i never used to enjoy listening to female singers, always saying 'i just don't get into that' or whatever. im becoming a lot more open minded about it, breaking out of the box i built for myself. i listened to an electro/indie/house cd today, most of the way through anyway, and i enjoyed parts of it, then i checked out a few electro/indie bands fromaustralia and that was cool, then i came across anna becker, who does acoustic folk stuff.

yesterday in the city, a lady from the Fred Hollows foundation talked to me about his life and what he wanted for the third world's blind population. she obviously asked me to sign up as well, and while i don't have enough money for that sort of thing, i came away thinking about the fact that this guy had made tough choices and made a difference. for instance, he stole medical supplies with which he helped approx. 100 people before he was arrested and put in jail for a week.
i went to the NGV after this, had a quick look at a few things, the sneakers exhibition, the early photography exhibition and a seemingly unnamed exhibition with a history of seating and furniture design. it blew my mind seeing all of these. so inspiring to see the fruits of the artists study.

then i went to flinders st to meet up with megs, and while i was waiting i saw a young deaf couple smiling and talking to each other in sign language before walking off, arm in arm. i thought it was beautiful. who needs to know what they've said?

me and megs went back and had another look at the aforementioned exhibitions, had a bit of lunch, checked out another gallery where we saw artpieces that provoked thought, all by local artists.

the time i had taught me a lot about myself.

went home on the train after that, and on a walk home i noticed the brilliant mid afternoon sunset.. the sun was mostly still bright and yellow, it had dipped a bit in the sky, there were dark grey clouds, and lots of blue sky.

so here i am, sitting at my computer with cold feet, and a calm mind. im going to get through this.

Eccl..3 - a time for everything

---
myspace.com/annabecker - go there. she's quite talented. also if uve seen that bonde do role band on myspace featured artists go and have a look at them, one of their songs is really cool
:)

ben

to making decisions about my next few years. exciting things. travel, business, creativity, optimism, learning, God, becoming independent, open mind, humility, flexibility, love.
and though all this will probably happen without the person i most care about being around, i know i could never have this sort of love of life without learning it from her.
my future isn't set in concrete, but it's secure.

btw if you're free this coming tuesday early morning, who wants to accompany me and my brothers on our drive to the airport?
probably leaving at like.. hmm 3.30? maybe 4am at the latest? c'mon, i know you wants to.
so, which one ofyou will it be? haha pleaseee i'll get fatigue and have to have powernaps so i don't kill myself and brothers. or myself on the way back home.
:S haha

hey
so tonight, my band played at frankston skateworld
and afterwards i left the band
everyone seems to be alright with the decision.
need to focus on developing my voice and i think one reason i put it off was the band. also, i'm looking in new directions, i'm doing different things, the music im listening to is different.
so if you're looking for a vocalist for your band...haha
nah not really
i think i might do a bit more songwriting at home or just one-off jamming sessions with ppl. so if u have some mates that jam invite me along.. just so long as it's sort of in my music taste. if u don't know what i listen to, go to my lastfm page
www.last.fm/user/benjaminties
yeah
im pretty sick from late nights/early mornings but i don't regret any of the late nights, which is a big change in thinking for me. me feeling bad was usually interpreted as 'take better care of yourself by not going out, or not going out so late'. so the glandular is back.
gotta do a lot more uni work, but it seems the only commitments i have now are uni, work and going to church. life is looking simpler already!

i drove ppl home last night at like 1.50am, and it was alright cos i had 3 red bulls that night, but it caused some serious groaning in the stomach! hehe so now i know why they recommend 2 maximum per day. imagine if that worked if you had 2 at 11pm one night and then another one or 2 at like 12.05am haha.. if it said calendar day that would definitely be a strange concept.

saw some short films at uni. all of them were really good, but made with a lot of people and money. it's such a far off ideal that it's hard to grasp.
i think im learning more about where my passions lie and how much priority to give different things which is good. might choose a different online subject for next semester. hmm. we'll see.

can i just say i'm so incredible grateful about the fact that people have been encouraging me left right and centre, it's been a really uplifting thing for me to hear all the stuff that people have been saying.

i was thinkin of getting a tattoo, every now and then i get the urge to do it, but because i don't really have a design to go off it's a bit harder. i think Brad inspires me to get a tattoo. im thinkin of gettin an old school embellished cross on the top of my left arm from the shoulder down to near the bottom of the sleeve. i think after that i'd add a few smaller ones about things that are important to me now but that won't ever change, such as family, God, and a word that encapsulates life learning and that.. maybe wisdom?

oh guess what
nathan gets back may 30. at around midnight, so it's a wednesday night. so if anyone wants to come with me to the airport to see the wonderful man himself, then you're welcome to jump in my car. it'll be merry. although.. nathan will probably be quite drowsy. it'll be funny, and we'll all laugh and make merry.

i wonder who reads these blogs every time i write them. but sometimes i don't really care because it's good for me to get stuff off my chest and refine ideas and that. if you do read this blog, i am very grateful. thanks for comments and such.

bye
ben

CAUTION: THIS IS A LONG POST. IF YOU WANT THE GENERAL GIST, GO TO THE END.

so i've been listening to abit of ugly duckling lately
they're rad
ifthere's any hiphop group im into
it'd be them
the streets are good
so is lady sovereign

i think what's cool is
UD are pretty oldschool, a lot of fun, they use a lot of similes.
the streets are pretty normal. therefore, when they turn a normal everyday thing into a cool song, it is cool.
Lady sovereign is also good. she raps about girls with fake tans, hoodies, and other stuff thats cool.
none are about gangstas bitches and hos
which is good i think

im no hiphop expert. just sayin i like thems 3 peoples. makes me wanna do a hip hop 6 track ep. it'd be mad. we'll use a band, and stuff, and we'll make every song focus on different grammatical features in the english language. eg. similes, subordinate clauses. that's right. it'd be massive.

probably goin to the city on sat to the stencil art festival and to a sculpture exhibition. you're most willing to come along.

oh yeah, the modest mouse song 'float on' is incredible. listen to it.

uni is hard at the moment. hard to get a grasp on a lot of concepts that they're throwing our way like structural and dialectical approaches to making a film, and stuff.
monday is a long day, always, without doubt! 2x3 hour classes plus1 hour break. got up at 6 this morn to finish a film cos it was sorta due today, and cos my computer is slower than i thought i only finished half. so i showed that half, and it was ok. im having trouble with making my concept work, because it's not a clear concept. so i was having trouble explaining my aims. i hate not being able to explain something clearly. i like clarity. and the doco of mat (to do with the save the mexican wave saga) is coming along alright.
now i have to meet up with another group tomorrow @ 10.30 with 2 filled in grant application forms/sponsorship proposal/application for an award, competition or scholarship, an appendix of non-existent relevant documentation including publicity roughs, a bibliography (arr) and my artistic CV, of which there is little to speak of.
so it's pretty bad, and i've got it good amongst my group. sometimes feel like im a big driving force behind most of the groups ive been in, i don't like to be the uncommitted one or two.

lots of blogs lately. ive been treating all you cheeky little bunyips, you'd better believe it.
haha bunyip
i love how countries have their own animal-that-isn't-real-but-lives-on-as-myth-...-or-is-it-real?
australia = bunyip
US= bigfoot (wikipedia has a 'picture' of the bigfoot) it may be related to the australian 'yowie' or the next beast:
tibet or countries near the himalayan mountains?=yeti
scotland = loch ness monster
ireland = leprechaun

there's lots, i guess im talkin bout culture specific ones. not like goblins, fairies and all that jazz.
Chupacabra is a bit of fun from the central and south american continents
check out the wikipedia list of legendary creatures
this is why wikipedia is so good
i don't care if half of it is untrue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures
do it.
hah france has like 6.. thems guys must all be high on frogs legs. hehe. no offence to the french, but thems guys whack. hehe check my attitude.
the US also has a fair bit under their country.
what an amusing article.

oh yeha
here's a few band names for you and your indie friends:
paper piano (i especially like that one)
dirty funnel
suburban love

dirty funnel sounds.. dirty. but only cos it says dirty.

if you're wondering how you can be more manly
go to brad's blog
he's in my top friends
cos he's a top bloke
go check him and his blog out.

here's a summary:
hiphop is cool when not bitches and hos: the streets, ugly duckling, lady sovereign
goin to the city on sat. come if you want.
listen to 'float on' by modest mouse. if you must, buy it on itunes you cheap slacker.
uni=hard because of ambiguous concepts.
legendary creatures rule, french and american people (besides anna and the soon returning nathan) are all crazy.
band names.

hope you enjoyed reading my massive blog.
benjamin.

edit:im going to see saosin tomorrow. its gonna be good. those guys are quality. and the people im seeing them with are quality. double WHAMMY!

also: pc4pc, is that picture comment for picture comment? like a trade? cos that's funny.

another edit: i just can't leave this blog alone. what are your thoughts about the federal election which is probably gonna happen at the end of this year? J-Ho or K-Rudd? and why? not just cos your family has always voted one way, im talkin policy debate.

i bought 2 cds yesterday after my rant
new arctic monkeys
aaand a modest mouse album, 'good news for people who love bad news'
i'm liking modest mouse a bit more, probably because i haven't really heard them before, so the arctic monkeys sound isn't so surprising.
ive got a film due monday, which i did a bit of concept/script work for today
went to southy and chaddy today
gin got me a jacket (she promised me she would so she kept her promise, i owe her stuff but no money yet.. apart from buying cds money haha). it's a good jacket, a little on the small side but i like it, it's a girls jacket.. hehe from glassons! rock. its one of them furry hoodie beasts. i likes it.
i need to do more work for my professional arts practice group assignment. arrr it's haaarrdd.
almost paid pedesy back
then got credit card debtage to pay back
and petey and matty are goin o'seas
so i'll have 2 rooms if ppl wana stay over for a few days at a time from june 6ish for a month.
probably would prefer to have ppl over on the weekends, just cos that way it'd be good for me to have space durin the week. maybe thursday-monday mornings would be good? i duno. ill be on holidays most of the time but still like my space. oh and if ur thinkin of comin, a bit of money would be nice, mat and pete are still paying their normal rent but grocery money would be appeciated. also, my house really isn't that clean so you can come and put up with it or go away and grumble, see if i care hehe.
so yeah myspace msg me which weekends u'd like to stay for. remember there are 2 rooms free.
in other news
nathan will be home from america soonn
he's a champion
im lookin forward to that
mums day tomorrow, ill give my mum a call
cos parents live in sydney, which makes it decidedly harder to make contact.
how are you going? are you keeping your skin refreshed and healthy?
anyone wanna go to perth for 3 days in the holidays?
im interested in doin it.
if anyone wants to take me to any art-exhibitions or to any film festivals i'll be happy to go. it's about time i started being a part of the art world!
yeah. im tired of being bored in the holidays. they're only 2 or 3 weeks away. i guess i should probably focus on finishing the semester well though!
so yeah
bye.

p.s. remember to answer my questions. and if ur interested in staying at mine, pick a weekend, myspace message me, and i'll give some love in return.

i don't get stuck in the emo genre
haha
don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good bands.. but i'd like to move on, given the state of the music coming out of that scene. but hey, whatever right. hehe
i was listening to architecture in helsinki before and it was cool, and i like shiny toy guns, and yeah i like some stuff that isn't classified near emo..
maybe i'm stuck on too many 4 piece bands
lead, rhythm, bass, drums.
get into some other stuff
synth/sampler stuff that seems to be goin on.
a bit more experimentation
who wants to do a collaborative music project? in the holidays? with the end product being songs?
hehe.. but seriously!
i have a keyboard in my room. we can write music on that. and then display it on canvases to the masses.
later dawgles

oh yeah, and if you know some good experimental bands that are distant from the emo tag, then reply and list em! i bought a ladytron song and that was cool. i like ugly duckling, don't mind a bit of lady sovereign, the streets, and that. yeah, so list em.