I am a massive fan of Project 86 (one day I may even get to see them live…), and in my mind they have yet to release an album that is less than good, and usually they are in the excellent category. “Rival Faction” is the bands 6th album and keeps their refined style of the latest few albums, think Foo Fighters (when they’re heavy) meets Papa Roach, not an exact metaphor but it gives you something. While keeping the strong lyrics, which have shades of Clutch, in that what you hear is not always what it means… engage your brain basically.

So anyway, I managed to get my copy of “Rival Factions” months after it was released mainly due to Wesley Owen (major Christian bookstore/music store in UK) which has a pitful selection of good heavy music and takes ages importing new stuff. I would have got it in HMV but they didn’t have it in stock in Edinburgh (although they do on the web and ironically for once Wesley Owen was cheaper, usually they are way more expensive), but I will be going to HMV to get As I Lay Dying’s latest, but thats another day.

So, how is the album? Well, its the shortest album Project 86 has done at 35 minutes for 10 tracks, the previous albums have been between 45 and 55 minutes… that’s quite a cut in length. It seems to be a pattern repeated across other bands, and to be honest is very annoying when paying a minimum of £10 (sometimes £15 for my favourites) for a CD where one is only half an hour and the other is a good 20 minutes longer!

That being said that is my only complaint. Again its a solid album filled with thumpingly good tunes, I think the previous release “…and the rest will follow” was slightly stronger, but its a close one. The tracks all flow well together but are separate enough to be distinct. Current favourites are the opening track “Evil (A Chorus Of Resistance)” (video) and “The Sanctuary Hum”, if just for the line “God save us, from your chosen ones”.

As for a score, well, I would say this is a solid 7 out of 10, it would have been 8 if it was a bit longer but if you like Project 86 you will not be otherwise disappointed.

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Listening to: Project 86 – Normandy
via FoxyTunes

It didn’t suck!!!

In fact it was really fun!!!

Just finished Rob Bells second book Sex God… again another great series of challenges, and open I recommend to anyone wither they are in a relationship with someone or not, because even if its not sexual we are always in relationships with someone.

All through the book there were sections which caused me to pause and reflect, much like in Velvet Elvis. Take the verse at the top, considering what my mind has been like the past few months this verse hit me. I have read Songs of Songs at least three times but now this one verse makes sense… now to apply it.

Anyway, one part of note was actually in the footnote section, footnote 156 to be exact. It speaks about the fact that sometime we make sure their is “noise” around us so we don’t have to listen to ourselves, to our own souls. It talks about how this is not healthy. Being someone who enjoys having music on for that very reason I found the next part interesting, I have typed it up the next section from the book.

Ask yourself the following questions and write down whatever comes to mind. Get rid of your edit button/ No one’s going to read this. You’ll throw it away afterward. Maybe

What frustrates me right now?
What am I angry about?

No, Don’t go on to the next one, go back. Listen. Reflect. Be honest. Give yourself time. The book will be here when you get back

What am I scared of?
What am I dreading?
What am I anxious about?
What concerns me?
What is stressing me right now, the smallest thing that I don’t want to write down because it seems so dumb but is actually stressing me?
What am I looking forward to?
Today, tomorrow, this year?

Its quite a challenge to do this and be honest with ourselves to allow our inner self to have its say, and then Rob Bell asks how we would feel about sharing these questions with our partner? As he has been saying, THAT is being naked.

So, yeah its a book about the relationships between a man and woman, it deals iwth marriage, and sex… ooooh the “s-word”… but its honest, open, and frank about how the bible views such things and to be honest I think most Christians, let alone non-Christians don’t have an accurate idea of what the bible really says about it all. No really, quite a few people no matter what their beliefs have a very poor idea (and some very twisted interpretations) of the scripture. Now, I am not saying Rob Bell is by any means perfect but he does say some things I think that need to be heard, he has a clarity in his writing (and speaking from what little I’ve heard) that, well, just makes things clearer for me.

Relationships, especially intimate ones, can be a powerful gift, and a painful hurt. We have all, at least the most of us, been hurt in the past. There are scars that run deep, and reading a book all about relationships could just open those wounds… well, for me it did. I have been carrying round hurt from, ironically, never having a relationship. Sometimes we need to face the hurts, bring them out into the open once again so we can finally deal with them. We need to be honest with ourselves, and those we are intimate with. A intimate relationship is all about becoming one, falling deeper and deeper into the infinite nature of the others soul.

Anyway, I am about to start ranting and this is not a post for that. I recommnend that you pick up both of Rob Bell’s books, read them by yourself, with friends, discuss the issues, debate the conflicts, use your brains… its a good thing to do. Just because you don’t believe what I believe doesn’t mean you can’t gain something from them as well.

Laters

First the good parts… Venom (not that he is named in the movie) was very well done as was the symbiote, the eventual resoution was okay but it had a bitter taste as it had a flash back to something that had happened about 10, 20 minutes previously in the movie… that being said I can almost see wy the flash back may have been needed but it annoyed me personally. There is a dance number that is very well done but is utterly pointless really and the required outcome come of been achieved in a much better way. Sandman’s creation was well done, but the CG wasn’t great… not terrible, I just expected better. Bruce Campbell’s character was fantastic, but he was reduced to comic relief instead of being plot relevant.

Hmm… every good bit so far has a negative.

Now the bad… the script was poor, the acting bad, (I mean these guys have done two movoes together yet they have not developed their acting for these characters at all). Then there was the over the top melodrama, pointless use of characters – Sandman and the Stacy’s did not need to be there, the Stacy’s could have been anyone else (especially since Gwen Stacy holds an important role in canon) and The Sandman, was practically impotent by the end of the movie (his impact and edge dulled and tarnished what could have been a good twist on the canon). Speaking of which the messing around with canon was poorly managed and executed so that by the end of the movie no good come of it (I usually don’t mind messing around with canon… as long as its well done). The romance was over the top and badly acted. The song and dance routine had NO place in the movie. The CG Was over used, in Spider-man 2 they got the mix right by using more wire work for some reason they went back to pure CG and the movie suffered because of it.

Grr!!!! I am supremly dissapointed in this movie, I am now glad they are taking a break. It needs fresh vision and fresh actors/directors etc. I am a spider-man fan-boy, it takes alot for me to speak against anything spidey related, but this could have been worlds better.

For me the best scene in the movie involved J Jonah Jameson, a scene with few if no flaws, and spider-man/Parker wasn’t in , this was just back-up characters doing comic relief… and to me thats sad. The best scene in a Spider-man movie should involve Spider-man (or at least Venom)

5 out of 10…. plus or minus 1 point.

There were a number of striking images and scenes, from the devastation and failure’s of humanity that was/is Katirna/Darfar, the images of what would happen if even just some of the ice sheets melted (at a 20ft rise around 100 million refugees), but the most humbling for me was one of the last. It was taken from a space probe as it was flew near teh outer fringes of our solar system (well the bit we all think of anyway), it took its camera and took a shot of home, earth, a single pale blue dot, small, precious, and all we have.

Rent it, buy it, watch it and if you feel moved to do something about it (e.g. visit www.climatecrisis.net – this was linked to at the end of the movie. I firmly believe that one person CAN make a difference because that person can inspire others. Take slavery for example a few people realised it was wring and made a stand and in time it was “abolished” (I use quotations because of the current sickening knowledge that slavery still exists in even greater ways today especially through human trafficking and the sex trade).

So yeah, if you get a chance, I really urge to you to spend 90 minutes of your time and watch this.