Walking in a (Winter) Wonderland

Beauty of the night.

With Christmas lurking just around the corner, days away, the past couple of days were spent in crowded frequents, comfortable coffee houses (Starbucks) as well as scenic backdrops.

Indeed, the people around are getting into the Christmas mood evidently but it must be said that as compared to the previous year, moods ain't as high up.

Seeing that it was Christmas, I decided to give myself a little treat as well. Took a walk around town and looked around the music store, as usual.

A music CD would make a really good present for myself and amongst the myriad up for grabs, Paramore's CD/DVD, The Final Riot! caught my attention.

The Final Riot!

I must say, the cover of the album is certainly appealing on multiple levels, I'm sure you might agree as well. Kudos to the designer.

At $20.95, the DVD/CD is a steal of a buy. Aside from 15 Live tracks (featuring songs from both the first and second Paramore albums), this 2 CD set also features a live concert DVD.

Think, over one hour of hard hitting tracks from a budding alternative rock group with a dash of energy and stage presence. Certainly something to make you head bang to with addictive tempos and high octave vocals.

Okay don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to push the product here on metallic-stains but for those of you out there interested in the genre or the band, all I'm saying is that its worth the money and time.

Leaving that for now.

The annual season of Christmas is significant for various reasons, to each his own. But it also signals the coming end of the calender year.

And though it may seem a little early, I've decided to talk about a couple of resolutions for metallic-stains.blogspot.com upon the arrival of the year 2009.

This site was founded (or created, rather) a couple of months ago and has thus moved and evolved from its original purpose, look as well as feel, which is a good thing as change often spurs for improvement.

However what better way to mark the start of a new year then to implement further changes and improvements?

That being said, I thought about a change of fundamental posting frequency and classification for the posts you readers see here on the site. Here's the current breakdown;

- Periodic updates
- Periodic narratives
- Occasional articles

As seen, the flow and frequency of posts are rather irregular and unorganized. I plan to revolutionize and implement a change as seen here;

- Updates (Once per week)
- Subject Posts (Unrestricted per week)
- Narratives (Situational)
- Articles (At least 2 published monthly)

To me, the readers are my target audience and thus I feel that you guys have the right to know about the site's composition as well as organization.

And with this new implementation (with effect from 2009), I hope that readers will be able to orientate and adhere to a mode of consistency amongst the posts and publishes of metallic-stains.

So be sure to stick around. Feedback is of course, deeply valued amongst the management team so keep those coming in!

And moving on to the subject for today's post.

Eluding Silence.

The past couple of hours were fruitfully spent, well to me at least.

A little walk around town certainly helps one to think about things not usually considered as well as problems, of course.

Of course there was a reason for the walk but at this point in time, I would leave it undisclosed (but will reveal why in coming posts so be sure to check back).

What if one had everything to loose but, against all odds, chooses to stake everything on the line?

Many a time in the course of life, we find ourselves trapped in such situations which is often thought provoking; if we know we might (and most probably will) lose something, why are we doing it?

I guess situation varies. It largely pivots on the importance of that "something" to the person in question, which will determine how much the person is willing to stake and put on the line.

It must be said that it is human nature to deter from the things we feel less confident in achieving success. Quite understandably so at that for I'm pretty sure that most if not all of us, hate to fail or lose something significant.

We often hear of phrases like "I would give my (something significant) up, if I could have (something even more significant)" and I guess this is why humans engage in this curious behavior of putting all that we have on the line, simply put, we are always looking for something more.

It would be injustice to say that this behavior is due to greed but it does however, work along the logic of that.

We as humans, are always looking for something better, seeking improvement though we rarely identify this need but what if we lose it all? What if everything falls through and all is lost? That is another behavior to consider.

Moving forward, looking ahead.

It is an interesting process when failure exhumes one's period of life. Some individuals are able to get over it quickly while others linger on, in hopes of making amendments for things in the past.

For me personally, I daresay that I once lived in the past but ironically, I'm living in the future now.

Its good to anticipate failure but sometimes you go ahead with making mistakes though know perfectly what you're doing and the repercussions it may cause.

It takes a hurt to learn, sometimes.

So that's that, a little food for thought I guess. Be sure to check back for updates and lots of (Christmas) goodies to come. Watch this space.

Cya'll later

"Your Little Decoy"

*The owner and management team of metallic-stains holds no right, share or commission in the sales of Paramore's Final Riot! DVD/CD. All related references made belongs to its rightful owner. Usage of pictures (excluding the Final Riot! cover) without referencing or permission might result in undesirable consequences*

----------------
Song of the Post


Now playing: Paramore - Decoy (Live)
via FoxyTunes

Screaming Fans; The Motivational Force & Ambition.

(With reference and build up from "Sustenance X; Our Pillar of Support, the Source of Strength")

Picture this; thousands of screaming fans all tightly packed in the stadium, their screams evident even at backstage. The curtain calls, and its time for you to strut your stuff.

Step by step, you and the rest of your band pace onto the stage, your veins pulsing with anticipation, waiting for the curtain to drop.

Waiting for the moment to come...

What spurs a person? What is it that actually drives him and pushes him?

Only last Sunday, I was in attendance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for a concert; The Click Five's Modern Minds and Pastimes tour. Thousands of fans and supporters alike flocked to the stadium to catch the pop-rock band in action and many of them were really hardcore die hards for the band.

I observed them, as they paced around with T-shirts, posters and giant signs of the band. Painted faces, hands and other body parts with huge words "I LOVE YOU C5" were also sighted amongst the crowd.

Clearly these people need no motivation whatsoever as this is something they enjoy and want to be part of. The crowd had an air of anticipation to see their favorite band perform live right in front of their very eyes; each and everyone of them hyped up, standing impatiently awaiting for the show to start.

The Curtain calls, music plays and the lights darken. With screams everywhere, the show starts...

*

As mentioned in my previous article, Motivation is a very powerful force that I feel, resides within one's head. It is important and thus, I've decided to dedicate a sole article based on the topic itself.

So what actually is Motivation?

"The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal" (as cited from dictionary.com) finely defines the term in a coherent manner.

Being a psychological aspect, it is thus hard to manipulate and control due to the fact that we as human beings need to exercise constant control and discipline in order to master our full psychological capabilities.

Motivation and Ambition works together in a way, as without Motivation, one will not be able to achieve his ambition and vice versa. This is interesting in a way as both Motivation and Ambition are psychological aspects of the human mind.

Using Motivation and Ambition to fuel your development is essential to do well and succeed in one's life path. Think about a life without Ambition and you'll think about waste, despair and the lack of hope and drive. I'm sure we don't want such a mentality and such a way of living, do we?

Taking control of your Motivational drive and plotting your Ambition however, is another factor that makes the whole process so hard to master and adhere to.

Being humans and having a certain degree of intellect, we are fickle and queer creatures. As quoted from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick mentions in the final scenes that "Man is a giddy thing". I feel that that particular quote makes perfect sense and fully chronicles the entire human behaviour in a simple phase.

The aspect that constitutes to this "giddy thing" is of course, the psychological aspect of the human mind. (refer to "The Human Mind; A Powerful Tool or just a Voice Inside Us?")

I guess the main factor to this constitution is due to the difficulty or harnessing the full potential and control of one's own mind, as mentioned earlier.

So how do we counter this so called "flaw" of in our minds? The inability to control and to master.

Control is not entirely impossible, as with mastering our minds. The fact that Motivation results in Ambition can be played upon as once we develop Motivation, Ambition automatically follows and with that, strengthens the Motivation itself. Complex? You bet it is.

But if we think in a logical fashion, that claim does make sense.

If a person dreams and strongly feels to be a rock star for example, he or she will gain the Motivation in the process of identifying the Ambition involved. With this Motivation, that person will work on the music and keep on improving until progress shows and ultimately, if all the hardwork pays off, his or her dream and Ambition will be fulfilled.

Dreams and Ambitions do come true. Many people are discouraged by the fact of failure and the lack of faith and as a result, give up halfway or even before trying.

"Its better to try and fail then to never try at all". This is an interesting quote as it is subjective in a sense. The grey area of the quote however, is overlooked by many people.

Many overlook and underestimate the psychological impact that failure has on people. Though many claim to be "strong", few can actually endure failure after failure, defeat after defeat and are mentally affected. Obviously, this is negative to one's mental health.

However, I urge you guys, my readers, NOT to give up after failure. The whole purpose of strengthening the mind is to develop an immunity to such situations and come out stronger, more Motivated and better prepared. Take failure not as an attempt at success then went wrong but as a learning process.

To control our Motivation and chart our Ambitions successfully, one must have the required amount of sensibility and determination. Ambitions especially should be enrooted early in our lives as it gives a sense of direction and a ruddle to steer our lives in the right direction.

The way to control and achieve the best out of our psychological abilities depends on the individual afterall and there's no one else that can motivate you more than you yourself.

The sources of Motivation vary from person to person which is touched on in the previous article, Sustenance X.

No matter where your inspiration comes from, the thousands of screaming fans, your idols or just a person, remember that only you yourself can Motivate and control. Its only you, yourself, that can dream and achieve that dream. And its you, yourself, who will look back when the day comes and smile to yourself for the due achievement.

So let us Motivate ourselves and work hard towards our respective Ambitions. Only then will we be able to deliver our best in everything we do and succeed.


*Concert Review Post Update
My internet's really cranky and as with similar reasons to my previous post, I'll have to push back the publishing date for the concert response.

I'm in the process of fabricating the post and I assure those who are eager to read that it'll be updated very soon.

Till then, keep checking back for updates. (probably take a day or so more)