Get around These Quotes (Psyche Series :P)

"Sure, there's no 'i' in team, but there is an 'm' and an 'e'. -Kevin Meyers"

Landing In London - 3 Doors Down

This has been my favorite song of late..... 3 Doors Down\m/

Song Title: Landing In London

Artist(Band): 3 Doors Down

Lyrics by: Matt MacKenzie

I woke up today in London

As the plane was touching down

All I could think about was Monday

Maybe I’d be back around

If this keeps me away much longer

I don’t know what I will do

You've got to understand it’s a hard life,

that I’m going through

And when the night falls in around me

I don’t think I’ll make it through

Ill use your light to guide the way

Cuz all I think about is you

L.A. is getting kind of crazy

And New York's getting kind of cold

I keep my head from getting lazy

I just can’t wait to get back home

And all these days I spend away

Ill make up for this I swear

I need your love to hold me up

When it’s all too much to bear

And when the night falls in around me

I don’t think I’ll make it through

Ill use your light to guide my way

Cuz all I think about is you

And all these days I spend away

Ill make up for this I swear

I need your love to hold me up

When it’s all too much to bear

And when the night falls in around me

I don’t think I’ll make it through

Use your light to guide the way

Cuz all I think about is you...

CR7 to CR9 - The Saga Continues...

The last few days have been quite the roller coaster ride. Finally, I got back home after about 35-36 days in Hyderabad. And no matter what the credits to the "Cyber"city are, I couldn't find a decent internet facility to string two words together and post them up.
So, it's been more than a month that I've finally gotten a chance to park my butt on a chair and type. And boy, has a lot been happening! Of course, I want to begin with the deal that's been the talk of the footballing fraternity - Christiano Ronaldo and his move to Real Madrid.

Real, nine times European champions, needed a major boost since last year's performance, which couldn't see them add any silverware to their studded cabinet. Adding salt to their woulds was the fact thagt Barcelona - bitter arch rivals - got themselves a rare treble ( Even pipping Real to the La Liga title). In a major overhaul, though as had been expected for sometime, Florentino Perez was elected club president, and he immediately jumped to his chance to bring together a glaxy of stars to the club. Perez had done the same thing last time he was around, when Real had Zidane, Raul, Figo, Beckham et cetera in their ranks.

And so we saw a spate of deals, the biggest of which, for a few days, was the world record transfer deal of Ricardo Leite, a.k.a Kaka, from AC Milan to Real, for the then world record sum of 56 million pounds. The footballing fraternity was stunned, the pundits were spellbound. But the spree didn't stop there.

Only three days later, Real broke their own record, by signing Ronaldo from Manchester United for 80 million pounds.
Kaka - World Player of the Year 2007, and Ronaldo - World Player of the Year 2008, were eventually joined by charismatic striker Karim Benzema from Lyon, and a host of others as Real make a bid for Spanish and European glory.

Ronaldo, having made the transition from English to Spanish football, knows he has huge expectations on his shoulders. The Real fans will demand nothing but the best from him - but he is willing to prove himself and his enormous transfer tag through his world famous cross-overs and step-overs. Picked up as a 11-year old by Sporting Lisbon, and later By Manchester United to replace David Beckham, pressure shouldn't be a new experience at all for, who is, arguably the best player of all times. He'll now be donning the No. 9 at Real.
Another shocker pulled off by Manchester United was the signing of Michael Owen from Newcastle. Though I've always been a fan of Owen, he'd recently been nagged by a spate of injuries, and his goals were drying up, since his move from Liverpool. I hope Manchester United will provide him with a fresh start. Now even Eto'o, one the fabled trio of strikers from Barcelona, is being linked with Manchester United, though he was initially in talks with United's city rivals Manchester City.Also interesting to follow will be the fate of John Terry (Chelsea and England captain), for whom Manchester City are willing to go upto 35 million pounds. And, of course, Deco and Carvalho, again Chelsea, have been linked to Inter Milan, the Serie A champions. But Chelsea, under new manager Carlo Ancelloti (who led AC Milan to European and World glory), will be looking to keep their influential captain and splendid midfield intact, as they make a bid for the elusive Premier League and European titles.

The following is the official biography from one of the most progressive rock bands in the world - and one of my personal favourites.

James LaBrie -- vocals
John Myung -- bass
John Petrucci -- guitars
Mike Portnoy -- drums
Jordan Rudess -- keyboards

Octavarium is not only the eighth studio album from progressive heavy rockers Dream Theater, but it also marks 20 years of existence for this majestic outfit. "It's pretty incredible," says drummer Mike Portnoy, "Especially given the nature of what we do. I think maybe that's probably been the secret to our longevity, is that we've never fit in. But it's still incredible that here we are, 20 years later, and we're not one of those bands that's just sticking around on the downslide. We're still growing and progressing with each album and tour."

Not only has the five-piece resolutely defied both popular trends and fickle public tastes throughout its career, but Dream Theater's sound and approach is more vibrant, powerful and wide-ranging than ever. Octavarium, produced by the longtime tandem of Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci, and mixed by Michael Brauer, encompasses the many varieties of heavy, epic, complex rock that has drawn legions of fans to the band's monumental catalog of releases and dynamic, marathon live shows.

"We had two goals this time," explains Portnoy about the band's focused-like-a- laser approach. "The first goal was a reaction to our last album, Train Of Thought (2003), which was intentionally very, very dark and heavy from start to finish. It was definitely the heaviest album we ever made. So when it came time to make this record, we knew we didn't want to do that again. We wanted to go back to a more traditional Dream Theater style, which is a variety of everything. We still have heavy songs, but also have some lighter songs, some epic, progressive songs -- it's more of a balance."

Portnoy adds that the group's second goal was to challenge themselves as songwriters by composing shorter pieces than the band is famous for. "Our last three or four albums, almost every song was very long. I mean, we've always had long songs our whole career, but -- we kind of did that formula to death. So we wanted to challenge ourselves this time to try and write shorter songs. For most bands, it's a challenge to write a long song, but to us, the challenge is to go the other way. There are three or four songs on the album that are very short and concise, but are still Dream Theater."

Indeed, tunes such as "I Walk Beside You" and "The Answer Lies Within" clock in at five minutes or under -- largely unexplored territory for a band known for "double digit" masterpieces like "A Change Of Seasons" and "Metropolis." But what's even more surprising about those two new tracks -- both highlights of Octavarium -- is the diversity of material they represent. "Songs like those are kind of new for Dream Theater," says Portnoy. "There's almost a Coldplay or U2 influence. It's something that we've always had and tried to tap into, but I don't think we've ever truly nailed it as strongly as we did with these songs. And then you have songs like 'Panic Attack' and 'The Root Of All Evil' which are so dark and heavy and progressive and technical, and then something like 'Octavarium' and 'Sacrificed Sons,' which are true epics."

The latter two cuts both feature an orchestra, something the band has never utilized before, while the 24-minute title cut is sure to become one of the band's signature pieces. "I think it's one of the best things we've ever written, because it encompasses a little bit of everything that Dream Theater is about in one statement," says Portnoy proudly. "I think most of our fans' favorite songs from our catalog tend to be those type of songs."

That catalog extends back to 1989, when Dream Theater released its debut album, When Dream And Day Unite. The group has formed several years earlier, in September of 1985, when Berklee School of Music students Portnoy, John Myung and John Petrucci decided to start a band together. Originally known as Majesty, the fledgling act recruited keyboardist Kevin Moore and singer Chris Collins into the fold. Collins eventually left, replaced by Charlie Dominici, while another band forced them to drop the Majesty moniker in favor of Dream Theater, named after a demolished California cinema.

When Dream And Day Unite made an immediate impact on the underground progressive rock scene, but Dream Theater wanted to push further. Replacing Dominici with James LaBrie, the group signed to Atco (later absorbed by Atlantic) and recorded 1992's groundbreaking Images And Words. Featuring the hit, "Pull Me Under," the album introduced Dream Theater to hordes of new fans that continue to support the band to this day.

Many more albums followed, including 1994's Awake, 1997's Falling Into InfinityScenes From A Memory. At the same time, Kevin Moore gave way to first Derek Sherinian, then Jordan Rudess. Personnel changes, label turnover, and the ill-timed release of 2001's Live Scenes From New York -- which arrived on September 11th, 2001, with cover art featuring a New York skyline against a backdrop of flames -- roiled the group but never truly deflected it from its musical path. "The biggest reason we've been able to endure that is our devoted fan base," says Mike Portnoy. "Our fans are as big a part of the story as we or our music is. They're the reason that we're able to keep a major label deal and go and play sheds and large theatres and stuff like that without mainstream exposure. It's due to this incredible fan base that stands by us through thick and thin from year to year."

And now that fan base is about to be rewarded once again with the June 7th release of Octavarium. The last album to ever be recorded at New York's legendary Hit Factory before it closed its doors for good in March of 2005, this record is sure to please every single diehard Dream Theater fan out there, and will continue to draw new ones to the band's skillful medley of heavy metallic power, delicate melodicism, and brilliant, literally award-winning musicianship. "There's always gonna be an audience for musicians and artists and people who actually want to create something that's valid and unique," concludes Portnoy. "The rock stardom thing and being on MTV and selling millions of records and being part of a trend has never been interesting to us. We're just five musicians that like to play and write together, and luckily there's this devoted audience that's been behind us all this time." and 1999's

A Time to Reflect??

After a series of light and humorous posts, I finally decided to buckle up for a serious effort - something that's deep, dark and thought provoking. Something that has set my mind ticking for the last few hours. Some lessons that life has thrown at my door, trying to pry it open, but some which I probably didn't learn, because I was busy pushing the door close and trying to lock it.

My twentieth birthday has left me asking a lot of questions about life - what it has taught me so far, how far it has pushed me to show my potential, how many times I decided to polish my outlook and who are the people who are in it with me for the long run. Although a lot of people might say that they've seen similar posts from a lot of bloggers - that too from all age groups, so mine isn't something that provides ground-breaking truths and never-before-known facts of life. Of course, I'll admit to their point of opinion, as they are certainly entitled to it, but I feel that everybody goes through a phase like mine at least once in his/her life, and this probably becomes the defining moment for the next few months to come.

My realization hit me like a brick a few hours ago. The warning had always been there for the taking, but I was blind and mistrustful. Considering the humongous nature of this Great Comprehension, and the privacy required, it might be unfortunate that I can only write about the outcome, and not about the events that actually led to the awakening of the Self to this great Truth.

Ah yes, probably a lot of words already sounding spiritual ( read: to a lot of people, "spiritual" is synonymous to "dull" and "boring"). But then, it is what it is: a simple brat stumbling onto an understanding, having to make a fealty with his inbred morals and principles, with Fate and Life contriving several hurdles in his path to test his will power and commitment to his passion.

I just realized that life is never what it seems - on the exterior, all might be nice and rosy, but you gotta take it by the horns to find out if it is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. A good friend of mine told me that life takes down paths which later diverge... The classic case of picking a road and going down that one no matter how much the heart wavers, is what matters. Once you pick a path, you can never revert back to the fork again in life and try the other path as well. She also compared life's crossroads to a crossing - the signal at the crossroads is instrumental in defining your determination to reach out for the unknown. Many people come to the signal at the crossroads - and get stranded there, unable to decide whether to cross the signal and move ahead, where life in it's infinite mystery and wisdom has planned something for them, or just sit at the crossing, within their comfort zones, waving at others who dare to cross the signal.

My greatest lesson today, apart from the 'life is never as it seems' maxim stated in the above paragraph, is one about trust. Trust is a very delicate matter. When trusting a soul, the heart is firm abut it's needs. It is justified in it's demands. Trust is what keeps one going in life, because without trust, a person becomes shallow and unpredictably on the edge. When this trust is not reflected by the other soul, or God forbid, if this trust is betrayed, it leads to one of the deadliest states that either the mindor the heart can ever achieve. While some find it amusing to indulge in power games, I personally find it petty and draining. Though it doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be aware of the balance of power, just so that future decisions can be taken without a hitch. You cannot go to war with a colleague who doesn't trust you. Even a slight error in judgement, or faltering and indecisiveness can lead to the ultimate downfall. The worst case of this scene is when he means well but is incompetent. This is because he might accidentally shoot you in the back - and no matter what purists say - friendly fire...isn't.

Well, it's nearly 4a.m., my life's lessons learnt the hard way today...I've got a wake up call at 4:30, so might as well hit the sack to the give the old limbs a decent rest before the road trip tomorrow. It's gonna take around 11 to 12 hours behind the wheel - and sleeping for a half hour is a baaaad idea. Don't know what made me write this post....just goes to show that sleep deprivation and long conversations on phone make one's judgement at 4 in the morning prettty weak. :)