The One With The Pending Decision.

In my previous entry, I wrote about how I was due for a meeting with the Faculty Student Committee for a hearing regarding an allegation of 'supposed' misconduct towards my group assignment for Business Statistics.

My group and another group were present at this meeting to discuss the issue of plagiarism towards our assignments. Prior to the meeting I was incredibly pumped to defend Derek and myself. I was pumped to prove that we did not copy other people's work. I was so pumped, if you had asked me to do something daring, like punch Tim in the face, I would have.

To reinforce my innocence, I brought along Adrian for some extra defence, and Derek brought in Darren. I was so optimistic that this whole situation would be sorted in one meeting, but unfortunately, the lack of evidence to prove that Derek and myself did not plagiarize was insufficient. I really wish I had said more things to the panel to truly convince them.

If there's one thing to be positive about, it's that Derek nor myself are facing expulsion or any time away from uni. Unfortunately, while we did not plagiarize, we may still endure a penalty of some sort. How this works is that the committee recommends a penalty to the Dean of the Business faculty, and then that person then reads their report and makes the final decision. The penalty that the committee has recommended is that Derek and myself receive a 0 grading for Parts B and C of the assignment. If that's the case, there's no way in hell I will pass this subject. I could not be more disappointed because none of this was our fault.

The only thing I can do now is send email to the Dean after he receives the recommendation and make an appeal.

Group assignment's can die. They really can.

The One Where It's Make Or Break.

I've just returned from a very quiet, yet enjoyable evening at work. The lack of customer's at work prompted Mary-Jane and myself to make some deep fried magnum ice-creams. When you work in a cafe that's lacking any financial activity, you kind of feel the need to conjure up something exciting to do. Prior to placing the battered magnum's in the deep fryer, I had all the confidence in the world that the experiment would fail, and that I would need to spend a heap of time cleaning out all the gunk from the fryer's as a result of the magnum's breaking down. To the benefit of our tummies, the cooking procedure was a success ! And yummy at that.

Later today I'm expected to present myself at a boardroom meeting at UTS Haymarkets to discuss this allegation of misconduct against my Business Statistics group members from last semester. For those who don't know, my group and myself have been accused of plagiarising another group's assignment. I received a copy of both our assignments which had the 'plagiarised' sections highlighted, and boy do they have a case. I was quite furious as to how similiar or 'exact' our assignments were, considering Derek and myself were up late many nights working on our respective contributions.

At the end of the day however, I know I did not plagiarise, or make any contact with the other group, so I am hoping my grade will not be affected in any way. More serious than that, I hope I do not face the expulsion card. I'll let you know what happens.

The One After The First Day Back.

9:30am start today. The smart thing to do would have been to sleep early the night before, but instead I was an internet whore and slept at 3 in the morning. I paid the ultimate price the next day. First class was my Business Law and Ethics tutorial which wasn't as bad as I originally expected. My tutor is quite easy going and does not grill you if you don't contribute, which works well for me. Interestingly enough, I'm the only second year student in the class, and am the only one from the FEIT faculty.

Next class was Business Requirements Modeling. No criticisms here. Here we formed our groups for the assignment, which is officially comprised of Jasmine, Tim, Nam, Gordon and myself. Looking forward to it. The lecturer is one part of the subject that really stands out. I'm sure the way in which the lecturer speaks is perfectly natural, but as a listener it really seems like he's yelling at you, which is great because your attention is immediately placed on him, and not the hot girl sitting across from you in the same row. Oh wait.

After my BRM class, I had my Finance lecture. This is where my lack of sleep from the night before came back to bite me. The first hour of the lecture consisted of me listening for 5 seconds, then slowly falling asleep for 10 seconds, then waking up realizing I should be listening, then repeat. I hate it when that happens. You really don't want to fall asleep, but you do so anyway because you can't help it. Again, we formed our groups for the assignment. My group for this one will be Andrew, Joseph, CJ and myself.

After my last class I met up with Adrian, Ivan and Xander and had a cheap dinner at Maccas and then went to the Glasshouse to play some pool.

And that's my life story today.

Now that I'm blogging, I'd like to make a special mention to a great band I recently came across, a band known as 'Dance Gavin Dance'. Yes, the fact that I'm even blogging about them should indicate how much I enjoy their music. Describing the style of music they play is tough. If I had to specific, I would label them as Experimental Post-Hardcore? I had heard about these guys before but never bothered to browse their catalog, simply because of their band name. I know, stupid reason not to check a band out. I finally came to my senses and decided to see what they have to offer ...

Don't let the fat guy in the middle fool you Tim. He's lost a lot of weight since then. :)

Starting with their myspace, I obviously listened to the songs with the highest play counts, them being 'And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman' and 'Lemon Miringue Tie'. Upon hearing these tracks, the first thing that caught my attention was the singer's voice. It's just so ... beautiful. After being impressed with the songs, I checked out their 'Downtown Battle Mountain' album.


Such a great album. The singing is just so catchy and is probably the highlight. While there isn't loads of singing, when it does occur it's a great listening experience. As for the instruments, these musicians know their instruments really well. Some weird and complicated structures are something that caught my attention straight away. So many great guitar leads in this album too.

Recommended songs are:

• And I Invented Times New Roman
• Lemon Meringue Tie
• Turn Off The Lights, I'm Watching Back To The Future
  

The One Hundredth.

Wow. 100 blog posts. Quite a milestone in the online world even if I say so myself. Next milestone: 500 blog posts.

No more holidays ! I didn't really have much of a holiday anyway to be honest. Not in the fact that I was mostly working, but I really didn't get up to much outside of work. I guess I had a more conservative break from university. Also, my illness didn't help too much either !

Semester 2 of 2009 started today ! Well for me anyway. I slept super-duper early last night to avoid any chances of excessive sleep the next morning. I woke up at 6:30 and caught the 8:24 train for a 10am start ! :)

I got to my first lecture which was Business Law and Ethics. Unfortunately I could not get into any rhythm with this subject. There were interesting parts here and there, but I could not stay focused on the lecturer for the whole hour and a half. You know you're not completely interested in the subject if the only memorable part was the lecturer doing a voice impersonation of Homer and Marge from the Simpsons. Oh no ... it could be another repeat of Database Fundamentals where the lecturer bored me so much, I wanted to jump out of my skin to have something else to do.

After the lecture I headed to the union food court to eat some Butter Chicken from the Indian shop. While lining up, I spotted Denise sitting across the food court. You know those situations where you're waving vigorously at someone but they can't see you? Sometimes they even look at you, but they just don't notice you're waving. Well that's exactly what happened. Her friend's noticed me waving like a weirdo, and I finally got her attention.

Apart from Business Law and Ethics, I had my first taste of Applications Programming. The lecturer seems to be more appealing and attention grabbing and I hope that will help me succeed in this subject. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that he does not resemble a priest, as thought by Jasmine. Silly girl.

Okay, so that's my day of university. Just the two lectures !

After being capped on my internet a half month early, I am uncapped as of today and am going nuts on the downloads !!

The One With The Movies.

In one of my previous entries, I mentioned how I would become a coach potato these holidays and catch up on a bunch of movies. Here's what I watched (so far). More to come.

The Bank Job (2008)
Cast: Jason Statham
Probably one of the more favored and enjoyed films I've watched these holidays. As you may have guessed from the title, the movie is about a group of amateurs who strive to rob a bank. Sounds straightforward, however the plot thickens when they realize that some of the safe deposit boxes they've stolen contain dirty contents wanted by an outside force of corruption and violence. Many secrets are uncovered as a result of their robbery, and Terry (Jason Statham) and his gang must put the pieces together to get themselves out of the hole they've dug. This film will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat and once again Jason Statham demonstrates how badass he is. For a Jason Statham film, The Bank Job has a lot more substance than your typical bank robbery film. Highly recommended. 5/5

Broken Arrow (1996)
Cast: Christian Slater, John Travolta
I always saw bits and pieces of this movie on TV, but I never had the chance to watch it in whole. My opinion? Waste of space on my hard drive. Fail acting, fail direction, fail everything. I could be a lenient guy and just say that this movie is just good for simple entertainment, but even Broken Arrow fails at that. There are so many things that don't make sense in this movie, and one of them is how Christian Slater landed a role in this movie. 1/5

A Bronx Tale (1993)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Chazz Palminteri, Taral Hickcs
My my ... it's been a long time since I've seen anything from De Niro's catalog. After watching this, I am reminded of what a great person the guy is. What we have here is De Niro's debut as a director. The film is set in the 1960's in the Bronx and follows the life of a young kid named Calogero, otherwise known as 'C'. One day C meets a highly respected local crime boss and as their relationship extends, C's father (played by Robert De Niro) becomes worried. Before watching this I was expecting your straightforward action movie with endless gun and bar fights. I was wrong. This movie is much more special than your average 'gangster' and 'all guns blazing' type of movie. There are many values and lessons to be realized and morals to be observed from this movie, and we observe those as C is pushed closer and away from his two father figures. Something that totally tripped me out was Jane, the black girl C dates. I can't believe she's played by Taral Hicks ! For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Taral Hicks is an R&B artist I enjoyed back in the 90's. Anyways, I really wished the movie explored further into the relationship between C and Jane. I wonder how their relationship went on to be ... nevertheless, a pleasure to watch. 4/5

The Great Debators (2007)
Cast: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker
My my, what the heck did I just watch? A fantastic film, that's what. What we have here is Denzel Washington's visual adaptation on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor of Wiley College, who in 1935 inspired the school's first debate team to challenge Harvard in the national championships. Right from the outset I was hooked onto every scene. The chemistry between the three main debaters really showed thanks to impeccable acting, which allowed me to really appreciate their journey and run on to the national finals. Personally I had no idea about the existence of significance of Wiley College in the 1930's, and while the film may not be completely authentic, I was able to take away a considerable amount of knowledge from this film. I'm certain this film would be a major inspiration to any debater out there. I'm very familiar with Denzel's work as an actor, but as a director I'm quite foreign. I can only hope that he makes more films like this. 5/5

I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With (2006)
Cast: Jeff Garlin
This movie was quite an interesting one. It revolves around a 39 year old actor who is fat and lonely and still living with his parents. To add insult to injury, he is having trouble with his job and finding it difficult to find a real relationship. The movie does mess with your head in that the message that the movie is trying to convey isn't really clear. I mean I thought the protagonist would find successful love with either one of the two main girls in the movie, but instead the movie suddenly ends, leaving the audience with nothing to take away. A line I found quite funny and random was "nothing hotter than an elder angry Filipino woman, nothing hotter". 3/5

Into The Wild (2007)
Cast: Emile Hirsche, Catherine Keener
Wow, what a great transformation movie. This film would have done wonders as my material for my Area of Study in English for the HSC. Based on the late years of Christopher McCandless, the movie follows the journey of a graduate named Chris (Emile Hirsche), fresh out of college who ditches his material possessions to hitchhike into the Alaskan wilderness. The movie is comprised of chapters in which we see Chris grow as a result of the people he meets throughout his journey of simply living life. This is a noticeably artistically driven film which makes Chris' journey more intriguing for the viewer. Watching this, I was really attached to Chris' adventure, and it made me realize how much life there is to be breathed out in the wild, away from our technologically and money driven society. As he delves deeper and deeper towards his destination, you really start to appreciate the purpose of his journey and you realize that he's not crazy, but rather he just wants to live. Excellent cinematography. 4/5

Moving McAllister (2007)
A law intern must complete a special task for the boss of his firm in time before he must sit his bar exam, in which his life hangs in the balance over. I won't even bother explaining the rest because you would be wasting your own time reading this, let alone watching the movie. The movie went so slow, and there were many occasions where I'd be thinking to myself "where is this movie going?". Bad acting is the sole reason why I got bored with this movie, and because of it, I was unable to care about any of the characters. I kept persisting with the movie, trying as best as I could not to fast forward, but after watching the whole duration, I wished I hadn't watched this at all. The only possible way you could like this crap movie, is if you like crap movies. 1/5.

Next (2007)
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel
What we have here, in my opinion of course, is a great and original idea gone sideways because of a bad script. Next features Nicholas Cage as a Las Vegas magician born with the ability to see into the future and know all possible outcomes. The FBI wishes to utilize these abilities to prevent a nuclear terrorist attack. After watching the casino scene at the start with Cage evading casino security, I thought to myself, wow this movie is going to own. Sadly, this would be the last moment of satisfaction I'd take away from this movie. Throughout the movie I kept thinking to myself, how could a girl as hot as Jessica Biel's character be nice and attracted to a psycho-looking character as played by Nicholas Cage. Whatever, a movie is a movie. The villains in the movie weren't anywhere as near evil or menacing as they should be, which is the same drawback Quantam of Solace experienced. Towards the end I was so fed up, I didn't care whether the villains got their way or not. NEXT ! 2/5

Role Models (2008)
Cast: Paul Rudd, Sean William Scott
I love Paul Rudd. I don't know what it is about him, but I just love him. Ever since I saw him briefly as a guest on Friends, I've been a big fan of his. Putting my attraction to Mr. Rudd aside, Role Models is a hilarious film that looks at two male adults (Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott) who, after a series of offenses, must rack up 150 hours of community service by sitting out a Big Brother program. The film is more centered on Rudd's character as he tries to turn around his directionless life, and it is through his participation in the Big Brother program that allows him to do so. I don't want to try and make the film sound too serious, as it is a very entertaining film for the family and friends. 3/5

Sex Drive (2008)
Cast: Josh Zuckerman, Amanda Crew, Clark Duke, James Marsden
Finally, a movie I actually enjoyed and rarely paused. Not only was this movie funny, but it opened the door to some up and coming talents. The three main teens in this movie were all excellent in the movie, and while some of their roles were questionable in this movie, their performances really did make it an enjoyable watch for a teenager like myself. Before watching this, I had never seen or heard of the three main actors but they gave a great first impression. Even more better, the movie includes the sexy Katrina Bowden from the 30 Rock series. Something I still can't figure out is how a guy like Lance can be so likable as he seems to me in this movie. Putting my problems aside, this actually is a character driven movie. From the get-go, you think the movie is all about a guy meeting up with some girl from the internet, and then he gets laid, happy ending. Towards the end, you start to realize differently. There aren't many movies I've seen these holidays that I would get a second viewing from me, but this one definitely would. 4/5

The Hangover (2009)
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms
How this is up on IMDB's Top 250 movies as voted by users is beyond me. Don't let my harshness tell the story though. The Hangover is a somewhat entertaining film, but aside from the fresh cinematography and story, it really didn't do much for me. I still appreciate it for what it is though. A very generous 3/5

Transformers: Revenge of the something... (2009)
Cast: Shia Lebouf, Megan Fox
I didn't like the first Transformers. I didn't like this one. Boo me all you want. 2/5

The One With The Avoidable Embarrassment.

Short post tonight (this morning). On my way to work this yesterday morning, I received a phone call from my colleague asking me to pass by Coles to buy some much needed stock. Since I hadn't arrived at work yet, I was forced to use my own money. Since these purchases were for work, I would be able to claim my money back as long as I returned the receipt given to me from the purchase. After buying 20 bags of hamburger rolls at Coles whilst at the same time catching the attention of randoms because of my would be peculiar purchase, I quickly ran back to the car and continued driving to work in a hurry because I knew it would be busy.

To my relief, it was pretty quiet at work, so I calmly placed the stock I had purchased in their respectful shelfs. I then realized that I didn't have my receipt with me, meaning I wouldn't be able to claim my money back for buying items for work. At the time, I was thinking "I must have thrown the receipt in the bin !". Not wanting to be a victim of stupidity (which later on is unavoidable anyway), I quickly drove back to Coles. I then ran to the checkout girl whom had handled my purchase from before, kindly asking for a duplicate receipt. She said she wasn't sure if she could do such a thing, so she kindly asked her manager, but unfortunately for me, they could not give me a second receipt. Considering how broke I am at the moment, I made it my mission to look for the receipt. I needed that money back ! I was fairly certain I threw it in the bin after buying those buns (because I always throw receipts in the nearest bin after a purchase). Reluctantly I walked to the bin nearest and searched it's contents. I felt so desperate and low in front of these Kellyville bystanders. After failing to find the receipt, I continued on to the next 3 bins, searching them through its entirety. Again, I'm sure I must have caught the attention of people dining in at Gloria Jeans or Donut King. They must have been thinking "wtf is this guy doing".

I could see people observing me in my peripherals, and before I got any redder I put my head down and walked straight back to my car. It sucked knowing I wouldn't be able to get my money back, but I quickly got over it, because I know there's worser 'FML' situations out there. Anyways, when I returned to work, I grabbed a piece of chewing gum from my pocket (yes I chew gum even though you're not meant to), and at the same time I felt a thin piece of paper. Having the faintest hope of it being the receipt, I took this mysterious piece of folded paper out of my pocket. Turns out I had the receipt the whole time. Oh well, I got my money back. That's what matters.

The One With The Musical Interrogation.

Anyone remember Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64? One of the better games for the N64 and I think one of the innovators of what the FPS genre is today. Anyways, after a moment of pure boredom today, I decided to connect the N64 and play some 007. Now here's the funny thing. I only intended to play like two levels and then hopefully think of something else to do, but the controller didn't seem to want to leave my grasp, so instead I started a completely new file and knocked up around 4 hours of gameplay. I managed to unlock the Aztec level which you get my beating all levels on Secret Agent. I only need to beat 3 more levels to unlock the Egyptian level, but I don't think I'll be touching the game anymore.

Remember those cheats you can unlock by beating a level in a certain amount of time? I managed get most of them this time round, which I find amazing since I couldn't even come close to unlocking them when I used to whore this game more than a decade ago. The 'Invisibility' cheat was a pain to get but I got excited when I finally got it. Archives 00 Agent in 1:16 baby. Man I need to get out more. I NEED MONEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ONLY LIKE TEH BEST GAME EVER !!!!11111

Alright. Focusing more on the title of this blog, I decided to do one of those online quizzes because they're always fun and interesting to do. I completed a quiz based on Last.fm, which is a site that collects data on the music you listen and summarizes them into two tables. One table contains all the artists you listen to the most, and another table containing the songs you listen to the most. I really urge you to be cool like Adrian, Timothy and myself and create an account ! Here's my last.fm profile !

Below are my results

Top 10 Artists:

Name your top 10 artists on your Last.fm profile page.

1. Acceptance
2. A Day To Remember
   
3. Agalloch
4. akissforjersey
5. Drive Like Carson
   
6. Disfiguring The Goddess
   
7. A Day Away
8. Boyz II Men
9. Brain Drill
10. Last Winter
    

The Questions

Now answer the questions according to the numbers.

What was the first song you ever heard by #6 (Disfiguring The Goddess)?
It was 'Teeth Of Emultion' on their myspace. A very crushing, very brutal song that will tear your speakers apart. Listen with headphones and prepare to have your ears grinded.

What is your favorite album from #2 (A Day To Remember)?
At the moment, it's really difficult for me to determine my favorite album since I still consider myself a new fan, however if I had to decide, it would be 'Homesick' because it's the album that contains most of my favorite songs. Do check it out for fans of Pop Punk/Hardcore !

What is your favorite lyric that #5 (Drive Like Carson) has sung?

if i could only find a way
to save you from all your mistakes
numbed by my inability
to change your angle
"Drive Like Carson - Change Your Angle"

How many times have you seen #4 (akissforjersey) live?
So many times !!!

on youtube.

What is your favorite song by #7 (A Day Away)?
It's so hard to decide ! They honestly have so many great songs. At the moment, it would be 'Dressed To Thrill', however a song of theirs I've loved for a long time is 'Her And Me'.

What is a good memory you have involving the music of #10 (Last Winter)?
Misinterpretation of lyrics of the song 'Our Summer In Illinois' while listening to it on the train with Adrian. The intro goes "Have you seen the milky way from Illinois", but we thought it was "I've seen num num from Illinois". It honestly sounds like that.

Is there a song of #3 (Agalloch) that makes you sad?
Not at all. Their music is simply beautiful, but not beautiful in a way that it would warrant sad emotions.

What is your favorite lyric that #2 (A Day To Remember) has sung?

Definitely the chorus to "Colder than my heart, if you can imagine"

"Let's leave the light
I'm still singing "Whoa"
(Whoaa)
Don't say you won't let it go
'Cause you'll never know
(You'll never know)
I'm still singing "Whoa"
(Whoaa)
Don't say you won't let it go
'Cause you'll never know"

What is your favorite song by #9 (Brain Drill)?
Favorite song would have to be 'Forcefed Human Shit', both musically and lyrically. Obviously any person ignorant to death metal will assume this is just another song about the grotesque natures of humanity, but really, this song is about how the media force feeds us, the public, an endless amount of lies.

How did you get into #3 (Agalloch)?
I got into this fabulous band when I wanted to expand my musical tastes in the metal scene. After having countless death metal bands in my playlist, I decided to explore some Atmospheric stuff, and Agalloch seemed to be recommended by everyone in a certain forum. These guys make really beautiful music. I recommend 'The Hawthorne Passage'.

What was the first song you heard by #1 (Acceptance)?
'So Contagious' and they still are ever since Audrey introduced me to them.

What is your favorite song by #4 (akissforjersey)?
Definitely 'The Lungs That Impress Eternal'. That outro is just .. nice.

How many time have you seen #9 (Brain Drill) live?
Never!

What is a good memory you have involving #2 (A Day To Remember)?
Hearing 'You Had Me at Hello' for the first time and thinking, holy crap, why did Timothy or Adri not recommend me this song before.

Is there a song of #8 (Boys II Men) that makes you sad?
The entire 'II' album makes me sad because it reminds me of my childhood which sadly, is the period in my life that I've had the most fun. I'll seriously never have the same friends I had when I was a child.

What is your favorite album of #5 (Drive Like Carson)?
They only have one album called 'Livin Big' and it's splendid.

What is your favorite lyric that #3 (Agalloch) has sung?
I honestly don't know what the lyric means or symbolizes, but it gets me on every listen.

Here I gaze at a pantheon of oak, a citadel of stone
If this grand panorama before me is what you call God. . .
Then God is not dead
Agalloch, "In The Shadow of Our Pale Companion"

What is your favorite song of #1 (Acceptance)?
'Permanent' is my favorite. It just puts me in a happy mood every time I listen to it. If I were to listen to it on a rainy day, listening to it would make me think the sun was out.

What is your favorite song of #10 (Last Winter)?
"Chasing Lights".

How many times have you seen #8 (Boyz II Men) live?
Sadly never.

What is your favorite album of #1 (Acceptance)?
They only have on full length (Phantoms) , and it's the best. It's sad when great bands break up.

What is a great memory you have considering #9 (Brain Drill)?
Not a great memory, but the lead guitarist wrote up a blog on the band's myspace, explaining in graphic detail how they were on the road and got caught for possession of illegal substances, and how he had his "but cheeks spread apart" to be checked for possession of marijuana.

What was the first song you heard by #8 (Boyz II Men)?
It would have to be 'Jezzebel'. Just thinking about it makes me want to travel back and relive my childhood.

What is your favorite cover by #2 (A Day To Remember)?
I know they have covers, but I'm yet to hear them !