Sunday 11 October 2009

This is it... for now

As many of you will have noticed, I haven't posted anything for over a month now. This is not because of laziness or idleness but purely because I have had a very personal family bereavement.

I won't be naming the relation or how we were related, out of respect both for her and the family- the last thing they want is to stumble across this and find I've posted her name on such a public place.

Since then I have been trying to carry on as usual but after the bereavement and starting college, I've realised that I cannot possibly juggle work, college, and blogging as easily as I was able to before.

It is with a very heavy heart that I have decided not to continue posting on SB! (for the time being), I want you to understand the joy I have felt at being able to post my own views without fear of a backlash, the 'team building' articles (starting with Operation: Epic Article... and going all the way to simply four blogs of very differing opinions on the same thing).#

I do have such a passion for creative writing and I am really grateful to the blogger network for allowing ordinary people to steal the limelight from 'big-time' bloggers.

I'd also like to thank the other three members of The Phenomenal four for their support over the last 10 months (although more specifically the last month) Chris, Ross and Luke thank you so much guys you have no idea how much I really appreciate it!

It's not goodbye for ever, it's goodbye for now.

Thanks and take care,

Lee :-)

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Natural Selection favours the strong and the aggressive!

I feel I must take a leaf, or rather a petal, from The Confounder's book momentarily and vehemently apologise for my colossal paucity of posts lately, I honestly wish I could blame it on the fact that I was busy- however that would be a lie as I've just enjoyed my bed too much.

I feel that this is a good thing, because it has given me time to contemplate on what my passions are and, as I shall expand upon in this post, my absolute hatreds. Before I decided to go A.W.O.L I found I was either just posting randomly or posting my views on the p4's epic challenges, Surprisingly Bewildered had lost it's core values- it had become more of an extended page for the p4, there was no originality.

Admittedly this was my own fault, because I could not find the time to sit and think about good things to post, so I just posted to remain active and up to date.

I am back, but more importantly SB! is back to its good old self, back to the golden age of blogging!

I digress, the real reason I am posting today is because on my last driving lesson, myself and Blake were having our usual rantings at the problems with this country and we actually agreed on something!

We both feel that the chav race is growing at an alarming rate and something desperately needs to be done about it.

It has been concluded that the best way to cull pigeons is to set up feeding grounds for the pigeons to feed in, then when the pigeons lay their eggs, the eggs are taken and destroyed.

Using this logic then it should be easy to set up similar grounds for chavs- wkd stalls, free burberry stands are among some of my suggestions. Then when the chav girl and boys decide to become teenage parents, simply take the newborn child and give it to a more deserving family who won't call it something like Shaniqua or Sambuca.

Now before any human rights activist out there decide that this is a inhumane suggestion, just consider this....

First of all, they are chavs and therefore not actually human so human rights do not apply.
Secondly, do you really want a world full of Shaniqua's or Cookie's?
Finally, Charles Darwin's view of natural selection was hailed as a success, albeit shrouded in controversy, so surely this is just the modern world's version of natural selection...

No doubt I'll get some form of unintelligent dribble from any chavs who decide to read this, as the entire chav population collectively share 3 GCSE's in Construction they really should find a forum on the Internet where they can share their moronic gibber-jabber and leave the intelligent people in peace.

Friday 17 July 2009

“The men and women of Afghanistan are building a nation that is free, and proud, and fighting terror - and America is honored to be their friend.”


What a brilliant quote from a ridiculous liberal...

However to get to the point at hand...

Luke over at 'An Organised Mess' has come up with an awesome challenge for the p4 team.

Given the recent deaths in the Uk and Us' assault on Afghanistan (8 UK deaths in 24 hours!) I felt I should really brush up on my knowledge of this topic.

My original instinct is to pull the troops straight out of Afghanistan, however this seems to be an act of surrender on our parts. When I continue to delve into this subject I found out that since we've been trying to restore democracy to this desolate wasteland, there have been almost 179 British deaths alone- this doesn't even account for the scores of fatalities this has caused.

So, to my second thought if we were to pull out of Afghanistan then there are a number of negative points which I should consider.

Take for instance, we do pull out, then surely the 178 deaths are in vain. If we really are there to restore democracy, then pulling out when we encounter problems seems to undermine the reasons those brave heroes went to war for.

Now I have no doubts than many will strongly disagree with the above, but that's the whole idea of opinions, we have the right to express our views.



Now I do agree that as per, Gordon Brown is being a typical bumbling wanker in refusing to send more vehicles equipt to deal with IED's and helicopters to provide the troops with easier transport to the strongholds those murderers hold.

I'm not suggesting that when the public make the epic mistake of electing Cameron into power that it'll all be solved because as much as he has promised, we all know that any politician never keeps there promises. (I'd vote Tory if I didn't think Cameron was such a tosser- UKIP all the way!)

However, I do feel that someone needs to step up to the mark and help those heroes (and there's no denying that they are), because if it wasn't for them, I guarantee that we'd be experiencing more terrorist attacks than we are.

If the labour government are happy to pay £6 million per hour to stay in the EU, then surely they can fund the necessary adequate equipment needed to help our troops...

Thursday 2 July 2009

"Madder than a bag full of actresses. And even more desirable!"


If I had to explain to you exactly what an orgasm would look like. If I had to paint perfection. If I had to sacrifice seventeen Lebanese prostitutes to afford one then I know what I'd choose...












If a 3.6l engine and 415 horsepower doesn't impress you then I should probably tell you that it also sports a six cylinder engine. This enables the porsche to have a low centre of gravity- which allows it to roar around any track.

The engine of the GT3 sets it apart from the other models although it shares the same basic 3.6 litre displacement of the standard 996 type so-called "integrated dry-sump" flat-six engine. It is actually based on the original 911's versatile, true dry-sump crankcase. The original version of the GT3 had 355 hp, compared to the 296 hp of the regular 996.

This engine gives the GT3 a distinct racing heritage that dates back to the Porsche 904/6 of the mid-60's, up to the Carrera Cup and 997 Super Cup and RSR racing cars of today.

The GT3's gearbox has interchangeable gear ratios and is more durable making it more suitable for racing than the standard 996 type 911 gearbox.

At 435 hp the 3.8 litre flat-six engine in the 997 GT3 and GT3 RS is the most powerful naturally aspirated six cylinder engine in any production car.


It really does just scream "POWER!"

And it doesn't stop there...



With more buttons on the dashboard that on a rather larger woman's blouse it'll keep those of us who are easily distracted amused for several hours, whilst at the same time offering a great stress relief for bumbling oafs like Gordon Brown. "Me angry, me push buttons fix country.... Gordon happy..." you get the general idea...


Now for the good stuff (courtesy of Top Gear- although this is referencing the GT2 :-( )

Overall Verdict...
The wildest, fastest 911 around – rear-engined, rear wheel drive and 523bhp of turbocharged silliness. See why they call it the widowmaker? We’d still take the GT3 instead though.

Comfort...

For something that’ll keep pace with a Ferrari 430 Scud on just about any road, it’s not half bad even over dodgy road surfaces. That said, it’s not exactly what you’d call a comfortable car to drive. And then there’s always the lurking suspicion that it Actually Wants To Kill You.

11 out of 20






Performance...

Jaw-dropping. A reworked version of the Turbo’s 3.6-litre sees a frankly insane 523bhp and 502lb ft of torque. That’s good for 0-62 in 3.6 seconds, 0-100mph in 7.4 seconds and a top speed on the scary side of 200mph. In a drag race, it’ll eat the Nissan GT-R for breakfast. And then come back for elevenses.

20 out of 20






Coolness...

Instantly marks you out as a tosser. But the sort of tosser who’s happy to die in hideous and immediate fashion. Which, we think you’ll agree, is the most likeable sort of tosser

15 out of 20




Handling...

The 911 is an icon of impracticality; the car the divorcee buys when he no longer has the kids to worry about. There’s a roll cage behind the front seats. What more do you need to know?

11 out of 20




Top Gear Top Tip...
Unless you really, really have to have the ultimate Porsche, save yourself 50 grand and go for the GT3. It’s just slightly more pure…

Now it's time to put it in the hands of our rather tame racing driver...

Some say that he actually choreographed the entire Thriller music video whilst waiting for his McMuffin, others that if you met him in a bar he'd be sat in the corner drinking Pimms out of a woman's boot...

All we know is he's called 'The Stig'...

On the power lap it scored a rather arousing 1.22.3!

II couldn't find The Stig's verdict so I'll do this myself!

"One word, AWESOME!"

For the win :-D


Sunday 21 June 2009

SB!'s Top 25...

The following are my top 25 (in order) songs ever. You will see the number it ranks in SB's chart, song title then the category it is placed in.

Under the happy category there are;
1. All Night Long - Lionel Richie - I defy any of you to not appreciate him!
2. Superman- Lazlo Bane - This is always guaranteed to cheer me up!
3. Cat Scratch Fever- Motorhead - maybe it's just my man-crush on Lemmy, but this is one of the happiest songs ever!
4. ZZ Top- Legs- Just for the lyrics :p
5. Warrior's Dance- The prodigy

Sad are as follows;
1. Everybody Hurts - R.E.M - Obvious really
2. Life for Rent- Dido- Maybe I'm just strange but this always gets me...
3. Hello- Lionel Richie - The lyrics, I defy to now feel an emotion!
4. Man who sold the World - Various, although this is the Nirvana one beautiful lyrics.
5. Stole- Kelly Rowland, the lyrics. It's all about a wasted life :-(

Love consists of;
1. Smack My Bitch Up- Prodigy, possibly the most romantic set of lyrics I have ever heard!
2. You Give Love A Bad Name- Bon Jovi, I am a huge fan of Bon Jovi and if this isn't a love song then I don't know what is...
3. Dancing on The Ceiling - Lionel, had to get one in this section as well.
4. Love is all Around - Wet, Wet, Wet. Very clichéd but appropriate.
5. Love Me Forever- Motorhead -for the win!

Guilty Pleasures...
1. 99 Red Balloons- Nena- look out for the Nine Lives cover!
2. Land Down Under- Men at Work - ignoring all the innuendos though!
3. Everytime- Britney Spears, let's face it, it was inevitable.
4. Bring Me To Life- Evanescence
5. Flying The Flag- Scooch- for lulz!

Summer Songs...
1. Summertime- Dj Jazzy Jeff, The Fresh Prince
2. Mr Vain- Culture Beat
3. Propane Nightmares- Pendulum
4. Pick of Destiny - Tenacious D
5. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams

I'd offer an explanation but top gear is on!

:-D

Saturday 20 June 2009

It's been a while!

Hello out there to all of you SB! fans (yes all 2 of you), it has been an epically long time since I last post purely because the British government feel the need to exam the shit out of us, causining unnecessary amounts of both stress and boredom (and that's just revision).

Because of this, you have missed my rants on recent current events, but these will follow shortly (I promise)!

However I have got some new stuff in the works, so keep checking back for updates - I've got a mammoth amount of free time so I'll endeavour to post new posts on a daily basis.

I did, however, think of a good way to get the P4 universe back into action. I feel that "epic article number..." is growing very tedious now, so I have put great thinking into this and have come up with...

The P4 top 100 songs ever (I propose that each of us take 25 songs - 4 of us doing 25 songs gives us a nice round 100).

I think if we try to have this in action by Thursday if gives us five days to achieve this.

It's good to be back...
Lee :-D

Wednesday 27 May 2009

The SB! Guide to... well life!

First of all I must apologise for my horrific lack of posts lately, how I had the hubris to neglect the blog is unforgivable. However I thought I would take the opportunity to offer "Perry's perspective" (yes I know my name isn't Perry, but I wanted to throw a scrubs quote in there) and give you the Surprisingly Bewildered guide to life.


Regarding Life...
"the only way to be respected as a doctor and a man is to be an island, you are born alone, you damn sure die alone. isn't that right spike? the point is, and you might want to jot this down, only the weak need help" - Dr Perry Cox.

A truer word has never been spoken, man fends for himself. It is when people decide to blur the lines and interfere with other people's business (regardless of whether they need it or not) that causes conflict and tension.

Surely if man was left to fend for himself this world would be a better place? Obviously this isn't always the case and there is sometimes a need to blur the lines. However, I would prefer it if I was left to my own devices and able to do whatever I want.

Why do we feel that we need to help those who aren't actually in need, why do we waste thousands of tax payers money on council estates , supporting chavs who don't want our help and will happily 'shank' you for the aforementioned money.


Regarding Politics...
"Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong." ~Richard Armour

It's no secret that I am very right wing, I would happily be the one who refuses entry to the UK to anyone who tries to enter on the back of a lorry. There's all this talk about 'their' civil liberty, but no talk about our own. We're happy to exploit our own kind just so we look good to the rest of the world. We'll happily be Europe, nay, the rest of the world's doormat to prove how loving Britain truly is.

For too long now people have been avoiding comments like the above because of fear of the backlash they will receive. Why does this great nation happily buckle under the pressure of Europe, to show how equal and liberal we are?

Did you know it costs the UK more than six million pounds PER HOUR to be part of the EU! Why are we happily paying this much to be part of the 'cool' gang? Or perhaps we're afraid of being isolated from the rest of the world. This nation used to rule the world at one point, we went from being the 'Alpha-male' to becoming the herd of sheep we now know as Great Britain!

It's time for a change!

"Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. "

Sunday 10 May 2009

I'm back and better than ever, got a knack for making things better...

Well I can safely say that the whole internet kerfuffle is behind us!

New post to come soon...

In the meantime check out the new features on the page!

Much love,

Lee @ SB!

Thursday 16 April 2009

The sky's the limit- but BT are whores!

I must apologise for my epic lack of posts lately but BT have decided to stop providing us with a phone line for no reason, so whilst this matter is being resolved - my posts will be infrequent if at all.

Sorry and much love,

Lee @ SB :-D

Friday 3 April 2009

New Look!

Right I have decided to use the changing season to give SB a fresh new look. One of the ways I hope to achieve this is by going.....

HD!

Now as most of us don't have HD screens, you won't notice much of a change apart from it looking different!

Now with a fresh look comes fresh content, and I have decided to include current events in my posts (that aren't specifically linked with media or philosophy)!

As well as this, you may have noticed a new recruit has joined SB. After the rather untimely, and unfortunate death of Barry, there has been a void here at SB and hopefully the SGT. Squirrel will sort thing out!

:-)))

Friday 27 March 2009

Liberal Misinformation

Now as there seems to be be some sort of scheduling problem with my 'Greatest Man Alive' post (and it seems to have disappeared into thin air) I'll repost that later.

But as I have a spare few minutes before I conform to the educational systems demands, I feel a need to vent my frustration at the new 'Anti-terrorism adverts' that have been thrown all over the UK.


-This is an older one, but the message is still the same. Silly Liberals creating unnecessary panic to people who will actually believe that a terrorist lives next door to them.
The newer adverts talk about home-made bombs etc. and how "A bin full of rubbish wont make a bomb because a neighbour reported it.
In the kind of society we live in, it is inevitable that someone will report something suspicious. I guarantee that some über liberal neighbour will report the fact that Gary at number 42 has been in his house for four days which 'is suspicious'. Or that a quarraling neighbour will use this as a means to get back at the other one for a minor offence.
Or Council Estate Scum!!!
Now instead of scaring the dim-wits into thinking everyone is a terrorist, those in charge should really pull their fingers out of each others arses and think of better methods to counter terrorism.
I don't have any solutions, but a dodo could think of more effective ways of dealing with terrorists.

Friday 20 March 2009

That'll be £2.000 for a pint of Bulmers please....

Firstly I apologise for my epic lack of content as of late, but coursework has got the better of me...

Now as many of you are probably aware, The Uk's top medical advisor has revealed plans to introduce a minimum alcohol price, in an effort to curb binge drinking and the misuse of alcohol.

Sir Liam Donaldson's ridiculous plan is to ensure that no drinks can be sold for less than 50p per unit, which in context would mean that it would be at least a fiver for my favourite brand of cider. This enrages me greatly...

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We have not ruled out taking action on very cheap alcohol - it's clearly linked to people drinking more and the subsequent harm to their health." She said more work needed to be done to make sure action was "appropriate, fair and effective" but decisions would take the "wider economic impact during this difficult time" into account.

I said "Shut up you fat cats and allow me to drink Bulmers this summer for it's usual appropriate price (about £2.50 per bottle)"

No matter how expensive you make alcohol, it will not deter any little chavs from mugging a poor old woman to fund their wkd addiction, whilst getting their deranged Uncle Bob to go and buy them a pack of 20 fags for an evening of anti-social bliss!

For once Gordon Brown may actually do the right thing and veteo this idea; just goes to show you that wonders never fail to happen.

Thanks to Barry for supervising SB whilst I was away!

:-)

Saturday 7 March 2009

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World...


Firstly I must apologise for my epic lateness of this post, but other commitments have meant that I've been delayed.

Now prepare to be converted...

NBC's 'Heroes', which is currently in it's fourth season, is a drama set around the lives of an array of inter-linking characters who discover they have supernatural abilities. Now before you cast this off as yet another spin-off, the interesting factor that makes Heroes stand out is that it doesn't just focus on the good guys.

Season One consisted of 23 episodes and consisted of Volume One in the Heroes saga (more commonly known as 'Genesis'). The volume begins as a seemingly ordinary group of people gradually become aware that they have special abilities. Events illustrate their reactions to these powers, and how the discovery affects their personal and professional lives. At the same time, several ordinary individuals are investigating the origins and extent of these abilities (most notably Mohinder Suresh, who later injects himself with a serum which gives him special abilities.

Suresh, a geneticist, continues his late father's research into the biological source of the change, while Noah Bennett represents a secret organization known only as 'The Company'. While coping with these new abilities, each of the characters is drawn, willingly or unwillingly, into the Company's conspiracy to control super powered people and into a race to stop an explosion from destroying New York City.

In Season One we are introduced to a hero named Peter Petrelli, who has the ability to absorb the ability of another hero within a short proximity of him.

- This is Peter Petrelli


- This is pretty much what his power is -a sponge absorbs lol :-)




Season One had the tag line, "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World", this was all
centred around the gorgeous Claire Bennett (pictured to the left), who has the ability to heal after an injury (this ability is also known as rapid-cellular fusion).

With Claire thought to be the only one who could stop the impending peril of New York City, many of the heroes tried to save her. These included ex-cop Matt Parkman (who can read people's minds) and Hiro Nakamora (Space-time manipulation [allowing teleportation and time manipulation]).

After the success of Season One, NBC commissioned another Season of Heroes. Season Two
featured 11 out of a planned 24 episodes which aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm in the United States beginning on September 24, 2007. Only 11 out of the planned 24 episodes were made because of American Writer's strikes. Season two consisted of the second volume in the series, titled "Generations". Season two ended with its finale on December 3, 2007. Volume two begins four months after the events of Kirby Plaza. The main plot arc of "Generations" deals with the Company and its research on the 'Shanti Virus'.

This research is explored through the Company's founders, whose identities are revealed, as well as through the effects of various strains of the virus. The "heroes" ultimately come together in an attempt to stop the release of a deadly strain of the virus and avert a global pandemic.

Season 2 was originally going to consist of three volumes; however, because of the aforementioned strikes, the season was redesigned to only encompass one volume called "Generations". Originally Volume 3 was going to be called "Exodus", and Volume 4 was going to be called "Villains". As a result of the strike, Volume 3 was changed to "Villains" and moved into season three. The "Exodus" story arc, which was originally designed to be a story arc reflecting the effects of the release of strain 138 of the Shanti virus, was canceled. Scenes from the volume two finale 'Powerless' were re shot to reflect the cancellation of the "Exodus" volume, and to tie-up all the loose plot story lines of "Generations."

Season Three opened with two one-hour episodes, airing on Monday, September 22, 2008 in the United States. The premiere of the third volume, "Villains", was preceded by a one-hour broadcast of the red carpet premiere, with clips from the past seasons and previews of the upcoming season, along with interviews with the series cast and crew.

Volume Three began with the assassination attempt on Nathan Petrelli and the consequences it has in the future. In addition, several villains escape from the confines of Level 5, and the Company attempts to recapture them. Arthur Petrelli heals from systemic nerve damage with the help of Adam Monroe's healing abilities and eventually gains a few of the villains, while later luring in Suresh, Nathan, Tracy Strauss , Elle Bishop (who is also quite gorgeous, and Sylar.

Their objective is to create a formula to give people abilities but after many failures they soon realize they need to find the catalyst. Claire and elementary-challenged Hiro go back in time with Hiro being given the catalyst by his mother. This is short-lived when Arthur intervenes and grabs the catalyst. Afterwards, Peter and 'The Haitian' face off Arthur at Pinehearst where they fight for control of the formula. In the end, Arthur is shot dead by Peter's bullet through Sylar's telekinesis ability, saying he is the killer not Peter. Peter injects himself with the formula in order to save Nathan, who was on his fathers side. Ando is given the ability to charge other peoples abilities (which helped him grab Hiro from the past with the help of Daphne's super-speed ability); Claire, Noal Bennett and Angela Petrelli fight off Sylar at Primatech in which Meredith's ability goes awry burning the building to the ground with Sylar presumably dead.

The lead-in to "Villains" showed Sylar regaining his lost powers, shown as the final scene of the "Generations" finale. Tim Kring said that the new volume would bring a cadre of villains to the show, hence the title. At the San Diego Comic-Con 2008 Kring screened the first part of the season opening episode of the "Villains" arc, entitled "The Second Coming", which was shown in its entirety at Comic-Con and received a positive response from fans. Despite the success of the first two seasons, Villains received steadily declining ratings and less positive reviews.

Volume Four begins with Nathan Petrelli telling the president about the existence of individuals who possess superhuman abilities. The president authorizes Nathan to capture heroes, and the majority of the main characters are rounded up, with the exception of Sylar who escapes Nathan's agents while attempting to locate his biological father.

The name of Volume Four was revealed by Tim Kring in 2008. "Fugitives" will make up the last 12 episodes of Season 3 and air from February 2 to April 20, 2009.

Tim Molloy has reported that Heroes will return to its roots with "Fugitives" in an effort to attract new viewers and regain those who gave up on the show due to too many characters and plot lines. Tim Kring had said in a statement: "This volume starts us pretty much from scratch. There is almost nothing that the audience needs to know from the previous volume in order to follow the storyline."

Angela Bromstead had expressed her concern about whether the producers had strayed too far from its original focus: "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities," saying "They may have taken on too much in terms of characters and multiple story lines." The "Fugitives" story begins with the heroes trying to lead normal lives, until Claire discovers Nathan's plot to hunt down and capture everyone with abilities, while Sylar begins searching for his biological parents.

Sylar is definitely the main villain of the show, with his ability to steal another heroes ability (using his mind to open up their forehead and remove their scalp).

-(the actor who plays Sylar is to play Spock in the new Star Trek movie).





Still... he's no Jack Bauer!

Monday 2 March 2009

Bow down to the, Bow down to the Kings...


It takes a certain something to keep a band going, it takes even more of this to keep a band together for 34 years (and yes I know members have come and gone over the years, but the original member is still going and going strong).

I am of course talking about one of the greatest bands to have ever walked the face of the earth, the band that hates being stereotyped as "Heavy", "Speed" or "Thrash" metal- instead favouring the classification of simply 'rock 'n' roll'!

Fronted for the last 34 years by one of the greatest bass players in the world, Motörhead have enjoyed so much success since Lemmy decided to from the band in 1975; branching out from London until they reached worldwide recognition.

Motörhead's approach has remained the same over the band's career, preferring to play what they enjoy and do best; their appreciation of early rock and roll is reflected in some of their occasional cover songs. Motörhead's lyrics typically cover such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse and "life on the road."

So where did it all begin?
After he was sacked from 'Hawkwind' for being too hardcore with his drug taking, Lemmy Kilmister had the original idea to form a band under the name "Bastard". However after being told that it would be unlikely that Top of the Pops would allow a band with that name to perform, Lemmy decided on Motörhead. Which was inspired from the last song he wrote for Hawkwind, and also a slang term for a user of the drug Speed.

Lemmy's stated aim was for the outfit to be, "the dirtiest rock n' roll band in the world" and that, "if Motörhead moved in next to you, your lawn would die."

The original line up featured Larry Wallis on electric guitar, Lucas Fox on drums and Lemmy on bass. After several gigs with Lucas Fox, he was found to have become unreliable and was soon replaced by Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. The decision was then made to have two lead guitarists, and as a result "Fast" Eddie Clarke was recruited. However, Wallis quit during the auditions and the double-lead idea was dropped. Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor are today regarded as 'Classic Motörhead'.

Initial reactions to the band were very negative, with them 'winning' a poll for "The Best Worst Band in the World" and after two years both Clarke and Taylor wanted to quit the band, and the decision was made to perform a farewell show in London.

However, an acquaintance of Lemmy's, Ted Carroll was asked to bring a mobile studio to their farewell gig so they could record it for posterity. Carroll was unable to bring the studio to the concert. However, they were offered a saving grace. Carroll offered them two days at Escape Studios to record a single. The band took the chance, but instead of recording a single, they recorded eleven unfinished tracks. Carroll offered them a few more days to finish the vocals and the band completed thirteen tracks for release as an album. In June they toured with Hawkwind and in late July began their 'Beyond the Threshold of Pain' tour.

Their rise to success began when they used eight of their recorded tracks, releasing their first album (entitled Motörhead, which reached number 43 in the UK Album Chart). This lead to them beginning to garner a following from metal and punk enthusiasts.

They had their first appearance on BBC's Top of the Pops with their single 'Louie Louie'. After several other singles and a tour, the band returned to the studios, releasing four tracks as 'Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers'.

The band's most memorable song (which propelled them into the mainstream limelight) was 'Ace of Spades'. The single reached number 15 and the album reached number 4 in the charts. The band made two appearances on Top of the Pops in the October of 2008 with 'Ace of Spades'. The band also made an appearance on popular 80's children's TV programme 'Tiswas'. And the single "put a choke on the English music charts and proved to all that a band could succeed without sacrificing its blunt power and speed."

Clarke left the band in May 1982, because he felt that recording a cover of 'Stand by Your Man' compromised the band's principles, after leaving he formed his own band 'Fastway.' Lemmy and Taylor hunted desperately to find a new guitarist, including a plea to Thin Lizzy's Brian Robertson, (who agreed to help out, signing up to a one-album deal resulting in 1983 with the album 'Another Perfect Day').

Robertson's attire of shorts and ballet shoes caused friction within the band. This along with Robertson's refusal to go back to the 'good old' standards led to an amicable departure from the band.

The group then returned to the concept of having a dual-lead and unknowns Wurzel and Phil Campbell. The four re-recorded Ace of Spades for TV.

Taylor left the band following the recording, which caused Lemmy to ask "Did I leave them or did they leave me?"

The band continued through the late 80's with Taylor until 1992 when he played his very last gig with the band. Lemmy later whipped up Mikkey Dee, and the band recorded 'Hellraiser' and went on tour with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne.

Wurzel would later leave the band in the mid-90's and the band have continued touring and recording with the power trio of Lemmy, Mikkey and Campbell.

Though the band are typically classified as heavy metal or speed metal, Lemmy has stated that he never considered Motörhead a metal band. When asked if he has a problem with Motörhead being called a metal band, he replied: "I do because I come from way before Metal. I’m playing Rock n’ Roll and I think Rock n’ Roll should be sacred – it is to me. I don’t see why it should not be for everybody else."

The band have enjoyed success with the WWE, with top superstars such as Triple H being a huge fan of the band- who have recorded entrance music for HHH and his (now-defunct) faction Evolution.

34 years and still going strong...

Now I put it to all of you 'Jizzy Tissues' out there who aspire to be like Busta Rhymes or Dizzy Rascal to try to match what Motörhead have accomplished. I urge you to try and cover one of the greatest songs of all times and actually make it a credible song.

Whilst all of you chat about 'popping caps in each others asses', 'slapping your bitch up' or 'chilling in your childhood bed' (crib), Motörhead's lyrics, much like Muse's, actually have depth to them. Whilst all of you Dizzy Rascals out there and dancing 'Wiv Me', Motörhead, or more importantly Lemmy (who has the best voice in the world) are singing songs with depths; such as the abuse of power in 'Ace of Spades'. The only abuse Busta raps about is probably illegal in pretty much most of the world.

"The pleasure is to play, it makes no difference what you say
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The Ace Of Spades"

compare that to one of Busta's lyrics...

"A yo, we ain't familiar at all nigga
Don't like, go grab your gat and lets brawl at hall nigga
Straight fallin
".

I know who I'd rather listen too...

(n.b, It's not Busta or Dizzy...)

(sorry about the changes today :-)

Thursday 26 February 2009

I thought the topic was sport...

Yes I know I'm a little late to be posting my counter-argument to the recent p4 sports posts but this is completely relevant

Please forgive my ignorance, but I did believe that the recent P4 post was about sport, and yes whilst wrestling is scripted- the athletes are actually moving about and partaking in some form of sporting activity, whilst cricket is boring- the players do actually move about and sweat, and American football- is pretty much the same.

Which brings me to question the recent claim by Luke over at a.o.m, who claimed (rather blasphemously) that sitting on your arse in a glorified glider is a sport. The only exercise you get is from moving your wrists from left to right.

From what I could grasp from this 'pass-time' (for want of words) is that you have to complete a course in the fastest times, whilst releasing colourful shit from the rear of the glider.

How anyone can find this entertaining is beyond me, and I guarantee you that had this not have had sponsorship from a big company, then it would probably still be out of mainstream public limelight.

I mean at least in the other three sports there is excitement, I would start to watch if more participants began crashing and burning. At least there's fireworks in wrestling and American Can't use my feet so I'll use anything else ball. And I'm sure there's an entertaining side to cricket (I hope).

I mean I found Lab Rats more entertaining than this sport, and if I completely honest, I'd rather watch a Russian prostitute pleasuring herself whilst washing her armpits with olive oil.

Or just watch paint dry...........

Sunday 22 February 2009

It's the macho man's soap opera!








































I am of course talking about the great entity that is sports entertainment.

I mean where else can you find a programme(s) that combines superbly written story-lines with death-defying moves (such as the chokeslam, moonsault or the pedigree). Where else would you find world-wide fan clubs, regular selling-out crowds and three world championships?

I am of course talking about the World Wrestling Entertainment industry.

It caters for everyone, with RAW talent, high-flying extremists over at ECW and see people laying the SmackDown!

It's hard not to be a fan.

There are also annual pay-per-view events which air monthly, with the 'wrestling year' ending on the grandest stage of the all 'Wrestlemania'.

All this is accompanied by hilarious, and often side-splitting commentary teams, be it 'Good Old' J.R and Tazz on SmackDown!, Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Michael Cole on RAW, and Todd Grisham and Matt Strikier over at ECW.

The Championships
WWE Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
ECW Championship
Intercontinental Championship
United States Championship
World Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
Women's Championship
Diva's Championship.

Headed by the McMahon family (my favourite being Stephanie) there is always no shortage of drama whilst there around.

And of course, there is the Divas... wwe.com/divas pick your favourite.

There is of course the need to mention the match types for which all of this explosive action takes place, from the traditional singles matches, to the more extravagant (and injury prone) 'Hell in a Cell' matches. From tag-team match-ups, to the 'Elimination Chamber'. From Triple-threat matches, to the 'Royal Rumble' (30 superstars battling it out to be the winner- earning a chance to challenge for a championship at Wrestlemania!)

Now the confusing bit, the reason for why there are three different shows. During the attitude era (and indeed whilst they were known as the WWF- the lost out to the World Wildlife Fund) the company competed with another wrestling company, known as WCW (World Championship Wrestling) for television. When WCW went bust, WWE were allowed to acquire WCW and ending the Monday Night Wars.
In a bid to keep the rating wars going they decided to split the flagship shows RAW and SmackDown! into two separate brands competing against each other for ratings. When WWE acquired ECW they added that as a programme to 'shake things up a bit!'. Each show is headed by a General Manager (a supervisor in effect), who endeavours to ensure their show coming out on top. The current GM's are;
RAW: Stephanie McMahon
SmackDown!: Vickie Guerrero
ECW: Theodore 'Teddy' Long

Another feature which has been added to the mix-up over the past few years is that of the WWE Draft, where every single superstar, general manager, commentator or indeed ring announcer, is eligible to be drafted to one of the opposing shows. Some of the most historic draft picks from years gone by include; Triple H and J.R moving to SmackDown!, Kane and Michael Cole moving to RAW and Matt Hardy moving to ECW.

There are of course, as with most sports, Legends in this business. My favourite being the soon to be inducted Hall of Famer, Stone Cold Steve Austin . The man who revolutionised the stunner, the man who flipped 'the bird' more times than Hitler's salute.
This legend, a hero had the balls to 'cross the boss', and came out on top! He has held a world title longer than Gravity's hold on a very fat man. He is still the only man to have stunned every member of the McMahon family-and get away with it!

Whilst there may be sceptics out there who , just because it's fake, refuse to watch it, and those who just make "gay" jokes as a reason to not watch it. This is a real sport. The WWE superstars don't need 6 months to recover after Wrestlemania! They are in action for 52 weeks a year.


Now whilst wrestling maybe be fake, you can guarantee it is; more exciting then Cricket, has more contact than American Football and you can guarantee you won't strain your neck like you would with Air Racing.

"And that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!"

Wednesday 18 February 2009

BIG UPDATE!

I decided to change my name because I feel that 'Surprisingly Bewildered' allows me to be more creative- and is more attention grabbing than simply 'Lee'.
Also, you should check out thephenomenalfour.blogspot.com for like-minded thoughts!

Thanks,
Lee @ Surprisingly Bewildered.

Sunday 15 February 2009

Manuel Labour

No the above is not a typo... I do in fact mean Manuel,not manual, labour.

I am quite with my colleague over at p.d with this post, I do feel manual labour is a dead profession. Whilst I myself am a cleaner, this is obviously not my profession of choice, I didn't come out of the womb carrying a mop and a bucket. No! I am merely a cleaner becuase unfortunately they don't pay people to sit around drinking alcohol and complaining about the world (oh wait, The daily Telegraph exists...).

Also the money's not that bad...

On a serious note though, the manual labour industry is a dead business (well to British people), purely because we are prepared to do it, but we want a decent wage from it, whereas since we foolishly joined the EU, europeans seeking work are prepared to work for beans (not literally, of course - although the idea is quite funny).

Britain's biggest mistake was joining the European Union, because we lost our independance. We ruled the world at one point, we fought the Germans for freedom; and now we're being ruled by them (Europe that is).

Just to clarify though, I am not a supporter of the British National Party, as I am a strong Tory supporter, I just feel that during tough economic times like these, we need to look after 'our own' first.

Best plan of action
Leave Europe, becoming independant once more
Get the Tories in power
Sort the economy out
Sit around watching my amazing plan coming to fruition.

If all else fails, mock Brown and his blindness.

We can all have dreams can't we?..........

Saturday 14 February 2009

I have a dream...

Sorry to disappoint any MLK fans out there, but this post has nothing to with the great man's inspirational speach. However, it is a refreshing break to all the talk from colleagues at the newly renamed 'Phenomenol Four', who all seem to bash love or religion (although I do condone this talk).

I find it quite interesting that we all have had rather weird dreams in our lives, a dream I had the other day is included in this list (farmers in a school, and no it wasn't a sex dream!).

However, the factor I find most amazing is that dreams don't actually last the whole night, they last only a few minutes. And you can only remember dreams which occur through the state of 'rapid-eye movement, Rapid eye movement sleep sleep is the portion of sleep when there are rapid eye movements (REMs- pretty self-explanitory really! Dreams occur during REM sleep.

According to http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8681, We typically have 3 to 5 periods of REM sleep per night. They occur at intervals of 1-2 hours and are quite variable in length. An episode of REM sleep may last 5 minutes or over an hour. About 20% of sleep is REM sleep. If you sleep 7-8 hours a night, perhaps an hour and half of that time, 90 minutes, is REM sleep.

Now some of you may be thinking, "Hey Lee, you've had quite enough to drink now!" (I haven't had any...), but it is quite interesting to learn that episodes that seem to last all night, are no more that a few minutes in length.

Let me know your thoughts...

Lee :-D

Saturday 7 February 2009

The final nail in the proverbial coffin...

Now, I consider myself a pretty calm natured person, who lets a lot of things slide under the rug. However I feel that people's ability to complain is now being abused. No doubt President Obama will probably send the secret service to kill me for this blog, but I think people are abusing the first amendment (or as it's more commonly known; freedom of speech).

Take the whole 'Sachsgate' scandal, when the programme was first broadcast there were no more than 30 complaints recieved. However when the tabloids decided to run a campaign to get Brand and Ross off the air, there was a mass public uproar, condemning the aforementioned for their actions.

I may sound slightly pedantic in my views, but surely it was the editors fault. As the programme was pre-recorded, one would expect the beeb to edit out the offensive parts, thus enhancing their 'squeaky-clean' persona. As this
vital editing did not take place, then you cannot accuse the two presenters for this 'scandal'.

Had the tabloids realised this, then 30,000 sheep would have not complained. I bet my bottom dollar that none of the 29,700 people actually listened to the programme. If they had a spine, then they would be able to make their own decisions, rather than following like sheep and listening to liberal media!

And the recent media uproar regarding Jeremy Clarkson's rather apt description of Gordon Brown, made funnier by the fact that another Scot named Gordon condemned him.

Top tip -
STOP COMPLAINING!

Tuesday 3 February 2009

What in the name of Jebediah?

Forgive me if I am mistaken, but the last time I checked, we are in a recession. So why on earth do Channel 4 (who are already in financial difficulties) decide to broadcast possibly one of the biggest wastes of both airtime, and money.

I am of course talking about the programme "Girls and Boys Alone", not since the 'programme' Lab Rats, have I seen a bigger pile of virtual shit on television.

The programme follows two groups, one with ten boys, and one with ten girls. Who live in separate villages about a mile from each other, with each village having three separate houses for accommodation.

The boys just seem to want to play with water, living off pot noodles and baked beans, and fight, whilst the girls are arguing, making cakes, redecorating with scary messages and cook proper food.

What a load of bollocks...

Monday 2 February 2009

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...

As is typical for British weather, we are currently being buried by heavy snow (which I am informed is from Russia). However as is typical for Coventry, we haven't really got any...yet.


Watching GM:TV earlier, I was informed that London and Essex were the worst hit with as much as 10cm of snow falling over the higher parts of these cities. I understand that we (in the West Midlands) are expected to get this tomorrow, so I am keeping all possible joints crossed in the hope of a good old "snow day", an extra days holiday where we get to make snow angels, and have snowball fights - or just stay in bed.

However whilst watching GM:TV I was pleasantly amused to catch part of an interview with somebody who had phoned in to the GM:TV studios (in the middle of London), to inform the people working at GM:TV (again in London), that there was 10 foot of snow in London, and that nobody could leave their houses.

The stupidity of some people....

Sunday 1 February 2009

Screamo's for Emo's.

Now I understand that I am likely to get a lot of hatred for this post, from lovers of screamo music (mainly emos) but I just fail to grasp what is likable about it. It all just seems like noise to me.

Being in a band myself, I've developed a taste for a range of music, but as hard as I have tried to find something to like about it, I just do not like screamo music (as well as mainstream chav shit, or drum and bass).

I just fail to find people screaming lyrics accompanied by horrendously distorted guitar solos (and I'm sure even Ross will agree with me on that one), entertaining; let alone bearable, or even manage to make out any of the lyrics themselves.

The line was crossed last week, whilst innocently browsing youtube, I happened to come across a screamo version of the Pókemon theme tune. Expecting to find it slightly amusing, I decided to view it. However, after just 30 seconds, I found myself both disapointed and enraged. I was disapointed because it was not even slightly amusing, and enraged because I felt it ruined one of my favourite theme tunes of all time!

Now before any emos out there, who happen to be reading this, begin to sharpen your pitch-forks I would just like to establish that whilst I hate screamo, I do not wish to remove it from society, just I dont want to hear it again.

In a complete change of topic, I feel that all the Skins bashing over at The Confounder, with added commentary from Potential Difference, has gone on for too long now and somebody should speak out in defence of this extremely entertaining programme.

Whilst Ross refuses to watch anything except Scrubs, QI and The Big Bang Theory, and Chris doesnt't believe programmes exist if they dont have Clarkson-style commentary, or any other decent comedy (thus eliminating 'Lab Rats' *shudders*). They immediately would find Skins pointless - which I feel is a slightly arrogant view to take.

Seconds out, Round 2...

Friday 30 January 2009

Shamelessly Skinless?

As a 'teenager' myself, I couldn't help but begin watching (and continue watching) shows such as Shameless and Skins. As an intelligent person ,I realise that not every Mancunian sits in a pub all day, whilst his son (that isn't his son) is off having sex with his half-brother, whilst his ex-lesbian wife is at home proclaiming she can hear their new born baby talk to her. At the same time the man in the pub's sixteen year old daughter is 'banging' the local copper.
And I've also realised that not every teenager shags at least 2 different guys in the same day, whilst meeting new sets of friends who have their own unique life story, such as being on the local "Don of the local mafia's" hate list.

I understand that most of the characters portrayed are based on stereotypes, but I have to admit they are extremely entertaining. There is probably a number of people out there who now hate me because I've combined your favourite show with your least favourite.

I like both of the afformentioned shows, and I do become increasingly annoyed when I have to wait for ages in between series (although Doctor Who normally softens the blow.), and I find it extrodinary, the amount of people who follow one, or even both programmes, religiously. It just goes to show that stereotypes makes for good viewing, and if it keeps me entertained, then play to your strengths - or your stereotypes.

Friday 23 January 2009

about bloody time...

It's been a while...

The buzz word sweeping around the UK since March last year has been "Credit Crunch",a phrase coined by the media to soften the blow to the Nation that we honestly are, in the shit. And now almost ten months later, the decision makers (if you will), have decide that now we are officially in a recession.

I think this was pretty obvious to those with active minds, or just simply in employment, that we've been in a recession long before it was announced, and hopefully prepared for it. I mean how long does it honestly take a group of government bankers, (replace the b with a w for hilarious result) who spend all day counting money, to come to the realisation that there isn't as much money as there was a while ago.

The widely accepted term for a recession is two quarters of negative growth, so that's what six months at the most, so why did it take the fat-cats an extra four months to decide this.

In other news, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7859345.stm - in other words chavs!!!

I love stereotypes :-)

Wednesday 21 January 2009

Bye, bye Bush...

As I was watching Obama's inauguration, I came to the realisation that there is one man who has provided America with so much hilarity, comfort and entertained so many American households for the last eight years.

The aformentioned man, who now resides in Texas, will be truly missed by Americans, and the rest of the world. The same man should seriously consider, in my opinion, a career in comedy writing, because his comedy is far greater that any other politition on the planet.

I am talking, of course, about former-president George W Bush Jnr.

You will be sorely missed.

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Doom and more doom?

On my old blog, I posted a blog with my views on the economy and it seems I was right for once (gasps of shock!), and I was right again when I posted my blog heckling the licence fee.

Given the current economic down-turn, I do feel that far too much money is being wasted on such needless institutions such as the licence fee and the health and safety executives (I literally stopped breathing for a second there.) I think it's useless that the money we as tax payers, continuously give to the government, is then wasted on these pointless existences!

This is a very rare occasion but I am inclined to agree with Luke (http://anorganisedmess.blogspot.com/) with his very accurate foreshadowing of 2009, because unless the fat cats currently occupying Downing Street realise that they themselves have to sort this one out, then we are going to struggle to live this year.

Gone are the days when we went out and impulse bought a 55 inch, HD ready, Free view installed television with a built-in cinema system because it only cost £1,500. Now you see people impulse buying toasters for £2.50 because it was part of yet another closing down sale - truly showing how badly we as a nation are suffering.

It's time for a change!

Talking of change, a historic event is to take place later today with the inauguration of Barack Obama. He seems like a cool man and has an array of 'Celebrity' supporters so there is no real reason for him to go wrong. But then he does have the inherent disadvantage of being a Politician, and we all know how honest they are...

"Yes we Can!"

Friday 16 January 2009

Bigger, badder, better...

During the refreshing summer of 2008 I decided to join the phenomenon also know as blogger, however due to other commitments I forgot about the blog and let it gather dust until eventually it was a distant memory.

To any of my followers (if I had any) who felt distressed or annoyed at this I offer you my deepest, and most heartfelt, apologies but life goes on.

Currently, I am watching the television phenomenon that is Celebrity Big Brother, and I must be brutally honest, I have found it to be very entertaining. It has been too long since I have felt my blood boil becuase of how annoying Coolio is, or laughed so hard at Vern travelling around the house on a bike.

However, there is one reason I watch Celebrity or just general Big Brother, the goddess that is Davina McCall, my love for her has no bounds. Countless times I have joked with my mum regarding the fact that one day I will bring Davina round for dinner. In my opinion, she can do no wrong.

I will try to post a blog tomorrow regarding the headlines, or a television programme that has annoyed or excited me, so until the keep reading!

You dig?!

Lee :-D

British Television

We were offered brand new exciting dramas, breath-taking documentaries and side-splitting comedy. They promised 2009 would be worth the licence payers money - it isn't.

So far this year, the funniest thing I've seen is the new Carol of Countdown putting and add sign instead of a subtract sign, the most dramatic thing I've seen is an episode of 'In the Night Garden' or 'Teletubbies' and the best documentary I've seen is the news.

So why, every year, do the bosses of the mainstream television channels (by that I mean BBC One and Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and yes (I cant believe I'm saying this) Channel 5) promise us new and exciting programming and yet every year they disappoint us. I feel robbed of my licence fee (which I believe is a worthless form of control), if the BBC loosened up and slipped a few Tesco adds in the mix then we'd all live in a better society.

I mean Gordon Brown is trying to help the British people through these tough economic times, and yet he keeps the licence fee.

Channel 5 itself is a worthless channel watched by unemployed wasters who lack enough intelligence to understand an episode of Jeremy Kyle, so choose to watch "The Wright Stuff", because it sounds a lot like milk (the white stuff.), or the occasional episode of 'Trisha Goddard'. The only reason I watch anything associated with five is if 'Who's Line is it Anyway? US' or a good film is on. Then five make it worse by launching FIVE US and FIVE LIFE (now renamed FIVER) which shows either endless repeats of CSI or endless omnibuses of Neighbours, or Home and Away.

ITV on the other hand does actually show some good programmes, I mean as of late it's filled the void caused by the absence of 'Freshly Squeezed' in the morning - as I've found some solace in GMTV, which I must point out is better that BBC Breakfast- which not only takes up two whole channels, but all of the presenters are easily in their 60's and spend their monthly pay-checks on Botox to keep the looking young (little note- we all know...).

Now BBC One is pretty much useless (except for Doctor Who, and the occasional film) because whenever I turn it on there seems to be either a news bulletin, some form of soap opera or the one show with the fat-faced wankstain that is Adrian Chilles.

Now BBC Two and Channel 4, possibly the greatest channels in existence, where else can you see an array of comedy, entertainment and documentaries? No where, that's the answer. My sunday nights would be lost if I discovered BBC Two had diappeared from our screens (purely becuase of TOP GEAR, HEROES and BUZZCOCKS, even Graham Norton programmes seem good on BBC TWO (and that's saying something!). And then for channel 4, I'd be lost without The Sunday Night Project, Big Brother or The Simpsons.

I now feel that the fat cats in the world of television executives should listen to some worthwhile advice, I suggest a television amalgamation - BBC TWO and Channel 4, possibly the best idea since Einstein discovered gravy! (gravity really).

Honorable mention to non-terrestrial channels follow;
DAVE
SKY ONE
E4
PARAMOUNT COMEDY

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