Column Controversy

It Feels So Good to be Back!!!

2010-06-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are back! And it feels good! First off, I apologize for the extended absence. As I often do, I got sidetracked. But no more!

Moving on, we have some things to discuss. Firstly, I moved home to London Ontario. No more big city lights, no more big city money. I enjoy being home and seeing all my friends and family. I love being able to catch any bus and know where I'm going, but I'm really starting to notice how hard the recession hit home. Couple that with a recent transit strike and you've got the makings for one of the worst unemployment rates in Canada. I guess what I'm saying is that I wish it was a little easier to find a decent job.

Speaking of work, I stopped writing for the online sites I was writing for. I wrote for a couple of different sites, namely Helium and Xomba. These sites are great for what they are; a way to get your writing out there to the general public. However, these sites are not very popular among the masses, and exposure is limited to those who frequent the site and any that you can reach through other social networks (ie: Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Maybe I just wasn't putting in the legwork, which could be quite possible. I just want to make clear that these sites do what they do very well, they just didn't do what I was looking for.

On to music. Thank God I'm a Metal head! Listening to some of the piss poor dribble that comes out of the radio nowadays is painful to say the least. With artists like Lady Gaga, Kanye and Rhianna; pop music is able to continue the long and proud tradition of shamelessly promoting gold standards and pop culture image to a young, extremely open-minded audience. If only they could do it to decent background music like the artists of the past. I swear, if I hear another rap song with a basic 4/4 beat where Puff fucking Daddy rhymes "cinnamon" with "cinnamon"; I'll shoot myself. But, alas... in the metal world, we have a savior in the form of Eddie Kim. He takes sloppy Top 40 songs and actually makes them sound like someone cared enough to put time into writing it. See the link for his youtube page.

This entry may be short and long overdue, but it's here in all it's glory. So get used to it, because it'll be a bumpy ride!

Remembering Why We Remember...

2009-11-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

So as Remembrance Day draws nigh, we remember and pay homage to the soldiers who have helped preserve our rights and freedoms; and rightfully so. These brave men and women risked their lives so people like you and me could enjoys comforts of our big screen T.V. without having to worry about it transmitting to Big Brother. Remembrance Day has always been a time of mixed emotions for me, as I am grateful for the sacrifices our countries heroes have made, but angered that they were forced to make such a choice.

During the course of human history, men have fought for and against power and greed. When it comes down to it, that is what every war is about. Whether it be for oil, land, money or power; greed is the motive for all wars. Sadly we, the people are tricked into believing it is for other reasons. People get desperate in times of need and fear. So this got me thinking, what are we really fighting for?

As men we sit atop the food chain not because of our hunting ability, but because we can go to the fridge and make a sandwich. Life has become one luxury after the next. In ancient times, indoor plumbing was enough reason to send 10's of thousands to their deaths. Now, we are more advanced technologically, and have different needs. Thus different things to fight over; such as our economy. The spoils of war aren't always the same, but often times they resemble one another. Resources that must be obtained to support growing industries are often the cause, but not always. Sometimes, it's money or power or respect. Whatever the case may be, governments use their people like pawns to win these resources. If there were no countries, and people just lived with one another as their neighbour, there would be no need to get ahead, we'd already be there.

On the remembrance day theme, I've written a new edition of Battle of the Bands. This one is centered around two of the biggest pop sensations during war time. They helped remind us that in times of trouble, you still need to kick back and have a little fun. So read and enjoy. Till next time, 'keep fit and have fun!'

Ryan

A Good Friend...

2009-11-04T07:08:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, welcome back. It's been a few days since my last post, but a lot has happened. I've been writing (obviously), and living the dream, lol. Since starting to focus on the music column over at http://www.xomba.com/ I've started writing a series of articles comparing different musical genres to each other. Now this is just the beginning. I've got a couple up so far and am continuing to write these, as it really is fun. For those who know me, you know music is a huge part of my life. Being able to write about it and dissect it truly is a dream that I enjoy living. If anyone would like to read these articles, I will include a couple links at the bottom of this entry for your perusal.

I've also been able to take a look at friendship in the past few weeks as well. One in particular as well. Myself and my cohort in crime Angry Rob have been friends for some time now. It started when I quit my job at a restaurant I was working at and started work at Telus. This is where Rob worked as well. We knew eachother through my previous job as well, but never really cared to interact more than "Here's your order" and "Thankyou, here's your money". When I started at this new job, we still didn't hang out right away, but eventually my charisma got the better of him and we started hanging out and laughing. Anyways, without sounding too much like Brokeback Mountain, we became good friends and I'm glad. He's been a good friend to me and I'm glad we've had a chance to get to know one another. With my leaving town soon, I will miss him. However; life goes on, and we make our own fortunes. Going home doesn't neccesarily mean bigger things or better things; just more familiar things.

Thanks Rob, you've been a great friend.

Now as promised,the links.

http://www.xomba.com/categories/music

http://www.xomba.com/battle_bands_grunge_vs_early_90s_alternative_rock

http://www.xomba.com/battle_bands_thrash_metal_vs_hair_metal

Love What You Do...

2009-10-29T16:15:00.001-07:00

Good day and welcome back to another installment of Column Controversy. So as of late, I have really got my ass in gear in regards to writing. This has to do with a couple of things.

1) I was named a feature writer at one of the sites I write for. (This is a big step for me, as it means more recognition for prev. works and writing to come.)

2) I am now soley responsible for the success or failure of this column. (My prev. blogs were a joint venture with the always talented Rob Cramer, who has a link to his column on the right. Read his stuff, you will.)

So with the advent of my new found motivation, I have put up a couple articles on the interwebs, one of which I would like to share with you on here this week. This article also falls into this week's "Weekly Thought". (It was known as Daily Thought, but this is a weekly column, so it makes more sense the other way around, lol.) I wrote this article for a contest the site was having on the topic of "Dream Jobs", and it really inspired me. My dream job has always been to play music. For those of you who know me, you know I love music; it is my passion. The yin to my yang even.

I also have another passion, it's one that I recently re-discovered. It doesn't cost anything to start either. Plain and simple, it's writing. There's no greater joy than being able to create something and present it to the world, and because I was able to re-kindle my passion for words, I am able to present this to you; my thoughts, my dreams and my aspirations. Which brings us to Weekly Thought #2...

"Do what you love, and love what you do."

With that, I give you the article that helped conceive this week's "thought". (This is taken straight from the site I wrote it for, word for word.)

Ahhh, Livin' the Dream...

There's a little pub downtown Anytown, USA; it's dark and dank and reeks of smoke from generations past. The floors are always sticky no matter how many times they mop and the food is worse than a Sunday morning strip-club buffet, but that's alright. After all, it's your name on the marquee outside, and when it comes time for your set, nothing else matters. Not the smoke, the floors, not even personal issues; this is the one place you can leave it all behind and lose yourself. For that short period of time when you're on stage, guitar around your neck or microphone in your hand and the crowd fixated on you; You truly are a free bird. No one can touch you.

Sounds great doesn't it? Sure does to me. I could live out the rest of my days knowing that one sweep of my picking hand, could send chills down the spine of everyone in that room and maybe even be responsible for the next great baby boom.

Music really is something else. I've said it before and I'll say it again; music is the most beautiful language on the planet. It has the power to change lives and spark revolution. If you've ever seen the look on a woman's face when their husband/boyfriend plays a song they wrote just for them, you know what I'm talking about. That's what I aspire to do everyday; change lives. What better way to make a living than by changing lives?

The best part of playing music, is that it's not just a dream job, it's a dream lifestyle. A true musician always has a tune in his head; whether it's something they made up or one of their favorite songs. You can make a lot of money just standing on stage doing what you love to best, and when your job becomes a passion, it's no longer a job. It's fun.

Sure, sometimes the pay is low and sometimes you don't get paid at all. Money is money, but at the end of the day, it's about feeling good about what you do and realizing that it wasn't that hard to do in the first place. I have played guitar and piano for many years and done many an open mic night to good reactions, yet for some reason I never took my act on the road, so to speak. Maybe one day I will. Maybe one day it'll be my name up on that marquee, who knows?

For now, all I can do is hope to give back to the art that has made my life that much better by being a part of it in any shape or form possible, and if that means writing these articles and reviews to help people understand just what music can do for them, count me in.
If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.
Thanks for reading.

Once again, it is both an honour and a pleasure to do this column. I hope it reaches you well. If you wish to read any more of my work, please check out http://www.xomba.com/user/the_ryan84

Ryan Richards

The Intro...

2009-10-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, thanks for stopping by. Since this is my first entry, I probably pined all over you and sought your attention like a love-sick puppy. I promise I shall not disappoint. This blog will mainly be a throwing board about some of the various articles I have written and ones to come in the future. I'll also include some daily thoughts and shenanigans. So again thanks for coming out, and let the stories begin.

So Daily Thought #1 is a simple one. It's one I've been thinking on for a little while now.

"Be genuinely nice to others."

I know this seems like a given and it should be common sense, but it's not. The world we live in is a selfish one, where most people don't realize how their actions affect others. Some don't care. It's easy to be nice to someone to get you want, but being genuinely nice and taking an interest in another person is something else entirely.

I had the pleasure of learning the value in this lesson rather early in life. It started because of a joke. I worked in the food court at a mall in my hometown and on our downtime, we'd people watch. There was an older guy, around mid 40's maybe, who would sit in the food court for hours drinking a Timmie's coffee and just staring at people. Maybe four or five evenings a week he'd sit there, doing nothing except drinking a coffee and staring at people. So of course we talked about him, made jokes and fun at his unknowing expense. Who wouldn't?

Then one day, I was about to go on break, I was a little short on money so I asked my boss if I could grab something and pay later. We had a pretty good relationship, so he said

"I'll give ya two bucks to sit with the Creepy Staring Guy for 5 mins."

Naturally I was in. He didn't even have to pay me, I would've done it for free. I grabbed some food and went over and asked if I could sit down, he said he didn't mind. I began eating and slowly began engaging him in conversation. As it turned out, the man was very knowledgable about several subjects; the only one of which I recall was botany. (This was 10 years ago...) But as we sat and talked, I realized he wasn't just the Creepy Staring Guy anymore, he was a person. An interesting person.

So I guess the moral for this entry (don't worry, mine are pretty loose), is don't be a dick. Get to know someone. Just because they're a little different than you doesn't mean they aren't worth your time. Turned out Crazy Staring Guy wasn't so crazy afterall. Now, when Crazy Puppet Guy's puppet and Crazy Dog Guy's dog got into it in the foodcourt, THAT was crazy! That's another story though...

So till next time, I'll leave you with a link to some of my other online material.

Again, Thankyou.

Ryan Richards

(Note: Zach Galifianakis is pictured at top, not the author of this post.)