Ah more concerts...

So as many of you might have already heard or known; Ravi, Jeremy, Bretton and myself went up to New York to see a whole bunch of things happen before Rage Against the Machine performs. Then watch Rage Against the Machine perform. If i came off too facetious i apologize, it was a good concert. Overall i would rate it as the best concert I have been too barring the Tool-tones concert. It was an amazing dreamteam line up. Sage Francis, EPMD (who i kept calling EMPD), Mos Def with Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Cage, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Wu-tang Clan and ofcourseRATM. there were others but i dont wanna list em all. The drive to the concert was interesting as i realised Jeremy cannot drive...and the fact that half way there in Jersey, we hit one of the most vicious lightning storms i have ever seen. I proposed killing Jeremy as a sacrifice to Zeus so that he would stop punishing us. It fell on def years, no pun intended, actually it was. Newho, We finally got there around 11ish maybe later i dont really remember. We were staying at one of Jeremy's friends place in Long Island which was a very nice place, and the hosts were very gracious. That was also the night we coined the term homo-erotically homophobic for Bretton's mannerisms , thanks to Ravi. So we woke up took the Long Island train, which was amazing and yet cheap. Got to Randall's Island and went inside the park/arena where the festival was being held. There were 2 stages one for all the small undergroud acts. This stage was labeled the "paid dues" stage (figure it out), and the other stage was the main stage. Everytime anyone would venture from the small stage to the big stage, the artists from the small stage would chastise them by yelling "WHERE YOU GOIN?!?! THE BEST ARE HERE MOTHA FUCKAS!!!" but that would rarely work. So the first few acts we witnessed were on the small stage since we really had no interest in the big stage initially. Blueprint was the first one and Bretton really liked him, i was indiffrent, although his "Big girls need love too" really spoke to me. All in all we werent really interested in any of the acts in both the stages...Supernatural, Jedi Mind Tricks, Hanger 18. were all lost on us, Immortal technique was the first artist I was actually interested in seeing, and his show was decent. After this was Pharoahe Monch, his set was great, actually enjoyed it and got into the rest of the concert after that. after him was EPMD. I wasnt interested but Bretton was, and Ravi, Jeremy and I high-tailed it to the small stage to see Lif, and Cage, but since the acts on the small stage were ahead of schedule, I didnt witness any of Mr. Lif, cause i was busy purchasing a 6 dollar thing of lemonade. Ravi and Jeremy only witnessed one song. Cage was great, their stage presence was amazing, falling short of only RATM. The first and only artist to stage dive, till Method Man later in the show. the only thing I had against the set was Moshing...wel shall get to this later. But for right now this is enough...next time we will get to the rest of the concert minus Rage, they will have their own review.

Adios


Criticism will result in floggings

DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright so things worked out i did the paper but now i have another one due tomorrow...why does God hate me so? please answer

Am I Royally Fucked??

So as usual I procrastinated. I have come to a point where i even stop telling myself before a paper is due that, "this time i will do it early!" Newho, the point being I have a 10 page paper due in 5 hrs. and I am at work, now granted I have very little to no work to do...but...I am at work. Now how did I come to this point? I will tell you that after the day is over and I have either succeeded or failed miserably. Either ways you shall now, but in the due time I will keep you updated of this conundrum. So stay tuned, this could be a miracle!

Its Feels Sooo good though!!

I like tension, more than that i like it when Ravi is involved with either Pasha or Angad. So i will pounce on this opportunity. It is hard to bring forth such a dark truth that many brown men have only kept amongst themselves. More-so reveal this milk chocolate secret to our white chocolate friends. Don't worry we are not after your women, some of us just want to feel that after all the things that the British did to us, we can at least once in a while stare down at the white men by getting on top of their women. (Sometimes medium sized brown bags are necessary) I would however like to comment harshly on Angad's comment on the whole light skinniness in relation to their respective cast...actually i would not like to comment on it because to bring to account such misguided and ignorant jargon that i wanna poo my pants and hurl it at singhi singh. I feel the problem lies with the education system of these areas. Concentrating so heavily on science and maths, many brown men of my country forget about other things such as. oh i don't know. Not being a dick and a racist. This in not only prevalent about the Indians here but back in the old country too. It is harsh to talk in this manner about people; "us and them" "yours and ours" in the end poonani is poonani. But sometimes I feel like it is important to question motives and Ravi and many other have attempted to do just that. I believe that even if it is some what of a stretch to say that European women are sought after so prevalently than any other type of women, i think the underlying problem is an identity crisis suffered by much of the third and developing world (or as Amartya Sen would call it the 2/3rds world). When this problem is bought into the spotlight, people often shoot it down in denial of what it is that hampers them. In southeast Asia and much of the Middle East and Africa, this problem persists. My solution...More mating and making everyone mulatto! sorry i couldn't end on a too philosophical note. In conclusion i don't think there is a solution because the problem maybe in a vast majority of the world but it is flying through the ether of every individual person. Unless everyone has a mass awakening, there will be only more white ass to be sought after. So I leave you in the words of a wiser man, Chris Cornell: "And to be yourself is all that you can do, Ahhhh..." etc.
Thank You


criticism will result in floggings

YES!!

Alrighty then...
So after a long absence at the law firm because of the intrusions of midterms, i came storming back to apparently nothing. Everyone is gone to somewhere. I feel like it was all a con that this office building and the red velvet floors and the cherry doors were all just Paul Newman and Robert Redford in disguise to con me out of my time. I SAW THE WINK AND THE NOD!! oddly enough i have had many interesting conversations with college buddies of mine. it is odd because i didn't realise that beneath the harsh drinking and the illicit drugs, these fine men and women are in fact somewhat interesting. I wanted to do a sly screen play about them by have some abstract characters that resemble their roundabout idiom. But i was afraid that ravi and jeremy would sue me. I am now bored sitting at my desk i have to scan 4 files which wuld normally take me about 5 minutes but has taken me 2 hrs. this is because I know my boss doesnt have anything for me after i'm done with all this. So any ideas of things i can do while here appriciated.

Whats goin on?

Guten Tag!
Its been a while on this thing. Mostly because i cant really get myself to write anything, it seems like this idea will wither away like so many others in our circle. I expected Jon to write a lot, and in the youth of this idea, he did. But the infamous "Snake" skit was his undoing. Jeremy was a charlatan as usual, and Pasha was apathetic usual. Ravi was probably the most consistent, however he too withered away. Ryan had a good thing goin but he is busy with "things". Matt however the one i thought would not have more than 2 posts has kept up. (Although i disagree with his deftones review). And myself, i knew this would happen and so this will be my last post...no i'm kidding, how could i deprive you of my whimsical posts about battles fought and heroes lost, if anything, it'll annoy jeremy. Other than that i will do my best to keep up posts from hear on out, I urge others to do the same. Pasha, those links were gay. I was brainstorming that in the spirit of the new Harry Potter movie that came out recently we all present our favorite fantasy character and why he's our favorite and things about him etc. At the risk of it sounding like an essay topic. I will do mine as a comparison between Nevil Longbottom and Peregrin Took, i find them surprisingly alike. Anywho for my next war series sticking with the English theme, i will do the battle of Hastings and the Norman invasion of England, the only invasion of England that succeeded. Well thats my game plan, everything else is trivial.

Criticism will result in floggings

The Punic War!!! The Last HUS-AH!!!

As all good things must come to a tragic and needlessly violent end...so must this trilogy of action packed madness...Funny how very few elephants were really involved then people usually let on.

The Siege of Carthage:
an expeditionary force was sent to besiege Carthage. The city was surrounded by 20 miles of walls and was capable of resupplying itself by the sea. Despite breaching the walls with rams, the Romans at first achieved little against a vigorous defense organized by the Carthaginian commander (there are two funny parts in that name, hint, last part of his second name...thank me later) took charge of the forces. For some reason this made the siege gain momentum and starvation and Fifty years after the battle of Zama, important figures in Romesuch as senator Cato the Elder (wonder how he got that name) argued that Carthage was still a threatened should be destroyed. Historians are still look for their link to Al Qaeda, not yet found. A war between Carthage and Numidia (Algeria) gave Rome a pretext for Roman intervention. and in 149 BCE Hasdrubal. However when the adopted son of Scipo Africanus, Scipio Aemilianus disease grew in the city, their resistance weekend. After a lot of fighting, the remaining 50,000 surrendered and the Romans enslaved them all and destroyed the city...Yup that's it. Have a nice day, you just wasted a lot of time.

I'm only kidding of course, history is fun and we realise why we sometimes must choose to evolve, or else our names would still b Scipio and Anus. So that's it for the Punic Wars!!! there will be lighter posts to come for a while now, before another sequence of battles catch my eye that i can end with three exclamation marks. But until then remember when in Rome, do as the Romans do and if u find yourself fighting a giant guy around a bunch of sand hold a tin sword. Well I'll let Cthulhu tell you about that...

The Punic Wars!!! Part FOUR!!!

Last time on The Punic Wars!!! Cannae was a huge blunder for the Roman Army against Hannibal the not so Cannibal animal. (so says cannibal ox) now for the Roman revenge and the stupidity of Hannibal the once thought great.

Siege of Syracuse:
Hannibal's campaign was entering a stage of "ummm...OK" as he found it very difficult to capture any fortified cities despite his vast victories in the open fields. This because the idiot didn't have any siege equipment...Some cities however did side with Carthage in the wars, one of which was the Greek city of Syracuse, on the east coast of Sicily. This city rebelled against Roman control in 213 BCE. A Roman force led by the general Marcus Claudius Marcellus consequently laid siege to the port city. The elderly inventor Archimedes was one of the leaders of Syracuse's defense. He organized siege artillery to protect the city walls, concentrating the fire of different catapults and ballistas upon besiegers. The Romans realising that they were also smart in the ways of engineering made their own cool sounding weapon, the 'Sambucae' (basically a scaling ladder mounted on galleys, for those who think this to be too simple, remember the golden rule of K.I.S.S.) However they were not successful against the mighty Archimedes! mostly his devices. Romans were unable to tighten the blockade enough to keep all supplies out of the city, but Carthage's attempts to relieve the city also failed. In 212, they city folk held a festival to the goddess Artemis, during this drunken love-fest the Romans were able to get over the city walls into the outer city. Archimedes was amongst those killed, reports of him having sex with a ballista while he was killed were not confirmed. It was another eight months before Syracusan traitors opened the doors to the inner citadel and there was a mass slaughter.

Metaurus/Zama
The Carthaginians only major effort to reinforce Hannibal came in Italy 207 BCE when Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal marched an army from Spain across the Alps. (Idiot) A Roman force led by Gaius Claudius Nero was sent to engage them. Outnumber, Hasdrubal tried a late night retreat across the Metaurus River, but their forces lost their way in the darkness and were still south of the river when the Romans caught up and tagged them. Also in the process killing 10,000 of them. Hasdrubal died in the battle, this marked the turning point in this war.

In Zama, a general rose to pitch an idea to the Romans which was a little coo coo. Scipio Africanus suggested invading Carthage itself and force Hannibal's army to leave southern Italy where he was gaining a strong thresh hold, and his army was gaining in strength almost up to 18,000 troops, mostly Italians. So fearing the wrath of Hannibal Rome funded Scipio's plan and off he went to Carthage with 35,000 men and a dream. Carthage broke off negotiations with Rome and built a new army around Hannibal's Italian veterans using the gold they had just acquired building a class 4 mine near a mountain. that was a joke. As Rome lay waste to Carthage on the flip side of the world, Hannibal was forced to bring them to battle even though a majority of the infantry were raw recruits and his Calvary was outnumbered. In the end, Scipio's idea of using Hannibal's own battle plans against him worked in the ensuing battle and his army was destroyed. All this while, Rome was defenceless...idiot. Carthage was forced to accept humiliating peace. This wouldn't last for long as Rome would figure out that they had gotten really luck and now they had a chance to finish this conflict forever.

Next time on The Punic Wars!!! The siege of Carthage...should they have seen this coming? will it be a quagmire for Rome, will their tactic of relative shock and awe work? How far will senator Cato go to find those weapons of mass destruction in Carthage! should he have given the weapons inspectors more time...Who is this Cato guy anyways?!?!

The Punic Wars!!!

I apologize for my absence, the past few weeks have been hectic when it came to internship and all of that...apparently the Indian FOBs are in for it when it comes to a green card rush in this season. Anywho, I have also decided that my paper topic will be on the Iliad; on the leadership qualities of Hector vs. Achilles, and stuff on Hector being a person who is a man of the people as to Achilles who is more of a warrior, in general.

Cannae...
in southern Italy, a massive Roman army set out to destroy his forces. Under the command of Lucius (this is sounding like Gladiator) Approaching the height of the Punic wars, and the disaster at Lake Trasimene, it seemed like the second set of this pussy fight would result in the embarrassing defeat of the Roman army through out. Recently elected dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus decided on a new strategy to fight the army of Hannibal on a more low key basis in order to stave off complete defeat. He opted for a more harassing tactic, where they bitch slap Hannibal's forces and then turn their tail and run. In July 216 BCE, when Hannibal captured a major Roman supply depot at CannaeAemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro, the Roman forces consisted of 16 legions. August 1st Hannibal deployed his forces in front of the Romans but they declined to fight. the next day, Romans forded the river and drew up ready to fight on the south bank ways away from where they were originally camped. This is where Carthage forces would not be able to use their cavalry. Within a moments notice of this Hannibal sent out his army across the river, shielding its movement with a screen of skirmishers. Roman infantry legions were massed in a deep, tight formation at the center of their line. Anywho keeping this in mind Hannibal had better weapons and armor...Thinking this was a infantry battle, Romans were overjoyed at their swift defeat of the Celtic and Spanish infantry that led Hannibals attack. however the first rule of combat is protect your flanks at all times...even dogs know that. Carthage Calvary remounted their horses and basically moved to the rear of the Roman lines and then proceeded to bend them over and butcher about 50,000 Romans including Paullus.

This was an important battle so I'll let it sink in for a while, next time on The Punic Wars!!! the Siege of Syracuse, the famous inventor Archimedes will die by the hands of a Roman Soldier...maybe he had already invented the bifocals...we will never know. Also Zama Scipio Africanus will now lead the Romans, and then have a brand of peanut butter named in his honor that Method Man refuses to eat...Is Method Man a citizen of Carthage? find out next time on The Punic Wars!!!

Paper ideas please

The Punic Wars!!! will return in due time, but first to important business, I have a paper due in my classical political theory class. The topic is as broad as it can be. Write a 5 page paper on either The Illiad or Plato's Eythephro, Apology and Crito. Any suggestions? pleace comment. Danke Shon.

The Punic Wars!!!

Sure enough, the Romans were not satisfied with the control over sea trade routes in the Mediterranean. they wanted total control over the lands in and around the Mediterranean, this ment that Carthage was in its way. Logistically, Ecnomus was one of the largest sea battles in history. Under the command of Lucius Manlius Vulso, and Marcus Atilius Regulus the Roman fleet set out to ferry a very large Roman army to North Africa. Upon meeting a Carthaginian fleet, off the Sicilian coast, the two engaged in battle. A lot of naval battle jargon later, Rome won and continued on to the tip of Africa closest to Sicily, Utica, the closest city to Carthage.
As usual when things go too well for an invading army, is when generals should start to worry. Something is bound to go wrong. Call it fate or Calypso, it seems like the Mediterranean has it out for ships invading the Middle East or Africa. In short a big storm, (Careful to use big as an understatement) 100,000 people died. One would think looking at a map that they could just stand up on the cost of Africa at that point...really its not that far away...Not to be outdone in their stupidity and knowledge of how to screw up a perfectly good blunder, Rome built another fleet and consul Appius Clausius Pulcher spread grain in front of sacred chicken on his ship's deck for some reason. Then when the chicken refused to eat, he had them thrown over board. Sometimes its hard to believe that Rome is the foundation for the West...but then again sometimes its not. Basically when the Roman fleet arrived at their destination where they were suppose to blockade the Carthaginians, the Carthage navy double backed and trapped the Roman navy and destroyed it. Unfortunately fate does sometimes conspire against the wise as in 241 BCE, Rome won a decisive victory victory in the Aegates Island and cut the supply route for the Carthage army in Sicily and they had no choice but to relinquish their control of the islands.

So there we go, basically Rome for most of this part was playing the role of Achilles, just a brute warrior while Hector the wise and noble man got destroyed for his lack of imperial prowess.

Next time on The Punic Wars!!!
Trebia, Hannibal the Cannibal finally comes into the picture, was he really a cannibal? find out. Also Lake Trasimene, why such a gay name for a lake? and is the pacific blue like i picture it in my dreams? I hope to see my friend Andy again, I hope i get to shake his hand...I mean, has Rome met its match in the territory of future film characters renamed as generals?

The Punic Wars!!!

Oh gosh...Rome has gotten itself in trouble again, this time its elephants! Although it maybe just one in the end...

It all started with one word...Mylae!

With a strong control over Sicily and the Italian peninsula Rome was on the verge of an empire, Carthage of course in a similar situation had one advantage over their adversaries, their navy. Carthage controlled the seas around the Mediterranean, this meant control of the trade sea routes from Africa. Roman control over the land routes was essential for the expansion of the republic. so in 260 BCE, Rome built a fleet in 60 days and put this new fleet to the test in Mylea, the northern tip of Sicily. The Roman navy depended on its new military innovation the Corvus, a boarding bridge with spikes on its underside. This allowed Roman legionaries to board a Carthage ship every time they came close. This of course presented a problem for Carthage, who didnt bring an army to a naval battle...(This ironically didnt work out for King Phillip of Spain when fighting queen Elizabeth, with his "Armada", after the Queen was prompt in telling him that she was way out of his league) This led to the shock defeat for the Punic forces. Shock a term used relatively, i don't imagine commoners on either side of this conflict doing a lot of reading. Now Rome had control of the seas around their turf, and left Carthage in a pretty pickle.

In case you are wondering, "Arjun, why the history lesson?" well i say to you, its a blog, more importantly its MY blog! so go screw your self, I was bored.

Next time on THE PUNIC WARS!! we will find out why the battle of Ecnomus was named that because it was not economically sound, as many people died and boats sunk, leaving another unwanted irony in history! Also, Drepana, what the hell was that all about?? Have the Romans gone mad? Same bat place same bat channel...

Other Random Stuff

So matt, jeremy and I during winter break did a couple of lists of best 100 things, books, songs, albums and other things that our bored and misunderstood minds could come up with. With having no ideas floating around in my lethargic brain, here is my list of my 100 favorite songs.....

100. Blue Ochrid...............................White Stripes
099. Have a Drink on Me.................AC/DC
098. Stop Crying Your Heart Out...Oasis
097. Minus Blind Flod.......................Deftones
096. Sunshine.....................................Alice In Chains
095. Dont Look Back.........................Boston
094. You're All I've Got Tonight......The Cars
093. #41...............................................Dave Matthews Band
092. Settling Down.............................Jerry Cantrell
091. I Put a Spell On You..................CCR
090. Love Me Two Times.................Doors
089. Come As You Are.......................Nirvana
088. Benny and the Jets....................Elton John
087. Sultans of Swing.........................Dire Straights
086. Life In The Fast Lane...............The Eagles
085. Summertime..............................Janis Joplin/Jimi Hendrix
084. Inertatic Esp..............................Mars Volta
083. Be Quick or be Dead.................Iron Maiden
082. Zimbabwe..................................Bob Marley
081. Stockholm Syndrome...............Muse
080. Hey Joe......................................Jimi Hendrix
079. Map of the Problematique......Muse
078. Smooth Criminal......................Michael Jackson
077. On Green Dolphin Street........Jhon Coltrane&Miles Davis
076. Orion.........................................Metallica
075. Level.........................................The Raconteurs
074. Tempus Fugit..........................Yes
073. Kimdracula...............................Deftones
072. Crush.........................................Dave Matthews Band
071. Rock the Casbah.......................The Clash
070. Epitaph......................................King Crimson
069. Tea For One..............................Led Zeppelin
068. Blue.............................................A Perfect Circle
067. I Cant Stand It..........................Eric Clapton
066. Born Under a Bad Sign............Cream
065. Crazy On You...........................Heart
064. That Smell................................Lynyrd Skynyrd
063. Yellow Ledbetter.....................Pearl Jam
062. High Hopes...............................Pink Floyd
061. Maria.........................................Rage Against the Machine
060. Time Stand Still.......................Rush
059. Whipping Post..........................Allman Brothers
058. Shadow of the Season.............Screaming Trees
057. Nosferatu..................................Blue Oyster Cult
056. Us and Them...........................Pink Floyd
055. Play The Game.......................Queen
054. Black........................................Pearl Jam
053. Go With the Flow..................Queens of the Stoneage
052. The Crunge............................Led Zeppelin
051. Gimme Shelter......................Rolling Stones
050. Reptilla..................................The Strokes
049. Love Me Do..........................The Beatles
048. Dont Say Nuthin..................The Roots
047. Love Spreads.......................Stone Roses
046. Hallowed Be Thy Name.....Iron Maiden
045. Crackerman.........................Stone Temple Pilots
044. Tom Sawyer........................Rush
043. Today...................................Smashing Pumpkins
042. Island In the Sun...............Weezer
041. Statesboro Blues................Allman Brothers
040. Fat Bottom Girls...............Queen
039. Fresh Tendrils...................Soundgarden
038. E.S.K...................................Screaming Trees
037. Mood For a Day................Yes
036. The Lost Art of ................Queens Of the Stoneage
035. Where I End.....................Radiohead
034. Slow Down Gandhi..........Sage Francis
033. Joan Crawford.................Blue Oyster Cult
032. Beware.............................Deftones
031. Reelin in the Years.........Steely Dan
030. Mr. Jack..........................System Of a Down
029. Down In A Hole..............Alice in Chains
028. Bulls on Parade..............Rage Against the Machine
027. The Suns Goes Down....Thin Lizzy
026. Have A Cigar..................Pink Floyd
025. Take the Money............Steve Miller Band
024. Silvergun Superman.....Stone Temple Pilots
023. Natural Mystic...............Bob Marley
022. Pinball Wizard................The Who
021. Optimistic.......................Radiohead
020. Lucy in the Sky.............The Beatles
019. Dont Want you no more/Not my cross to bear.......Allman Brothers(consider the 2, 1 song)
018. Sober...............................Tool
017. Minerva...........................Deftones
016. Cherub Rock...................Smashing Pumpkins
015. Time.................................Pink Floyd
014. 2+2=5...............................Radiohead
013. While My Guitar.............The Beatles
012. Digital Bath......................Deftones
011. Help!..................................The Beatles
010. Somebody to Love..........Queen
009. Wicked Garden................Stone Temple Pilots
008. Burden In My Hands......Soundgarden
007. Flaming Telepaths...........Blue Oyster Cult
006. Rain When I Die...............Alice In Chains
005. The Wanton Song............Led Zeppelin
004. Behind Blue Eyes.............The Who
003. Blackbird...........................The Beatles
002. Tales of Brave Ulysses....Cream
001. Rotten Apple.....................Alice In Chains

And there it is, the grand list....criticism will result in floggings!!
PEACE!!

Concert Part Deux

With the theme of the "summer" coming across as being evident in the blogs i have read, i will follow suite. Also borrowing the idea of the "concert goers" from Ravi, i will share my account of the Tool concert that Ryan and myself went to see at the Mariner Arena in Baltimore. First things first, was it worth the money? Yes, completely, the set was good, the songs were good and Tool was good. As usual the theatrics and gimmicks that go along with the Tool concert experience were not lacking, i will go into those details later. Of course there were things that threw the experience off. I will start with their opening act. I have yet to figure out why bands would hire really really bad opening acts to play long opening sets, perhaps as Ryan pointed out, it would make the headliner band seem better. I can think of only one reason, The two girls from the opening band for Tool, amusingly enough called "melt bananas" agreed to partake in a ritualistic gang-bang with the members of Tool. Maynard, u sick sick bastard! As the screeching sounds of the opening acts would hit my ears I thought i had walked into the ninth circle of hell, i could almost see Brutus and Judas laughing at me as Satan stuck pineapples up their asses saying..."i would rather have a pine tree up there than listen to this shit" (that was my reference to Dante, so now i feel smart in like company) Finally an exhaustive hour later, the gig was over. Once it was I had taken my car keys out and was about to jump off the building. I kept thinking to myself how many clip on bow ties I could have bought with the money i spent on this concert. Then of course was the lull that followed another 30 mins of mic check after mic check and drunken retards yelling out "TOOL!!!" over and over again as they spilt beer and chili on their neatly pressed white Tool shirts. Baltimore is not a concert town...
Foregoing the concert ethics of NOT WEARING THE SHIRT OF THE BAND YOU ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS LIVE, I settled myself and the thought of seeing Tool live gave me solace. Finally the opening riffs to Jambi gave comfort. Although both Ryan and I agreed that Grudge would have been a better opening song. More than just songs I witnessed Maynard do a funky dance where he bends at the waist and rocks his shoulders back and forth. Also the jumbo screens in the back kept showing images of weird things and album art of their latest, 10,000 days. Half way through the show right before the intro to "Wings"(1&2) 3-4 pipes bellowed out some sort of smoke that settled over the crowd in the pit area. During the middle of the sequel of songs, there was a laser that projected a form of green film around the smoke giving the facade of a cloud cover over the entire arena, which was pretty cool. Then of course they finished out with a medley of Lateralus and Vicarious, took a bow and left the stage longing me to ask for an encore. Fucking should have played Sober...The only thing that irked me during the Tool set was the moshing. I am in full agreement with Ravi when it comes to this practice, it is stupid and leaves much to be questioned about the intelligence of the common man. Any who moshing to songs like stinkfist or Flood is understandable, however Wings or Schism is not a song that one can rhythmically push people to. But there were asinine "fans" who whole-hartedly felt it was better to suffer multiple concussion than to enjoy the show...
Again, all in all the concert was delightful and I enjoyed it completely. There were defects but which concert doesn't have em, like Ravi's post pointed it out...

P.S. My first post was an effort to start some sort of a story, add to it if u feel like u have nothing to write...might be interesting where people take it.

Jambi
Stinkfist
Forty-Six & 2
Schism
Rosetta Stoned
Flood
Wings 1+2
Lateralus
Vicarious

PEACE

The Papers in triplicate...

I found a short cut through the halls of the office it was behind the third compartment of the cabinet hiding away in the corner of a forgotten office in the 3rd floor. It reaches around the building and comes out on the far end of the rows of cubicles where the paralegals sit. I tried to stomp down the rush of excitement that over came me when i saw the piece of paper that was drifting through the office. I was a G28 form for H1-B visa transfers and it was yet to be signed by the main honcho. at first the paper was well hidden amongst the high walls of the upstairs office, but the whisk of wind from the vents a few meter to the right made it flutter gently and unmasked its identity. I grabbed it quickly and ran towards the restroom located around the ninty degree turn i was about to make on the red velvet carpeted floor. A cherry door swung open before i could take the G28 transfer form in to the relative safety of the mens restroom, I was trapped. I stood still behind the door as the blinds on galss panel on the door from the inside masked my identity. sweat formed on my brow as i stood frozen behind this contraption. Then as i was moving my hand gently towards my head, i heard muffled footsteps, ones that could have only been made by the contact of an Italian leather shoe and this passion red carpet. And there was only one person who wore Italian leather shoes...Jhon D. Limestone!!!