Graffiti -- Vandalism Or Art?

Taken from Wikipedia -- Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property.

In my honest opinion, it is both. But it ultimately depends on the situation and the circumstances.

Vandalism

Think about obscene graffiti. How would it look like on a public property? Say an ATM machine or on the walls of a pre-school.

Does graffiti portray a professional image in a squeaky clean environment?

Does widespread graffiti reflect well on a country? On its people?

I'm sure you guys are pretty familiar with the Michael Fay incident in '93/'94 where he was sentenced to caning for vandalism. And more recently, the vandalism of the SMRT train by Swiss National Oliver Fricker. Personally, I feel that the former was more serious and leaning towards "vandalism" because of the major damage done. On the other hand, the latter did not really cause much damage except for trespassing the secured train depot. His work was actually more of an "art", don't you agree?

You guys may beg to differ, I dunno.

Art & Music

Graffiti is a work of art. You can't deny graffiti adds life to anything.

If you notice, graffiti is also an element in the world of music. It normally associates with Street music. Hip-Hop. Grunge. Alternative.

The Gorillaz? Remember this animated band? Graffiti actually plays a role in their image, branding, and music. You can probably check out some of their earlier music videos.

Hell, even Chris Brown named his 2009 album "Graffiti".

I guess most of us agree that the cover pretty much sucked.

Came across this new duo called "Graffiti6" all the way from the UK. Look at their in-your-face use of graffiti. Their music is brilliant, by the way. Take a listen to their latest single, "Annie You Save Me".

Graffiti -- vandalism or art?

It is art. But it can be vandalism. So the moral of the story is to use graffiti the right way, at the right place and at the right time.

Penning Something 6

I wanted to write a song about believing yourself. Believing that you can change your own fate, create the path you want to take in your life and not allowing others to bring you down in any way. So I name this song "Defying Gravity" (the name of my blog if you haven't noticed), which is trusting yourself to live your dreams against all odds. And here it is, written just last night.

"Defying Gravity"

Verse 1

Life, is what you make it

Hope, is what you have and

Don't ever give up on your dreams

Life, is about creating yourself

Build the path you wanna take

Nothing can get in your way

Chorus

I will not back down

I will not bow down

To everything in front of me

You and I create

Our own destinies

Everyone's fates can be changed

So watch me defy gravity

Defying gravity

Verse 2

Clouds, they cast over my head

And rain on my parade

I won't let them get to me, no

So take, my hand and walk with me

On this road that I can see

No matter how dark and cold the journey may be

Chorus (x1)

Bridge

Don't be afraid

To take a stand

And change the life that's planned

You only have just

This one chance

To make it the best

Chorus (x1)

This is a mid-tempo Pop track with guitar riffs, a mix between Kelly Rowland's "Rose Colored Glasses" and the Michelle Branch/Timbaland collaboration "Getaway". 

Bittersweet Symphony

Been spending loads of my free time playing online games on this website I came across from another blog. In case you're wondering what dopamine is, it produces an increased heart rate and blood pressure. And these 2 games -- Blosics 2 and Gibbets 2 gave me exactly that. Plus the fact that they're so damn addictive doesn't help the least bit. Anyway, I think you guys ought to try them. Haha!

Heard a snippet of David Archuleta's brand new single "Something 'Bout Love". It's just like any other David A song, heartfelt yet catchy at the same time. Looking forward to copping his album this September! :)

I Am

Don't worry. I won't hurt anyone for chocolate.

Or maybe I will. Haha just kidding.

Went for the Resonance concert @ NUS yesterday evening with Simmy and Pravin to support YF. And it was a wonderful night of acapella!!!

The vocal percussionists were amazing. I wonder how much stamina they have.

There were a few solo vocalists who had great voices and in my opinion could beat any Singapore Idol finalist. I'm serious.

I Pray For You

I came across a song "Pray For You" by this new band so aptly. It's quite a meaningful song when it started out:

"Haven’t been in church since

 I don’t remember when

 Things were going great

 Til they fell apart again

 So I listened to the preacher

 As he told me what to do

 Said you can’t go hating others

 Who done wrong to you

 Sometimes we get angry

 But we must not condemn

 Let the good Lord do his job

 And you just pray for them"

But then it became mean and hilarious:

"I pray your brakes go out

 Running down a hill

 I pray a flower pot falls

 From a window sill

 And knocks you in the head like I’d like to

 I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls

 I pray your flying high when your engine stalls

 I pray all your dreams never come true

 Just know wherever you are

 Honey, I pray for you"

Still, I very much believe the part in the first verse about not hating and condemning others who have done wrong to you, because they would ultimately experience karma.

Revenge is meaningless.

Fiesta!

I don't normally blog about cars and automobiles (I think this is my first ever post about cars) but the new Ford models kinda caught my attention while I was reading another blog. So I'm here to share! :)

This is the Ford Fiesta. I think it has a cute design. So I would feel that it suits ladies more. This new model comes in a series of colors including green, yellow, orange and so on.

I'm not really sure about the technical aspects of the car though. But the exterior sure is nice.

Now this is the one I really like. It's the Fiesta Sedan. Looks real sleek and classy. And both this model and the Ford Fiesta are fuel-saving, so it's all good. I dig the rims!!! Look sporty.

I think the most visible difference between the Ford Feista and the Fiesta Sedan is that the Sedan has a butt. I prefer cars with butts. Not big ones though.

Make Me Over

New layout! But I need to change that boring header. Done!

Now you'll see at the top a few pages I have added to the blog -- "What's Getting My Spin" has been revamped to include some of the songs I've been spinning on my iTunes and would like to recommend to you guys. "Penned By Yours Truly" is just the whole collection of songs that I've written thus far and will be updated if I wrote a new one. This makes it easier to view the songs directly instead of having to scroll through the numerous posts on the blog itself. And finally, "Aim For It!" is a list of all the goals that I hope to achieve in my lifetime. Many of them are ridiculous, but I'm just employing Green Hat Thinking! Haha.

Penning Something 5

Wrote a new R&B ballad today! Envisioned Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia singing this one. It's about having enough of your partner's lies and deceit, and finally leaving him.

"Pretence"

Verse 1
2am in the morn'
I called you on your phone
You told me that you would be home

I waited on the line
Nobody picked the call
I thought it's just another lie

Pre-Chorus
You promised that you gon' be lovin' me
You promised that you gon' be true to me
You promised to be honest
You promised to be real
But now you're full of lies and deceit

Chorus
So it was just pretence
And it's all pretence

Verse 2
You said you'd treat me right
So just stay by your side
But I think I could do this no more

When I'm not on your mind
You just ain't doin' right
You got another chick in your ride

Pre-Chorus (x1)

Chorus (x1)

Bridge
Now I see the truth
You just made me a fool
I'm o-ver you

Time to say goodbye
I know I gotta try
Try to live without you

Pre-Chorus (x1)

Chorus (To fade)

The Story Of Toys Part 3

One word -- FANTASTIC. The best one out of all 3!!!

My favourite toys would have to be Mr and Mrs Potato, the 3 aliens and peas-in-a-pod. Haha best moment was Mr Potato using the tortilla and cucumber as make-shift bodies. And Barbie + Ken!

I'm not gonna spoil the rest for you so if you haven't caught this brilliant animated feature, YOU ARE MISSING OUT BIG TIME.

Rating: 5/5

Don't Stop Believin'

Heard about the massive flood at Orchard which happened during my exam today. Saw the photos, it was crazy. Never seen anything that serious in a while. Especially at Orchard Road!



Hey, was that Wendy's?? So Wendy's took over Burger King. Now I know. But it got flooded. BK must be thinking, "Thank goodness we let out this outlet! Imagine the loss we would have suffered! And the clean-up!" Yes BK. Good for you. Poor Starbucks too.

Anyway, today's exam was alright. Basically puked out whatever I could. A few questions were not very well written but I still hope that I can do well.

I think flash mobs are cool. Browsed YouTube yesterday watching videos of flash mobs. Posted one on Facebook which I thought should happen in schools more often. Makes life more interesting. Then there's another kind, the freeze flash mob where people just freeze in whatever they're doing for 5 minutes or so. Here's one that I found which happened in Paris, involving about 3000 people. 3000!!! That's a huge number. I wonder how much planning went into this.