new pair of soccer cleats?

So I’ve been debating buying a new pair of soccer cleats.. It’s been a bit of a toss-up really. At the moment I’ve been checking out some Adipure II’s, which are a benchmark cleat for Adidas (think Predators mixed with Copa Mundials). I’ve also considered Umbro’s SX Valor II’s, especially with their new white/black colouring, that just looks amazing (http://www.footy-boots.com/sx-valor-ii-ultra-7380/). Recently, we had some Puma Konstrukts shipped in at work, and they are gorgeous, and seem to be a very solid shoe. Not to mention they are Cambrian coloured, and I am looking forward to trying out for Cambrian Men’s Soccer this upcoming fall. Here are links to all of these shoes, provided by Footy-boots.com which is a valuable site for most things soccer-related, especially shoes. Help me decide which to purchase :s

Adipure II: http://www.footy-boots.com/adipure-ii-5178/

Konstrukt III:  http://www.footy-boots.com/puma-v-konstrukt-iii-5333/

Umbro SX Valor II:  http://www.footy-boots.com/umbro-sx-valor-ii-5836/

The Dance is Old

I dance on a stage built out of the bones of lovers past,
every step grinds another ribcage into dust,
and the fumes suffocate my lungs until I puke,
but they will laugh and cheer, ‘encore!’

This dance is old,
the jokes are plain,
the act falls apart,
under its own weight,
the weight of mediocrity.

Nothing changes;
everybody laughs out loud together,
and cries in the dark alone at night.

Life continues,
the neverending story of loss, heartbreak and death,
with the occasional tale of love, triumph and life,
to keep the audience going,
and stop them from killing themselves outright,
as opposed to the slow deaths we all work towards secretly.

July 25, 2009

I’m back!

Sorry everybody, I went on vacation for a little while (and had a blast!) Now I’m back and ready to start posting again, so fear not faithful readers. Enough with the delay, time for me to post some new content. Enjoy!

-Andy

the smell of burning oil

A lightning storm passes over the pavement,
it blasts it’s electricty into the ashphalt,
leaving behind the strong smell of burning oil.

The stench of the inorganic chokes me,
and reminds me of your heart;
the dark void with a lack of a soul.

You’re all chemical and synthetic,
a mixture of burning plastic, rubber, and vinyl,
that smothers oxygen and human lungs.

Your words shoot poison in every direction,
under the veil of love,
it’s time to move on for both of us,
before I light you up like Kuwait,
and let you burn alone.

July 14, 2009

heaving for your forgiveness

The memory of you has carved itself deep within my heart,
never to be swept away or disturbed until the end of days,
when everyting slides into the void of eternity, mercifully.

Your ghost still materializes sometimes,
and it reminds me of my need to suffer;
I become less complete with each passing day.

All of the ghosts choose their days,
and roar with the voice of broken love,
shaking my soul to its rusted core.

I cough up blood and chunks of oxizidized metal,
until I am heaving for your forgiveness,
that will never come to ease the pain.

The wuthering heights we achieved with passion,
became deadly windfalls in our aftermath,
ascension seemed so pure, but now reeks of shit and hell,
and I’m left to wallow in the death of us, alone.

July 14, 2009

begging for ghosts to keep me company

I am shaking apart,
one painful memory after another,
and all of the ghosts of my past,
are threatening to leave me.

I beg for ghosts to keep me company,
in my lonely cold world,
full of faceless creatures,
and the absent hearted.

I can feel my blood turning cooler by the second,
knowing it will be a frigid river in time,
flowing through a black, hollowed heart,
emptied out after the memories weren’t enough to live in,
and reality has become too broken to sustain life.

Life breaks down in these solitary moments,
where friendship is further than sorrow,
and even death.

My body shivers,
my blood grows colder,
a collection of parts that form a cold machine,
where the thought of a soul has become a romantic delusion,
because of all the ghosts and dead space that’s left,
after the ghosts of you moved out with another,
and left me vulnerable and broken down,
my natural condition.

july 14, 2009

Revolutionary Road

I found this film to be heavy-handed with its moralizing at times, which is a similarity this movie shares with movies such as The Hours. I enjoy the general message of both movies, and felt that both movies were very solid, but they were sometimes bogged down by moralizing conversations. That being said, I love to see significant conversations happen in films, because so many films lack them completely. The term that is often tossed around with films such as these is “existentialist” because they feature people debating their existence and the lives they’ve chosen, and I don’t think it’s unfair to use that terms discussing movies such as this.

This film was also similar to American Beauty, because it relates to the idea of the American dream and living in the suburbs, except it is set in the 50s instead of the modern day, which makes it lose some of the kick that American Beauty had. Another difference is that American Beauty involved the couple fighting against one another and leading their separate lives without a care, whereas Revolutionary Road  is about the couple trying to change their life together, despite fighting so much against one another.

I found the characters to be a little unrealistic at times, just like their dialogue. I’ve had conversations that featured some similar dialogue in real life, but how it flows in the movie is out-of-touch with how people actually speak. Of course, films are not meant to be reality, and as Ayn Rand says, she writes characters to be the ideal of what people should be like, which is a stance I feel most writers take with their characters. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet both performed well in the lead roles, and the supporting cast was also solid most of the time. I don’t know whether DiCaprio’s performance is Oscar worthy, as it has been suggested to be.  In the end, neither of them got nominated for these roles, which is for the best. I’ve seen both of these actors perform better in other roles they have had. The chemistry between the two of them in this movie is strong though, and it actually feels like they are a couple when you watch them together.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. The pace of the movie seemed to lag behind at times, but overall it presented the story and characters in an easy-to-follow manner. It is a shame some of the dialogue felt unrealistic, because the movie had such great potential. I would recommend seeing the movie, but American Beauty accomplishes the same goal, without the baggage of this movie, making it a much better film overall.

Vale Inco workers officially on strike!

Vale workers voted unanimously against the proposed new contract, according to the Associated Press. This is the first strike since Vale Inco took over Inco’s Sudbury operations, and many locals feel it will be a long one. The union has recently made comments regarding Vale Inco’s operations as being “Third-world.” All bantering and posturing aside, the outcome and fall-out from this strike will be crucial for the city of Sudbury, and Canada as a whole, as it will demonstrate how the municipal, provincial, and federal governments deal with a foreign company in a situation such as this. This strike will also set a precedent for how the upcoming Xstrata (February) contract negotiations (aka strike, as many miners are making it sound) will play out. This writer can only hope that the city of Sudbury rallies behind the striking workers, and demonstrates their support for them in full force, in whatever capacity it is being asked of them. It is interesting Vale Inco is pushing the workers into a strike, considering they made more profit in the last two years then INCO did in the 10 years preceding those, isn’t it?

Be strong workers, I’m happy you did not cave in to such a ridiculous contract offer. This strike may get long, but hopefully Sudbury residents can carry you on their back until this company offers a realistic contract to their workers.