There is no more solemn duty for an American‚ commander-in-chief than the martialling of “all elements of American power” – the phrase Obama himself used on Monday – to protect the people of the United States.

In that key respect, Obama failed on Christmas Day, just as President George W.

Source:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100020934/barack-obama-gets-an-f-for-protecting-americans/

The Phrase; Hazara

__________________________________________________________________________

ENGLISH EDITION

God is the creator of all the creatures of Universe and among these all creatures; Human beings have held position of Supreme Creature (Ashraf-ul-Makhloqat) since they can think and act.

God says in Quran:
و سخر لكم مافي السموات والارض
You are prompt as an authoritarian on the earth and sky.
و نفخت فيد من روحی
Oh! Human beings I have inserted my soul in your body.

Human Beings are the representatives of God over the earth; Mankind has all those bounded adjectival abilities that God has.

The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan

Human colonies on unlike races survive in different places of the world and each of those’ culture, voice communication and customs differ and colonies’ characters which recall their culture, language and tradition have high state of social and technological developments.

“Hazaras” have stayed one of the most deprived communities amongst the world tribes; consorting to groups of researchers 7000 years and 2300 years ago, they used to dwell in Mid-Asia regions and had confronted monumental civilizations but out of the blue they weren’t able to hike up their endowments as their culture and language were profaned by the adversaries and outsiders; afterwards they have stayed behind of their recognition.

There aren’t enough authentic data of Hazaras’ history since researchers don’t have reliable proofs for their aspects as you see two dates (7000 & 2300) were mentioned about Hazaras’ historic periods above which differ in high extent and thus aren’t legitimate.

Likewise many notions have been put across the phrase “Hazara”, an estimation saying almost 700 years ago in 14th century; group of people were named “Hazara” which is adverted to “Hamza-bin-Azrak” (حمزه بن آزرک).

Later on Rasheedin Caliphates, Muawiyah-ibn-abu-sufyan (معاویه) had developed a corrupt and anti-Islam government called “Umayyad Caliphate” which endured almost for 90 years and the last ruler was defeated by Abu-Muslim-Khurasani; decreed by Abbas-e-Saffah and Umayyad Caliphate was likewise extirpated, afterwards Abbas-e-Saffah demonstrated a similar government to Umayyad Caliphate which was named “Abbasid Caliphate” (Luxuriant Castles, drunkenness, …).
Abbas-e-Saffah was dreaded and scared of Abu-Muslim-Khurasani; since he was invulnerable to fear and intimidation, anyways Abbas-e-Saffah wiped Abu-Muslim-Khurasani out for his personal profits and his future conveniences.

Abbasid Caliphate lasted for 500 years; the first 100 years of the Dynasty were glowing and were highly enthusiastic, there is not doubt that great Islamic civilizations and elaborations are seen in this period but regrettably the other 400 years didn’t retain as first 100 years, with the order reversed this period persisted gloomy and dingy.

About 50 years later Abu-Muslim-Khurasani’s dissension in first 100 years of the Abbasid Caliphate; a person called “Hamza-bin-Azrak” who was from Khurasan, dissented and protested against depraved government of Abbasid Caliphate which is considered one of the most potent public protest in history of Sistan and the protest’s consequences caused Harun al-Rashid (The 5th and most famous Abbasid Caliph) to write a letter of peace offering to Hamza-bin-Azrak and he who desired justice and Islamic equality, declared himself Commander of the Faithful (Amīr al-Mu’minīn) and likewise subverted Harun al-Rashid of Caliphate.

Courage, bravery and gallantry of this public insurgent in wars, converted to myths and by the passage of time touched on as mythic tales in Hazaras’ narrations.

Likewise as his panoramas and thoughts were colored Shiat-form led upshot broadly and extensively in people of that period. This Campaign rooted in warps and woofs of people in that region for legion years; especially the simultaneous movement of the Shiite holy Sistan against the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs was formed and consecutive protests against injustice and Bani-Umayyad rulers and Bani-Abbas were joining the occurrence.

Some of the research workers and writers believe that the phrase “Hazara” has link with Hamza-bin Azrak.

According to some facts and rules of Dari grammar this theory is likely correct.

In Dari Language we make Adjectives of a noun (صفت نسبی) by adding “ی” at the end of the noun; Such as:

But if we see some of the adjective aren’t so; Such as:

The above adjectives seem to be as constructed as if “noun + گی”, as we know we didn’t and don’t have such rule in Dari grammar.
But the truth is that it isn’t “noun + گی”, it is “noun + ی” …

In past in Dari language many of the words had got “گ” at the end, Such as:

As you see the above adjectives are made according to the Dari grammar rule; noun (past)+ی

There are some other nice examples:

The word “غله and میوه” were “غلگ and میوگ” in the past which are pronounced and written “غلج and “میوج in Arabic, since we don’t have “گ” in Arabic and that’s why instead of “گ” we use “ج” and as well the plural is made according to the rule of Arabic grammar “noun+ات”, such as “میوجات and غلجات”.

The same case is with the Phrase “Hazara”:

The word “Azrag” in slang term in past is the same modern “Hazara” and the Phrases “Azrag and Azrak” (Hamza-bin-Azrak) are very similar, that’s why according to the sayings of some of the writers and researchers the phrase “Hazara” is attributed to Hamza-bin-Azrak.

Contributed by Hamid Hussain Salihy

The arm and the leg are important parts of your body. There are lots of things that you will not be able to do if you are missing an arm and a leg. When you buy something and you say that it cost you an arm and a leg what you mean is that you paid very dearly for it. It cost you a lot of money. It is also possible to say “pay an arm and a leg for something”. Another expression that means more or less the same thing is “pay through one’s nose”.

*The tickets for the one-day match cost Manju an arm and a leg. *I am not going to pay an arm and a leg for a piece of junk like that.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, November 1, 2004

I think the hardest thing about writing is staying with it. Yep, staying with it.

The words, the phrases, the sentences, the paragraphs. It’s all in there–the writing.

But to write you have to stay with it from the single letter to the period at the end of the sentence that concludes the last paragraph that finishes the book.

And then we begin again.

…

The repetitiveness is daunting, very.

And why do we stay with it, we writers, we gods of change, mere humans seeking to make the world right, set it in our own image?

How narcissistic?

Perhaps we keep writing starting the story with the first letter of the first word of the first sentence that opens the paragraph to set ourselves straight.

Or perhaps it is to keep ourselves going. Driving towards the end of a story we seek not so much to comfort ourselves as to truly find out what is going to happen at the end.

Will our major character to whom we have given over our story in part because she or he has ripped it from our trembling hands, make it. Will she or he be all right.

To save themselves is to save us, their writer, the author of their lives and the events that encompass their lives.

I am unsettled, a little short or insane, crazy perhaps, when I do not write.

I don’t mean for weeks or months. Days.

I am addicted to words. Unless they ooze from my fingers that either type upon the keyboard, or hold the pen or pencil that scribbles the words, I am lost, without myself, that other part of me that slithers out in my antagonists or marches forth in the soul of my protagonists and suffer like I when I am not writing.

Whatever the case I must write, not because I am great or even good at what I do.

I write because it feeds my soul.

And because my soul aches a little less when I am writing.

Why do you write?

How does it feel when you are writing?

What is it like when you are not writing?

After pins were invented in Europe near the end of the middle Ages, they were considered a great luxury. Makers were allowed to sell it only one or two days a year. This gave rise to the custom of husbands giving their wives money to buy a few pins. In time, money allocated for a wife’s own private spending came to be called “pin money.”

So it’s time to start the “Glossary of the Day” that will be words and/or linguistic phrases a bit depending on my mood. If you want it to be in another way please comment or vote in this poll:

友達 – Friend, companion

Kanjis used:

友 – Friend、companion, pal

達 – Pluralizing suffix

I didn’t get this posted on Monday, as I usually do, so I may not post my answer list until later in the week.

How many commonly used English phrases can you think of that follow the pattern C___  E___ ? I was thinking of Christmas Eve as I came up with this puzzle, and there are two or three others that are quite common as abbreviations. So far, I have a list of 10 or so. I expect to double that at least, by the time I post my answers. I will try to post them over the weekend.

This sentence starter, seemingly a habit for some, opens the door for all content after it to be put in question. Also, it makes what should be known sound self-serving, even if it has no relation to the subject.

Outlandish as that example is, I’m just not sure why you’d need to start out with that saying. Unless you’re a terrible liar, or a starting politician. Or something.

Let “I’m Not Gonna Lie” Die

Photo Credits: Here

I am so pissed today. I might type a phrase that I will regret later on or will make you mad as you are reading this…but it’s got nothing to do with you. Just clearing my mind out.

I have stopped posting about SFI…why? those following days that went thru was not really interesting. I felt stupid and uncomfy. But I passed the test by the way with the score of 32/37.5 . First I was a bit confuse of the half total score since we were scored according  to spelling and understanding the questions. I have a friend who takes the same course as nybörjare (beginner). She told me that all of the test they took have sample on how to answer the question, and we didn’t have it. Oooh! I remember we are devided into different sections… those who  are a bit slow and unsure-ly smart  are gathered together. And those who were in my section were the people who’s working already, a mom, chefs, career people and some stinky man.  I have to be honest since they say Swedes don’t lie, it’s forbidden in Sweden!!!! yeah right! so if they think you did something wrong or something that won’t fit on their breeding standard they will just keep quiet since oh! Swedes are silent and reserved and sweet. yeah…yea..yeah. But when they turn around they’re gonna start talking and laugh about you. I have nothing against swede but sometimes the silence between their lies is so over seen, ooh I forgot they don’t lie. Like in Arlandagymnasiet (my school)  You can’t be rude on Africans because they need support and love and donations, but Africans can be rude to us and no one gives a shit about it. I don’t generalize since I met a very 2 nice Africans that kept their feet on the ground. If you only knew some of my Filipino friends thinks they’re different now because they are learning basic Swedish  and all they care about to ask is if I passed the exam because they did and they just want to know if they’re still better than me..I mean come on… what have we learned? words, words, and a lil rules in making phrases but still we can’t speak Swedish. taking it for 3 months you just get familiar with greetings, family greetings, friendly greetings and responding to hi, hello conversation…eh? It’s not that hard but it’s not easy either or shall I say Lagom (gentle or moderate). At first I thought I’m gonna have a nose and ear bleeding because of the language course. I remember my first day, I had a headache. I told my self  that I have to stop this bullshittt! ( ooh I misspelled the shit! shit!) and it’s so focking cold here (misspelled again, Fuck!) Sorry for typing bad words. no worries you’re not gonna hear it anyway but you can see it (you’re dumb if you didn’t get this). back to my complains.  I don’t know if I want to continue this course but I know my future and dreams  is going to force me. I never thought that I wanted to be a chef in Sweden since I really don’t appreciate their boring food…and oh my G! they like sweets so much, as much as I am avoiding it. Again I am not generalizing  since my in-laws cooks good food… and it is Lagom. Cooking in Sweden for my in-laws became my hobby but since I don’t have a Job and money everything is very limited. You know like you don’t have your own stuff to use and you always need to borrow, and I am bad on borrowing things…tooo shy and I don’t like it. In Sweden they like lending you stuffs just return it after you used it….or if you forgot they’re just gonna take it. Like a repo people who hasn’t seen “Pursuit of happiness”. What am I talking about??? Jag vet inte (I don’t know).  When you ask some swede “what time is it?” and you know they have a watch or a clock near them…they have time to reply “jag vet inte”, first. (haha) and then you should’ve ask “can you check what time it is?” which is the perfect question for them to be kind to respond correctly. Moderate eh?  Speaking of time telling, I am not so good on it yet since we are used to a.m. ,p.m. in the Philippines. Here when it’s 8:30 in the evening  it’s half past eight and in Swedish it’s Halv Nio or 20.30 which is Tjugo Tretti. If it’s 8:35 in the evening and in swedish it’s Fem över halv nio…ahhh!! quit it. I don’t like it. it’s easier now anyway since I learned it by my self. Everything I do here is just by my self. I’m in a hard situation but easy to accept if my heart is into it. My husband doesn’t go out not because he doesn’t want it but he can’t…it’s really sad but I understand him in some ways. My routines sucks and the solution is to change it but when you start the same acts every time you wake up the same chores follows. Brewing coffee, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning lil Erika,make food for Erika, watch kids show with my lil angel, clean her amm amm bottles, sitting in front of the computer, checking mails and my  Facebook, put Erika to sleep, play with Erika, go out with Erika, shop some food or Erika’s milk, cook, eat, watch tv, do laundry, dish wash, sit in the sofa, watch hell’s kitchen, play with Erika till she gets tired, net surfing…. putting Erika to sleep, clean her feeding bottles, throw trash, moving Erika to our bed, back to watching tv, pouring Erika’s milk in a bottle, shower, watch tv and sleep. Shit! the same thing I did yesterday and the other day and last week and last month and last five months ago. And it’s my 6th month stay  here in Sweden. SO cold and depressing…sometimes I wanna put my head in a pail of water and drown my self. Or piss an arab man and get bombed. bull shit! I’m outta here! Peace

Smart people in all fields add some frosting to the cake they sell. Putting frosting on the cake means giving people more than they expect to receive, and it begins with simple things. A smart business manager never places negative people in upfront jobs, such as telephone operator, receptionist, check-out stand cashier, and ticket seller the customers and clients a business serves rarely, if ever,  see the firm president or a key manager. They judge the business rightly or wrongly by the way they are treated by the ‘unimportant’ people.

Experienced travelers stay at hotels where the reservations are polite and positive; people choose restaurants based on the attitudes of people who seat them, serve them, and take their money. How good the food tastes is always less important than the service in building repeat patronage. And the companies that deliver packages know courteous, friendly service is their best competitive weapon in beating the Postal Service where, generally, counter-personnel are negative in attitude.

Words and phrases as ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘you look good today’ are free frosting that make sales and build businesses. Call your business or office. If you don’t hear a wonderful, “I am really glad you called” voice, train or replace the person. Have a friend stop in at your business. If he doesn’t get great service, take corrective action.

Success-oriented people ask, “How can I give others more than they expect? What kind of frosting can I put on the cake I’m selling?”

A cake—the product or service you offer—is just baked dough. But when you put some frosting on it and give it a little post-sale service, you’ve made the dough delicious. Try it, and enjoy the rewards.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

An expression still used to denote prompt payment, is associated with a practice in medieval markets. Payments were placed on raised counters known as “nails” so that all could see that the money and change were correct, and that any bargains that had been made or offered were kept.

I wonder if my writing makes any sense. I can’t phrase what goes on in my mind,it is like some shortcoming that will never change. I mean, the writing is more like what can go on in my head, what i can think about and what could cross my mind. I still feel like describing my thoughts now, but let’s say no words would come out right or make any sense to others.

Like, when you’re saying something, you really know that what you are saying doesn’t make any sense at all. And if you try to rephrase it, you give the impression of not getting any of it yourself… This doesn’t apply with my writing, at least not for me. It does make sense for me, and i can recall what sorta thoughts i was going through at that moment…

Much to the annoyance of one particular reader of PC, I have been using the title phrase rather incessantly over the last few weeks, so here is it’s derivation and root.

And here is an interesting, perhaps delicious idea for the drink of the same name.

This is an expression that we normally use when someone asks us how we are doing. When you say that you are in the pink of health, what you mean is that you are in good health; you are doing just great.

According to some scholars, the expression has nothing to do with the colour. “Pink”, I understand, is the name used to refer to the flower, “dianthus”. It is considered by many to be the perfect flower. Hence, when you say you are in the pink, what you mean is that you, like the flower, are perfect. Others believe that the pink refers to the scarlet coloured jackets that hunters wore when they went fox hunting. These jackets were called “pinks”. Therefore when you said that you were in the pink, it meant that you were in good health, ready to go hunting. Another theory is connected with the complexion of Caucasians. Being white, when they are in good health their cheeks are pink in complexion. Therefore, when someone says that he is in the pink of health you can actually see it on the cheeks. Since the cheeks of most Indians don’t turn pink, perhaps we should say, “We are in the brown of health”.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, October 18, 2004

We are now in the midst of the Christmas season and many people are busy with shopping, family obligations, Christmas-related events, company parties, and many more activities that are too numerous to list. With the busyness that comes with Holiday preparations, everyone seems to always find a little time for a little Christmas tradition.  Whether it’s watching a favorite Christmas movie like It’s a Wonderful Life, or a song by Bing Crosby, these are the traditions that help define us and meet our expectations for a splendid holiday!

Over the next 12 days, I will be featuring different lists in the spirit of the 12 Days of Christmas. Who knows, I may even solicit your help via Twitter to get your suggestions. Who knows, your suggestions may even make these Top 12 lists. Nevertheless, it will be a fun little distraction to reminisce away on the things that help make our season bright.

For starters, I have compiled a list of the 12 Days of Brainworms™. So what is a Brainworm™? A Brainworm™ is a virtual parasite that viral in nature. It starts off small like a tune you can’t get out of your head and has the potential to be an international sensation.

Here are the 12 Days of Brainworms™, as determined by the Brainworm Institute™:

1. Jill and Kevin’s Wedding Dance Video – An internet sensation. Jill and Kevin Heinz threw away the traditional Wedding March by dancing up the aisle to Chris Brown’s Pop hit, “Forever.” This phenomenon has produced more than 33 million hits in its first six months on YouTube. Jill and Kevin are using the fame of the video to garner donations to help stop domestic violence (I wonder if it’s any coincidence that all of this occurred about the same time that Chris Brown beat up his girlfriend, Rihanna.)  On NBC’s sitcom, The Office, homage was paid to this video for Jim and Pam’s wedding. Although the stunt on The Office was great for “must see TV,” it pales in comparison to emotional and sensational charm of the original. I guess that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
2. Chocolate Rain – Tay Zonday’s Internet music video, “Chocolate Rain,” is another YouTube sensation. Although it did not reach the level of fame as Jill and Kevin’s Wedding Dance Video, it still boasts more than 45 million hits during the past two years. It also spawned copy-cat videos, like Chad Vader.
3. Baby Cory dancing to Beyonce – Everyone loves babies! Perhaps we’ll see him on “So You Think You Can Dance” in about a dozen years or so.
4. The “Wassup” Bud Light guys – Marketing Genius! This cult advertising hit of 1999 drew millions of football loving beer drinkers to say “Wassup….” While sticking out their toungues. It definitely broke through the clutter.
5. “Where’s the beef?” – The sweet, but ornery, Clara Peller became an accidental star in 1984 with the mega-hot TV commercial for Wendy’s. Today, the phrase can be used to question the validity of questionable ideas.
6. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” – This low budget advertising surely got its bang for the buck in 1989. Although the hokey acting delivered this darling catch-phrase to the late night comedians and younger Americans, not many seniors actually bought the LifeCall product resulting in the company’s demise in 1990.
7. “The Macarena” – Crowned as VH1’s Greatest One Hit Wonder of All Time. Infectious, to say the least.
8. “Who Let the Dogs Out?”- This song actually annoyed me for a couple of years. I guess when the song appeared on “Men In Black II” did I sway to accept this song as a Brainworm™.
9. “Wardrobe Malfunction” the new vernacular born from that infamous Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson Super Bowl Halftime Show that resulted in not only a wardrobe malfunction, it was the most rewound/replayed TiVo segment up to that point in history.
10. “She Bangs” as interpreted by William Hung. Thanks American Idol for this train wreck. We just can’t help to watch. Of course, we’re tired of it now. I wonder what sensations we’ll see this next January. With Paula Abdul leaving the show, we’ll certainly need some entertainment.
11. “That’s what she said” from “The Office” probably won’t stand the test of time, but has permeated into everyday conversation in 2009.
12. That trampoline music video by OK Go! singing “Here It Goes Again.” – I just love a good idea. This splendid music video is a breath of fresh air in a decade of boring videos. Young musicians, promoting exercise and fitness; it’s a Big Brainworm™!

So, that’s it for today’s installment of “The 12 Days of Brainworms™.” The next blog I’m developing is the 12 Days of the Best Christmas movies. Tweet me with the name of your favorite Christmas movie at http://twitter.com/johnweeden. Chances are pretty good that I’ll use your suggestion!

Thinking of You!

Has anyone noticed that whenever the phrase “Have you been…” never starts out as a good thing. Its so accusatory. Today I was laying on my futon, which I’ve been sleeping on because I’ve been feeling like it and one of my roommates was like “Have you been sleeping on your futon?” She didn’t mean it an accusatory way but that’s been echoing through my head all day and I can’t think of a way where those three words strung together in such a way wouldn’t sound accusatory. Even if they added nice words at the end. Maybe its the way people say it in my life that I’ve noticed this. Prove me wrong.

Beyond that, I didn’t have anything else to wonder about so I looked up something to write about in order to fill up this blog. It often happens that I’m in a blogging mood but I don’t have anything interesting to talk about. So I found a list of 73 things to talk about. So I’ll start with number one and make my way through the list.

1: What is your greatest fear?

I’m assuming this doesn’t mean what are you most afraid of, because if that was what this question meant I would answer snakes because snakes scare the living crap out of me. I’m going to assume this means in broader terms…big picture terms. In which case I would have to say my greatest fear is losing my family. We all know how close I am with each of my family members and since my grandma was given less than 6 months there have been times where I’ve wondered what would happen if I were to lose a family member. Is this morbid? A lot of you will say yes out of pure reflex, but you can’t lie and say that it hasn’t crossed your mind. What would I do? I don’t really know. I imagine my reaction being different for each family member, but I guess as a whole I’d be the person who would wait to have a complete break down until after the rest of the family was ok. But I can’t imagine my life without my family. I don’t want to imagine a life without my family. I’d like to think that my world is as good as it is because of my family.

People talk about nature vs. nurture and there are all these studies done that talk about how life as an adult and how you act can be traced back to your childhood. I had a pretty damn good childhood, and without my family I would be a much different person. I got my caring, understanding, “shrink-ness” from my dad and that alone takes shapes a lot of my life. I’m the go-to-person. I give advice when asked, but I’m really good at being there for people. I’m not sure who passed on the ability to write well, or my creative side. Probably my dad again because of all his crazy hobbies. Again, writing is a HUGE part of my life. My mom gave me my organizational skills. She also passed of the love of reading, which is huge. My mom also showed me how to be both logical and emotional when it comes to helping other people. I know when to be completely honest with someone and I know when to be really careful about what I say.

I don’t know what I got from my brothers and sister beyond patience. haha I think Jake really helped me along with supporting someone no matter what other people say and how to help someone who is a little different. Tim probably helped with my strong opinions. They may not be political opinions all the time (though he’d love that) but Tim has always been very strong with his opinions. Megan has taught me that even though there can be fighting, there is still a lot of love. She also inspires me to keep writing when I feel like I’m not creative anymore. One look at my room filled with her drawings and stories fly out of them.

SO yeah. Without my family I would be an empty shell of a person. That is what I fear the most. Losing my family. That’s probably a lot of people’s answer. Lame. Hmm, after that I would have to say the thing I fear the most would be my future, though that is getting a LOT better in recent days. The unknown would be a better answer I guess. Yeah, so losing my family and then the unknown. Alright. Topic one done!

There are some good questions coming up people! I’m excited. I might just blog a lot more in order to answer these questions.

Love Emily

Next question: What sorts of dreams do you usually remember?

Also let me know if you like the new layout. The only problem I have with it is that there is a lot of words in your face. Otherwise I like it.

AND there is an email subscribe button at the bottom of the page so if you want to be notified through email when I put up an email instead of having to watch facebook, sign up! I’d appreciate it.

 This is an expression which first began to be used in the 1940s by the U.S. Air Force test pilots.

When a pilot “pushes the envelope” he takes the plane beyond the recommended safety limits prescribed. He pushes the plane to the limits in order to determine what exactly the plane can do. The expression became popular thanks to a book by Tom Wolfe titled The Right Stuff.

Nowadays, the expression is used in everyday contexts to mean, “going beyond the limits” and “to stretch the boundaries”.

*The new company is beginning to push the envelope in the world of technology.

 The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, October 11, 2004

Hey everyone!

David here with THFE’s first blog about the year that was. And where better to start than Australian music’s supposed “night of nights” – the 2009 ARIA Awards ceremony. This blog was put together by myself and my younger brother, fellow THFE team member Chris.

THE YOUNG BROTHERS PICK APART THE ARIAS

Another year, another ARIAs.  In the past couple of years, we’ve all been cynical about what would happen and sneer as the perceived undeserved collect scores of pointy awards – yet there’s been moments that have brought us back continually watching. Last year saw some of the best performances the ARIAs have ever seen in Gurrumul’s simplistic beauty and The Presets‘ technicolour insanity. The year before that gave us John Butler jamming with the most unlikely of partners in Keith Urban; and even before that in 2006 gave us the haunting rendition of “Watch Over Me” with Bernard Fanning, Clare Bowditch and Kasey Chambers.

And what for 2009? Flaccid hosts, horrible sound, ridiculously awkward presenters and giving fucking Channel Nine ratings. The event itself was complete trash, with very little to save it. Here is mine and my brother Chris’ reactions to the major awards and major performances.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR – Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream

DAVID: Some interesting nominees amongst the lot – The Temper Trap an unexpected inclusion, AC/DC irrelevant and Eskimo Joe unnecessary. It’s great to see Luke Steele finally getting the recognition he deserves. A lot has changed since his 2003 nomination for the Sleepy Jackson album Lovers. He has evolved into arguably Australia’s most unlikely popstar, and he is completely lavishing his new bottle-blonde electropop persona. More power to him.

CHRIS: Empire of the Sun were the only Australian band who’ve done anything really relevant this year, so their win was a little unsurprising.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR – Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream

DAVID: What an immense track. Everyone from my mother to Barack Obama has a soft spot for this track, possibly Luke’s most soaring pop moment in his discography. The competition here was considerably tight, too: The Last Day on Earth was a dark horse nomination, Sweet Disposition and Chase That Feeling had a strong chance and My Delirium had turned into both a Triple J AND Nova anthem. Five great songs, one great winner.

CHRIS:I guess this one was somewhat expected, given their winning streak leading up to the award getting announced. Still, I personally don’t think the song is that great – easy to see why it did so well, though.

BEST MALE ARTIST – Daniel Merriweather

DAVID: Well, now, who could have expected this? The guy has spent most of his recent years overseas, with only two minor radio hits to his name here at home. Still, Daniel is young, gorgeous and vocally talented – and with a string of friends in high places (Phrase, Wale, Mark Ronson), you’ve got an artist that can only improve from here. Perhaps this will be the turning point in terms of his local popularity?

CHRIS: I honestly don’t know very much about this guy at all. Still, from what little I’ve gathered, I think it’s great that he’s found some success overseas. Good on him for working towards being a successful artist.

BEST FEMALE ARTIST – Sarah Blasko

DAVID: What a lovely surprise! The release of As Day Follows Night was comparatively quiet to her previous albums, so it was uncertain whether she’d be receiving the same attention that she got from What the Sea Wants… back in 2006. Still, very well deserved – she’s still a phenomenal talent, as she proved with her disjointed yet lovely performance of All I Want tonight. Another very competitive category, with some sensational nominees.

CHRIS: Yeah, this was definitely surprising, but definitely in a good way. Congrats!

BREAKTHROUGH ALBUM: Ladyhawke, self-titled

DAVID: This is hard to define as a category. Did C.W. Stoneking really breakthrough with Jungle Blues? Did Conditions really break the Temper Trap in Australian terms? Whatever, let’s just call a spade a spade – Ladyhawke’s debut was a smash success, and it’s great to see this Aussie/Kiwi/Brit/citizen-of-the-world getting some recognition for her work.

CHRIS: I don’t think I noticed up until now how much she looks like Garth’s female doppelganger in Wayne’s World 2…

BREAKTHROUGH SINGLE: Ladyhawke, My Delirium

DAVID: The poor thing looked so frightened during her acceptance speeches, but it was nice that My Delirium was getting the gong for breaking on through to the other side. Starting out on Triple J and Rage, the song exploded on commercial radio as aforementioned. And really, it’s insanely catchy – no wonder it’s done so well for Pip. The other major contenders were Coin Laundry (still one of the cutest songs of the year), and Art VS Science’s EP – but not even they could match the commercial success of Delirium.

CHRIS: The song isn’t usually my kind of thing, but you’d be an idiot to deny just how catchy it is. The award is very much deserved.

BEST ROCK ALBUM: AC/DC, Black Ice

DAVID: Fucking bullshit.

CHRIS: Fucking bullshit.

BEST POP RELEASE: Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream

DAVID: The Empire continues its dominance. If we’re strictly talking pop music, I would have said that Curiouser had a lot more going for it – Can’t Shake It, Supergirl and Politics in Space are all brilliant. Still, can’t argue with Luke and Nick; and Walking is a great album.

CHRIS: As you’ll probably gather, I don’t personally like Luke Steele and his work very much. Having said that, I probably wouldn’t have picked anyone else out of the lot to win.

BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE: Bertie Blackman, Secrets and Lies

DAVID: Yes! Yes! Fucking YES! Even though it was disappointing to not see Bertie get the AOTY nod, this is still easily one of the most well-deserved awards ARIA has given in a long time. Bertie is one of the most incredibly talented and forward-thinking women in Australian music today, and all Secrets and Lies has done is cement this fact with some remarkable pop music.

CHRIS: Have not heard of her before this point. From the snippets I’ve now heard, I’m not sure if I’d like her. Still, great to see independent music getting the recognition it deserves. Great work.

XX

David and Chris Young
THFE