mighty morphin pubescent teenagers.

So i've been listening to this song by Boyz II Men - Do You Remember (Lyrics | Listen), for the past 3-days on repeat. because a) It's a good song and b) i've been to lazy to change the CD since Friday-past.


Aside from marbles, Tazos & wanting to be the white ranger (fyi, that's Zordon on the left). This is what i remember... (insert hazy-timewarp effect)

I remember just after i learned how to write my name.. i used to write it anywhere & everywhere; that includes the musty-white roof of my parents car.. my parents told me off; but my childlike fear of my parents, insisted and persisted in saying, that i didn't do it.. when i clearly did.. It literally had my signature all over it lol I was 4.

Ah innocence... like the time i pulled out the cigarette lighter.. after the car was running for 5 mins.. I burnt my finger, and cried, and cried.. For those who don't smoke, or have never realised how that cigarette insigned knob actually works.. don't learn it the hard way :) I was 8.

Or like the time my fingernail fell off . That's gross, but how did it happen? i was digging a hole with a rock, smashed my finger.. behind a tree, next to the steel metal shed, near a playgroud, IN THE OUT-OF-BOUNDS area! DUN,DUN! My friend Avril d'costa, Christopher B, and Andrew Gadowski was there to witness this horifying and traumatic experience. I was 10.

Or in grade 6 camp, our group went out on a biking voyage, like all bad-ass 6 graders, we chose to stay at the back. Right in front of me was Sarah Sydzik. A pretty Polish blonde girl. The prettiest polish-blonde girl i ever sawed in my life.. loll.. long story short; she crashed into a bin, being the gentle'boy' (not man) i was, i helped her up. At breakfast, the next day, a letter was passed around, from table to table..

Saying "i want you bad!".. well, no.. not exactly.. but that's probably what it would write these days, cause kids are whack.. Iit said something along the lines of, "i like you, thank you.. yada, yada, go out with me?".. lol that was my first girlfriend lol.. I was 12.

It's fun to reminisce my pre-pubescent childhood. I honestly don't know why i don't do it more often..

I guess people lost in the day with working 40-hour weeks, students getting too encapsulated in their struggle for success, or getting too drunk that their childhood, or the hour before, gets too hazy to remember. Which is a real shame..

I'm sure i have more of these tales.

Oh, and i peed my pants in grade 2.. seeped and spread through the carpet, during reading time.

But I'll come back to it another day.

Enjoy your days boys & girls.

You are dismissed. :)

photo journal #001

"rolling clouds. spinning wheel." by joseph valdez.

the 80-year drive home

Got home relatively late last night, foolishly went on a frenzy of editing & uploading photos from my close friends 21st. Happy Birthday to you my dear (if you're reading this). Hope you had a great night!

On the drive home, was running out of petrol.. and here's the photo evidence. Had my camera in the car.. and everything i do these days, will coincide with me thinking if this is blog worth material.

On the left,, is my fill up on the pump. It makes me sad. That is all. That is usually a weekly thing. Boo on petrol! LOL. Bought a Ribena drink, softened the blow of the fuel prices, and all was relatively well after that :)

I read on a friend's Facebook nick over the week past, about being different. It goes something like this... "Everyone is trying so hard to be different when in fact everyone is the same for wanting to be different". It left me in a, "That's deep" kinda moment.. And it got me thinking slightly.. here was what i came up with:

Personally, i don't think being different is so bad.. wanting to be different from everyone else and not conforming with the rest of the world, are two totally different things. wanting to be different to make yourself known, is clearly not the same as stepping out and standing up for what you believe in. wanting to be 'different', i think, is an expression of individuality.. and if "not caring about what other people think", makes you flick your hair back and scoff... then there is clearly much to learn.

I can do it this way, or i can go down the lesser known, arts student, soul searching way...

This post just reminded me of a poem by Robert Frost, "The Road not Taken" (or The Road Less Travelled.) How untimely. I first heard this in a film, Dead Poet Society. Though it features Robin Williams, it's not as humorous as you might first think.. quite a thought provoking film. I highly recommend it, to anyone AND everyone! :) Anyway, here's the poem.. Enjoy!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet, knowing how way leads onto way

I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence

Two roads diverged in a wood

And I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.

the legendary hamish & andy podcast

it is quite possibly the best. podcast. ever.

Check it out here, or search them in iTunes.
> Hamish & Andy Podcast

so you think you can blog?

Our Blogging Phase 2009
Preface by Joseph V.

If you've found your voice and found some way to express it, then by all means... who needs permission from anyone?

It's a blog, we're all bound to talk about ourselves, be it in the third person, or sometimes Joseph likes to talk in first person.

What it boils down to, is a freedom of expression that can't be tainted by foul words to psych.. Your opinion of how you- live the life, you've been graciously bestowed is a beautiful thing in itself. Everyone's journey is different, and we should feel enlightened that blogs are an outlet for that.

I've seen blogs with people that talk about market research.. (geez, how bored must you be?).. but hey, no need to hold that against mr.boring-market-research-guy.. we're all bloggers.. just one big, blog, bang.

that being said; everyone has their niche.. so stick with what you're good at.
be it.. being a rat, subtly hinting things, talking life, talking love, talking music, talking trash or using big words that you never really get to use in 'the real world'.

I hope that we all continue to blog, even on our death beds.. it's the next best thing to having a key & locket diary under my bed, or actually using your hand to write things on paper?! who the heck does that these days?!

i kinda liken it to "memoirs of a geisha"..

we're like geisha's and these are our memoirs.

(mind you, i've never read the book, its just logical)..

have a great weekend!

cheers,
-josiah

orr tings eshun.

English translation:
All Things Asian.

Well, okay.. here we go, my secret to the best dumplings, best ramen, and quality asian food in general...

Here's the secret:
Live in Box Hill (or the east)

So should you ever come down to the east side.. you'll know where to eat.. cause Box Hill is lined with at least 20 Chinese restaurants, 1 la porchetta, 1 mcdonalds. It's slim pickings... so pick wisely..

Best Noodlesoups
The Ramen King
Downstairs foodcourt, Box Hill Shopping Centre.

The Ramen King is a bold statement.. to claim that he is king of ramen, is too bold to comprehend... but he has nothing to be ashamed of...I bow down to his handmade noodles, generous servings, and quick service.
"All hail the Ramen King... Huzzah!!"

Best Dumplings
Best Food Gallery
Station St, Box Hill

Best Food Gallery - That's another bold statement. These asians don't back down man! They hardkaww men! But once agian, the dumplings are freakin' awesome... So good that my sisters, their kids & I, eat here, all the time. If you do go, tell them Joseph says "Hi!"

(N.B. Next time you're in Box Hill, call me.. i'll shout you lunch!)

Best Japanese
Sushi Express
Centro (Whitehorse Plaza), Shop 68, Box Hill

As quick as their name and service is, Sushi Express can not be mistaken for rushed food. You can definitely taste the love in every bite.. Be it Sushi or their bento boxes, or rice dishes (i.e Katsudon).. or my personal Friday favourite.. "Calamari Bento"... mm.. Sounds disgusting to some.. so screw them :) I love it, thats why i will go back again this week, and every week after that.

Oh, and the people that serve: are actually Japanese (for once). Not another asian culture posing as Japanese.


Well thats all for Food review's today... til' next time food lovers.

- josiah

sleepless in the studio.

gosh.. this totally blows. i had not managed to get one wink of sleep tonight.. and i highly doubt i will be getting it til later this evening..

My Studior (prononced similar to boudoir..)

/stu-dwär; the place where you make love with your music

Uh... A couple of nights back, i had another sleepless night, so i decided on rearranging my studio/domain/graphics suite to better suit my mood.. if you're curious to what gear im currently using, please feel free to ask me, i shall spare the details for the majority that may not care (as much) :)

i find music and songwriting to be very theraputic. music in general, is awesome.. songwriting is another aspect to me that i've come to love. i've developed a genuine appreciation for great lyrics and, in turn, great composition/s of music.

i hold in high regard musicians who are always striving to develop their natural god-given ability. i believe that there are certain things that come more naturally, intuitively, instinctively...its in your hands to develop these talents and no-one else can make you do it. its pretty much there for the taking. its either a) you use it... or b) you lose it..

i guess the question you gotta ask yourself is: what are you gonna do about it?

awkward analogy: picture yourself as an egg.. in a carton of 12... would you rather be the one being cooked and used to its potential or rot away in the carton, and prolong the risk of damage. i personally would like to be digested and consumed, as god intended.. mm.. eggs..

food analogy was a result of me wanting sausage and eggs on toast from maccas at the airport. :) lol 6am.. i shall go there now! ciao! have a fantastic day!

-josiah

blog number #001

I''ve started a blog.. a blog, using an alias... because i fear identity theft. lol

Why the sound project? "Sounds like a fancy-self-righteous title for a blog" (gosh.. well, supposedly its me being witty, proverbial and riddled with a hidden meaning..)

i think it encapsulates what i want to get out of this.... you know.. its the stuff that generally goes in one ear, and sometimes never comes out the other... it gets lodged in this congested head of ours; ever building, always accumulating on top of each other, until we're in one big heap of thought.

My thinking was; For sound to work, you have to hear it and it has to be processed.

So... Welcome to the sound project. hopefully its more than just a massive rant about how much this world sucks. Or blog full of bias and opinionated thoughts. Life is challenging as enough as it is... so lets just enjoy this doohicky! :)

There isn't really much to say at the moment, i guess the fact that my parents are arriving from the airport has left me a tad disorientated at 4:15am. Why? i thought they were arriving Thursday, not Wednesday, 6am today. whoops. :(

Anyway, gotta finish cleaning the house, to prepare for the parentals arrival. Pick them up at 6am. Go home. Then off to work. Finish that, then off to MCG to watch the Australia vs. Japan World Cup Exhibition Match. Go the Socceroos!

Ok bye. Thanks for reading.

-josiah.