Missing the vibe of Alternative Rock?

Posted in Music with tags on December 15, 2009 by Saquib

It’s about that time of the month when I put up another artist review on my irritating blog. I don’t know where all my emotions are heading, because this blog is totally out of theme (not that it ever had one).

So what I’ve been hooked up to? They ain’t new, but if you haven’t heard of them, it’s probably because they are one of the most underrated bands on this planet. The band is Angels and Airwaves, and they are superbly fabulous. When you put together the masterminds from bands like Blink-182, Box Car Racer, and The Offspring – there’s really no reason not to expect such greatness. But don’t have the wrong impression fool you, this band is really grown up from their ancestors. They are awesome with both music and lyrics, although some of their songs from the first album do feel the same. Nevertheless, it’s what alternative rock fans would love to live for. Their tunes have that instant fix-it capability.

Here’s a list of my favorite songs from AVA:

  1. Lifeline
  2. The Adventure
  3. Heaven
  4. True Love
  5. Breathe
  6. Secret Crowds
  7. Good Day

They are the kind of band that really rock you in concerts and makes you feel connected right on. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Angels and Airwaves, and they have some damn good stuff to share.  I can’t wait for their next album, LOVE, expected to be out on Valentine’s Day 2010.

“Any type of love it will be showed
Like every single tree reach for the sky
If you’re gonna fall
I’ll let you know
That I will pick you up
Like you for I
I felt this thing
I can’t replace
When everyone was working for this goal
Where all the children left without a trace
Only to come back as pure as gold
To recite this all”

Copenhagen matters!

Posted in Life on December 9, 2009 by Saquib

Yes, I do care, and yes, this is a big deal. I’m proud that we too, as a nation, are participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. I do look forward to see the developed world taking a more important role in taking responsibility, and for some reason I think it will work this time.  Do note, it’s not just another conference, we will witness the historic Copenhagen Treaty, which wont just impact the world of today, but all our future generations.

But I would also like to see how our industrial sector, especially the garments industry taking a step to set examples. If international trade standards effectively empower watchdogs to ensure the environmental safety standards are being followed.

It’s about time all of us take a step and stop being selfish. This matters! And we, as consumers, need to show it through the choices we make. It’s not about us, it’s about our future generation, it’ about the existence of our being.

You may learn about our country’s approach in Copenhagen and the affect of Climate Change from here.

Microsoft Direct2D API and the future of browsing

Posted in Windows with tags , , , , , on November 30, 2009 by Saquib

If you’ve been thinking, what could possibly be left out in the making of new browsers, the answer would certainly amaze you. Because both Microsoft and Mozilla has been trying to bring Microsoft’s Direct2D API into use.

That’s right, the new enhancement would enable your browser to render using your GPU’s massive power in parallel. This means the expensive pixel processing will be done away from the CPU, and as a whole would really improve performance and optimize the most of our idle yet powerful graphics cards. We’ve already found something similar in a few recent applications.

Here’s a comparison of Mozilla’s trial using this new technology. Microsoft seems to be adding it to their next IE 9 browser as well.

Winter’s on time?

Posted in Life with tags on November 27, 2009 by Saquib

All of us has been talking about the Global Warming, and how it’s messing up the entire ecology. I can’t recall a season in the last few years that was on time, or may be the whole season thing got screwed up. But I would say that the winter is surprisingly on time this year. In fact, it’s sudden, colder, and well in-balance with the invasion of mosquitoes. Is Obama’s plan really working?

But I was hoping to skip a year when I actually don’t get a cold. It didn’t happen in last 24 years, and it didn’t work this time either. I wasn’t being stupid, I kept my cooler off, and I did take good amount of coffee in the morning. I also kept the temp setting high on the car. But I had the cold even before the winter came in. It starts with a soar throat, and then all of it comes down to a nasty cold and ends with a long and absolutely annoying problem of coughing. But the weird part is, even after all of that, it’s my favorite season of the year.

Well there are reasons why this season really works for me. I like the whole cold and quite part of it, somehow this syncs well with me. It’s chilling, it makes me feel like hanging out with friends more often. And I have to count the fact that it keeps all my precious electronics gadgets cool, I get to wear jackets, and don’t have to think about sweating. It also is a much better time to try out spicy food – I would say they even taste better. And probably one of the best part is the fact that it’s around the end of an year and towards a beginning of a new one. There are lot of things to look back and then there’s working with the resolution. It also feels pretty festive somehow. And you probably can’t underestimate all the super cool clearance sale going around in shops. I also had my longest holidays coming around this time back in high school and probably the whole winter and happiness started working well for each other since then. Whatever reason I try to put together, it’s that time of the year I like the most.

What if I told you…

Posted in Life on November 13, 2009 by Saquib

Did you ever find that person, who, even for once, made you see the reason to be yourself? And what if your life seemed abundant to that person even before you had the chance to tell her how much she meant to you?

There are moments in our lives that makes us see so much we couldn’t, and it’s in those moments we realize how to find strength and move ahead. Because only in such times, no matter how broken we are, we still getup and fight back, believing what that special someone helped us see.

Maybe the sad part is, you never get to tell them about it; or there’s never a way to know how much they mean to you. While they drift away, your life gets empty again. So I ask myself, what was the purpose of that momentary happiness, and why, even when we know it’s short-lived, become so happy with that hope? Or maybe it’s just human nature to look for someone to believe in, even if they give hope for such short times. But do you ever wonder if it would make any difference, if they had the chance to know?

Can’t help but to hate

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on November 6, 2009 by Saquib

The recent incident at NSU puts a huge burden on a student body which was once known for setting the standards higher. But the absolutely terrible “preventive measure” taken by the authority to put a notice board up asking girls to be careful about what they wear is not only stupid, but an example of how awfully the management of this university are misleading the most prominent future power of this nation. Right now, I would have been ashamed of, if only I didn’t have the chance to hate, the authority’s reaction this much.

I’m not trying to point what we couldn’t do to prevent it, neither am I pointing fingers at anyone for what happened; but I’m trying to understand how we could actually think that message was going to help. Someone let me know if I’ve actually become this stupid not to figure this out, because this sure doesn’t make any sense.

Together

Posted in Life on October 23, 2009 by Saquib

Sometimes we look back, and don’t talk about
What we used to be and what we have become
Where we left each other, where we lost our dreams
Forgetting our way, becoming what we made each other to be

And then we look into the dreams we had
The times when we held hands together and stared at the sky
Why we couldn’t figure it out, why does it still ache?

Maybe I’m just proud to be ashamed of
But it still aches
You’d just never know, it still aches inside

And sometimes we look back, just to see if we had done it differently
Where we had the chance, but never saw it coming
When we hurt each other, but still believing on today
Only to realize, forever is too long to be

The hopes we gave each other, the storms we made through
The tears that had meaning, the warmth that gave us hope
Why can’t we still figure it out, why do we run away?

Maybe I’m just proud to be ashamed of
But it still aches
You’d just never know, it still aches inside

John Mayer’s new single

Posted in Music on October 10, 2009 by Saquib

Got my hands on John Mayer’s widely talked about new song “Who Says”.  It’s short, smooth, and has a very New Yorker feel to it.  Got it out for you guys here, so check it out and have fun. If you love the song, do get the album!

When you’re bored and have the pen-tool around

Posted in Life on September 23, 2009 by Saquib

VOICE

Eid-6

Eid-3

Where do we go from here?

Posted in Life on September 22, 2009 by Saquib
I tell you what this city needs – to get real. Have you tried looking into the eyes of people, and see the incredible amount of dissatisfaction and trauma?  I only live to see so many of us not living anymore. But what exactly happened to us?
Yesterday my cousin told me something that actually did made sense. (Now it’s hard not to talk about it, as you barely feel like that these days.) The thing with most of our generation is, we were lied to. Remember all that we were told, all the dreams that we believed in, the thing about growing up real and being the person we are supposed to be? How all of it is supposed to just work out and the perfect map to success? And then we grew up and saw those paths don’t exist, fairness is just a term, and no matter how hard you’ve worked, you’re lucky enough to even just exist when you’re trying to do it on your own. Did all of us just have the wrong dream? Or are we just way outnumbered by the losers every day?
I look around us, and can’t picture where this nation stands fifty years from now. The vision to believe in next five hundred years is even more difficult. I know we’ll build more bridges and construct even cooler skyscrapers, I know we’ll have talk-time that’s cheaper than water; but I can’t seem to find that sense of righteousness, I can’t seem to find a nation that would earn respect by their incredible values and distinctive passion to excel for a human cause. I can’t seem to see a time when the economy here will not be driven by a bunch of morons, or a time when the most incredible part of this nation, the youth, would have the chance to grow some real love for their country.
Save it for some other place, you gotta fake it to be someone here. That’s what I see when I look inside people. Try spending some time in the VIP lounge of Zia Airport, and just see where the people (who could’ve changed this nation) have shifted to. Then spend a night at Khulna town to find out how we have no clue about who else are in the bus. I’ve only got a handful of people who really are unique as they should be, and have an amazing way of thinking. But I live only to see them go away. Most people here has an idea of being something they are not, and it’s so naturally trendy here, you don’t even notice what’s wrong with you. And this is one of those first steps of literally losing a whole generation of incredible people.
I just find more and more people so shallow inside, you talk to them for a while and then you know there’s nothing more to them than the very typical un-sophisticated personality, often widely misguided ambitions, and an alarming amount of confusion with who they really are.
Does anyone care about making a difference anymore?

Have you tried looking into the eyes of people, and see the incredible amount of dissatisfaction and trauma? Yesterday my cousin told me something that actually did make sense. (Now it’s hard not to talk about it, as you barely feel like that these days.) He told me that the thing with most parts of our generation is, we were lied to. Remember all that we were told, all the dreams that we believed in, the thing about growing up real and being the person we are supposed to be? How all of it is supposed to just work out and the perfect map to success? So I asked myself, the people who told us such things, did they themselves believe in them? So we grew up and saw those paths don’t exist, fairness is just a term, and no matter how hard you’ve worked, you’re lucky enough to even just exist when you’re trying to do it on your own. Did all of us just have the wrong dream? Or are we just way outnumbered by the losers?

I look around us, and can’t picture where this nation stands fifty years from now. The vision to believe in next five hundred years is even more difficult. I know we’ll build more bridges and construct even cooler skyscrapers, I know we’ll have talk-time that’s cheaper than water; but I can’t seem to find that sense of righteousness, I can’t seem to find a nation that would earn respect by their incredible values and distinctive passion to excel for a human cause. I can’t seem to see a time when the economy here will not be driven by a bunch of morons, or a time when the most incredible part of this nation, the youth, would have the chance to grow some real love for their country.

Save it for some other place, you gotta fake it to be someone here. That’s what I see when I look inside people. Try spending some time in the VIP lounge of Zia Airport, and just see where the people (who could’ve changed this nation) have shifted to. Then spend a night at Khulna to find out how we have no clue about who else is in the bus. I’ve only got a handful of people who really are unique as they should be, and have an amazing way of thinking. But I only see them go away. Most people here have an idea of being something they are not, and it’s so naturally trendy that you don’t even notice what’s wrong with you. And this is one of those first steps of literally losing a whole generation of incredible people. I just find more and more people so shallow inside, you talk to them for a while and then you know there’s nothing more to them than the very typical un-sophisticated personality, often widely misguided ambitions, and an alarming amount of confusion with who they really are.

Does anyone care about making a difference anymore? I can’t imagine we would leave this world only wondering if we ever added any value to it at all.

“I can’t believe that we would
Lie in our graves
Wondering if we had
Spent our living days well
I can’t believe that we would
Lie in our graves
Dreaming of things that we
Might have been “

- Dave Mathews, The greatest artist I’ve ever known.