The Story of Humanity: How We can handle the Coronavirus

Man, 2020 started off with a back foot. After the Australian bushfire case, the threat of World War 3, and the recent helicopter crash that cost Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna’s life (RIP. That guy is a basketball legend), one current medical case ongoing and still being fought around the world is the outbreak of the Coronavirus originating from the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. As of today, there are as many as 9.800 confirmed cases of this virus across 23 countries. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the coronaviruses as a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In short, the virus mostly targets the respiratory system in human cases. In other cases with cows and pigs the same type of virus can cause diarrhea, while on chickens, upper respiratory disease is common. The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) however, is a new type of virus that can cause major respiratory disease, and is shown to have human-to-human contact. This virus was detected as early as December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Referring to today’s latest data, there are now 23 countries with at least 1 confirmed case of this virus, the latest being the Philippines, with total confirmed cases of 9.821, with most are from mainland China. The way this virus spread out of the mainland China is from someone who has been to the country or having come into contact with someone either from China or has traveled there in the span of 14 days. Symptoms might include fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath. Currently, there are no vaccines to combat this virus, but every country is still trying to come up with some sort of cure to battle the outbreak. 

There are many theories as of late about how the coronavirus first spread on humans. One of them involves the Chinese eating habits, with one video surfaced from the Internet depicting a woman eating a whole bat soup. While bats are redeemed as one possibility about the origin of the virus, the delicacy itself is not commonplace in the mainland. When a first confirmed US case reported, conspiracies began to spread on the virus being manufactured, and the how the outbreak is planned from long tome ago. At this point, these claims are not confirmed as of late. Other theory circulating today is even more sinister. One thread suggests that the coronavirus is part of the Chinese bioweapon development that has been accidentally leaked at some point during the research process. The theory itself even made The Washington Times on one of the articles about the virus. There are even crazier stories on how it could spread. In Indonesia, there are just few suspected cases of the virus, bit stories have circulated the social media platform, mostly with topics like how “Chinese-made smartphones can be a base for the virus”, or even worse, ignorantly linked the virus with the Xinjiang Uyghur Muslim case, referring the virus outbreak as “God’s wrath” for the unfair treatment to the Uyghur minorities (this is mainly generated by the more hard-lined Islamic groups in Indonesia, which failed to see that the Xinjiang dispute is all about politics; The Uyghur tried to separate themselves from the Chinese government to form their own country and government, and not religious oppression). The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing still figuring the steps to evacuate Indonesians who are still in China, while at the same time continues to monitor their health and safety every single day. So far, all cases of coronavirus in Indonesia are still suspected, nothing confirmed. 

According to the WHO, there are no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus, as this particular one is newly discovered. Both the Chinese and American government are still trying to invent the cure. The Chinese government even built a special hospital for coronavirus treatment in just few days. For now, the WHO advised every single people to prevent the spread of the virus by the means of self-hygiene, by regularly wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers, covering nose and mouth while sneezing, avoid raw or undercooked meat products, avoiding contact with live wild or farm animals and stay clear from contact with someone either suspected or confirmed of contracting the virus. 

All I can say for now is with Wuhan on lockdown and information from and to China are limited, let’s pray for the safety of the citizens of Wuhan and all parties involved of the eradication of the coronavirus. Be responsible if you are sharing any news related to this outbreak. Don’t dramatize or commoditize this matter, even still, don’t turn this into a meme or some sort. This is neither a laughing matter nor something to make fun about. If you know someone suspected of this disease, help him/her. Don’t marginalize them. And for those who lost their lives to this particular virus; rest in peace, brothers and sisters. Your souls are now free from the burden of pain and suffering of this world. Let us take the fight to this outbreak, for we are all citizens of the world.

False Kingdoms Emerging: When Someone Either Hallucinates or Displeased by The Government

Well, to start of this article, I have to say that although both cases are no laughing matter, To be perfectly honest, I can’t help but giggle for a brief moment while writing this. I did mention some time ago that within the Republic of Indonesia, there is a kingdom that continues to exist as an autonomous region loyal to the republic. But during the end of last year to early this year, two more forms of monarchy emerged from the unknown and went viral. But what sets these kingdoms apart? You may ask. That would be like the million dollar question of royal proportions. Unlike the Sultanate of Jogjakarta, which is recognized as part of the 34 provinces, these two other kingdoms, namely the Keraton Agung Sejagatand the so-called Sunda Empireare nothing more than fabricated illusions made by deluded minds. 

The Keraton Agung Sejagat first went viral on early January 2020, established by Toto Santoso and Fanni Aminadia. Despite the establishment in Purworejo, Central Java, both Toto and Fanni’s ID cards are from the Jakarta Capital Region. In the “empire”, the husband-wife team assumed the “king” and “queen” of the “kingdom, with many “royal” activities being held on their “Palace” in Purworejo. They are also notorious for fabricating statements that otherwise, not really suitable for common sense, like when “Queen” Fanni declared herself and her husband as “The Savior of The World”, or that they actually have a bank account in Switzerland. In recent developments and investigations, It is revealed that not only the kingdom is a fake, but also as a front for the “royal couple” to take economic advantage from the members of the “empire”. Consequently, both suspects are charged with false information with possibility of chaos and fraud. This phenomenon also made the Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo curious. He even went to the site of the supposed “Keraton” on January 21. His Highness The Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of The Sultanate of Jogjakarta issued a statement encouraging people to not take the kingdom seriously, to the extend of always be skeptical for any offers from those “royal establishments”. As of today, both Toto and Fanni are in custody of the Central Java Police Department.

From Central Java to the West Java Province, the Sunda Empire already exist circa 2018, but only went viral after the exposure of the Keraton Agung Sejagat. While the previous case is legitimately disguising the fraud case, this “empire” is, to put into personal perspective, a mix of some low IQ individuals smoking a super strong weed and highly deluded individuals. The case is even crazier than the previous. To explain the absurdity of the Sunda Empire, Just imagine the United Nation’s headquarters moving to Bandung, or their statement about a “centralized world government under Sunda Empire – Earth Empire”. Or even crazier, the current world government as we all know today will end on August 15, 2020, and countries must re-register to the empire. Not to mention the claim that as many as 58 countries are acknowledged by this “kingdom”. The structure of the Sunda Empire consists of high rank officers like a Grand Prime Minister, The Emperor (or in this case, an Empress) and the Governor-General, in that order. One of the high-ranking official in particular, calling himself HRH Rangga once warned both President Joko Widodo and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil to not underestimate this “kingdom” after Governor Kamil (affectionately known as Kang Emil)’s statement saying “there are many stressed-out people in this republic” in response of the exposure of Sunda Empire. In his (deluded) statement, Rangga advised both leaders to not talk nonsense about the “kingdom”. He even issued not-less absurd statements like being able to repel the nuclear weaponry, and claiming that Microsoft owner Bill Gates and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma are the associates of the “empire”. Today, all three “high-rank officials” are now become the suspect of false information with possibility of chaos, and currently under arrest by the West Java Police Department. 

What makes these guys create these false kingdoms and empires then? Many experts will tell you, based on these two cases, it’s either mental condition or economic problems. With theKeraton Agung Sejagat, investigations revealed that the “royal couple” tricked other members to transfer money and other valuables with the guise of procurement of membership cards and royal garments. Furthermore, after series of examinations, the Central Java Police Psychology Team revealed that “king” Toto has confirmed to have imaginative mind and “queen” Fanni to be cunning, impulsive and full of doubts, while dismissing the possibility of any mental instability, which means, the couple are fully aware of their actions. While the Sunda Empirecase is currently under investigation, based on these statements alone, I can say for now that this narration of a centralized government under the Sundanese is a complete nonsense. All suspects are yet to be examined of their mental states. 

On a serious note, many can also say that people form these “kingdoms” as a way to voice their displeasure to the current government, especially the economical issues. Bhima Yudistira, the economist for the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance told detik.com that there is an indication that people nowadays are currently looking for new hopes in the middle of economic difficulties. He also explained further that these kingdoms gave them the same hope for better life, even though all of them are only false hopes and fake promises from the get-go.

In the old days, kingdoms are established as the way for a government to control their territory, and in return, provide the residents with basic supply and safety. In today’s standards, countries either run by democracy or monarchs continue to uphold the same treatment for their citizens. But with these false kingdoms and delusional “kings and queens” their actions can be catastrophic. Many would fall for their false promises, and in turn, spark outrage and chaos to all walks of life. Now we don’t really want that to happen now, would we? If there are any new “kingdoms” emerging and goes viral, be skeptical. Don’t trust them that easily. 

The “Scene” Subculture: For Those Who Once Consider Themselves “Edgy”

Just hear me out on this one for a moment. Being an anthropologist doesn’t mean that I am limit myself to ancient cultures from ancient civilizations, It also means dissecting current or past trends that can be considered to be a “culture” or a “subculture” to a specific extent. I can vividly remember a quote from an Indonesian anthropologist Koentjaraningrat, which explains about what culture is in the first place. His statement, roughly translates as “Every ideas, behaviors and human crafts that belong to a particular society as a whole, and can only be obtained through learning and knowledge.” And every side of human life can be considered as a cultural point, if there is enough members of the society that support it. The music scene is no different, due to varying styles and genres offered today. From mainstream, alternative to underground, every tune is different from the next, and dedicated fans are often come together for enjoyment or making a statement towards the society. For now, I’m throwing back to the late 2000s and early 2010s, where Alternative music was on its prime as the answer of popular culture at the time. Although I was never a member of this particular subculture, The “Scene” is always interesting to dive and discover, particularly their dedication to the music within this “scene”, and also their fashion statements.

The scene subculture first emerged in the United Kingdom during the early to mid 2000s, and developed simultaneously with the more emotionally driven “Emo” subculture. Due to this, the two are often mislabeled and confused with one another. One key difference between these subcultures is the use of bright, often clashing colors and outfits, mostly wear by scene kids (The term for someone who follows the scene subculture), while the other are more darker in color shades, mostly favoring black. This particular subculture also developed from mainly other branches of the alternative culture, like Indie, Goth, Retro and Skater Culture. By late 2000s, the subculture spread throughout the British Isles to Europe and America, most notably The United States and Mexico. At that point, most scene kids are also part of the Metalcore and Deathcore branch of Heavy Metal music, with other styles including Pop Punk, Crunkcore, Hip Hop and Electronic Music. As of the late 2010s, this particular subculture has decreased in popularity, it even considered ‘dead’ as of today. 

Someone can be identified as a scene kid if he/she wore bright, sometimes clashing or contrasting color for their outfit, which typically consists of tight t-shirts and pants, multi-colored bracelets, Vans sneakers, leather jackets, retro belt buckles, ear gauges, piercings, and makeups like eyeliners. For either sex, their hairstyle is mostly flat, androgynous long hair covering the forehead, and to an extent, covering either one or both eyes. Scene girls are also known to puff their hair with various accessories like ribbons or pins. The hair is not spared from the same bright colors either, with most of them dyed their hair with red, blue, green, or any other neon colors they had in mind. For their shirts, graphic shirts are most common piece of clothing among scene kids, with motives ranging from cartoon characters like Hello Kitty, SpongeBob, and etc. to band shirts. They are also an exclusive community, opted to socialize with fellow scene kids, either at music concerts, or social media platform at the time, Myspace. They often use this particular platform to look for new fashion trends among other members of the scene, or setting one. Trendsetters on social media for scene kids are often called “Scene Queens”. They are typically own multiple accounts on multiple platforms like the aforementioned Myspace, Flickr, or the then unknown Facebook as a way to spread current trends at the time. Well-known scene queens ever recorded are Americans Luna Fang and Jeffree Star, and Russian Kristi Massacre. The way they communicate amongst themselves were also a lot different, with mostly modified slang words like “hella”, “uber”, “stella” and “radd”, abbreviations like “STFU”, “LOL”, “IDGAF”, and so on, or even a word most commonly known, “Rawr”, which is a modified version of the word “roar”, often followed with emoticons like “:3” or “XD”. 

Music wise, the scene subculture embraced Metalcore, Deathcore, Hip Hop, Electronic Music, Pop Punk and something called Crunkcore, which is the result of electronic music fused with Hardcore Punk. Most of the music styles carry lyrics full of rebellion, angst, and the desire to break away from conforming society. Bands like Fall Out Boy, Paramore and Bring Me The Horizon once started as scene bands, initially gaining fame through Myspace. Other bands that belonged to the scene are Brokencyde, Blood On The Dance Floor, Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, I See Stars, Attila, We Came As Romans, Pierce The Veil, and many others. Music festivals like Warped Tour (discontinued after 2019) are often the place for scene kids to come together and enjoy (what they thought as) good music. Scene kids are also seen in Skate Parks, as few elements of this movement are borrowed from the Skate Culture. These guys would spend hours socializing with skaters or fellow scene kids, despite never skate for once or even remotely learned how to skate in their lives. They are mostly hate pop music, and see various Rock genres mentioned above, as well as Alternative music as their main preference. They often stated things like “music is my life” or “this band saves me”, or even “(insert band name here) is the best ever!” Of course, with various modifications on the spelling or grammar, which is the thing they are mostly known for. 

From appreciation, come the critics. Since the scene emerged around the same time as the mainstream exposure of emo, many members of the emo subculture accused the scene of blatant “rip-off” of many aspect of said subculture. Scene kids are also the source of controversy by the metalheads, often showed by blatantly dissing more experienced, well-known and legendary bands like Pantera and Slayer, and in turn, metalheads take aim at the deathcore and metalcore scene, calling it “emo crap with whiny lyrics”. Both genres are also criticized for their heavy use of breakdowns, which is a part of a song where instruments have solo parts (breaks) between verses, and screaming vocals, often done incorrectly. Their exclusivity is also displayed by only socialize or date people who also belonged to the scene. This move often responded by criticism of social exclusion and rejection by mainstream masses. Scene kids themselves often label these critics as ‘haters’. They are also known to be equally hostile to individuals that are new to the subculture. Most scene kids will brand them as ‘posers’ (which is a hilarious thing on itself, metalheads also call these scene boys are girls with the same term). They did this with the belief of those same “posers” are in the scene for the fashion, not the music (ironically, the scene from the beginning to its supposed “demise” is all about making fashion statements). Bands within the scene are often criticized for lack (if they have any) of musicianship. Brokencyde was regarded as the band that started the genre Crunkcore, often met with negative reviews. One of them, like Warren Ellis, a Britain-based comic book writer even wrote about their 2008 single and music video FreaXXX, reviewing it as “a near-perfect snapshot of everything that’s shit about this point in the culture.” Blood On The Dance Floor is the more notorious scene bands ever existed, with Jesus “Dahvie Vanity” Torres as the sole member. The group has been reviewed with mostly negative remarks, due to their discography consisting of songs with materials like sex, drugs, and hate speech, beside all the plagiarism accusations in the past, most notably with Nu Metal artist Otep Shamaya. Vanity himself has been linked with statutory rape allegations during his career; with most of the victims were girls around the age of 12 to 17 years old at the time. One of the alleged victims was New Years Day singer Ashley “Ash” Costello.

As someone who appreciates modern culture, I have to say that the scene subculture in itself is like a two sides of the same coin. In one side, it’s about making trends and appreciation of the music as the way to escape conformity. In other end, we often picture this as an exclusive community of mostly teenagers who are thinking (or deluded) about themselves as a misfit, while in reality, they alienate themselves from the society. They are known for their unusual (to say the least) way of communicate amongst themselves, with slangs and abbreviations inserted in their speech or written forms like social media comments. Today, many have thought that the scene is already “dead”, but somewhere around the world, there might be a scene queen who wants to revive the culture and make it popular again like the days of the 2000s. I was never a part of this movement. That being said, if the scene rises again, despite my intention to stay away from it, I can guarantee that exploring this subculture through the anthropological lens could be an interesting thing indeed. 

Metal Musicians: How To Be One and How Not To Be One

After few posts that targets a certain genre that I do not want to be associated with (yeah, it’s exhausting to say the least), I’ll just head back to the heavier side of the spectrum for now, and talk about probably the most misunderstood, yet rapidly rising musical styles available today. As excited as I am doing this, I’ll just divert it a little by dissecting the ones that make heavy music, whether as a solo effort (yes, this thing exists) or joining forces in a band. These talented individuals dedicated practically their whole life to master this craft of pure excitement. But with that being said, there are some “musicians” that piggyback themselves to the popularity of the genre and in turn, produce bad products with questionable quality. 

When we take a deep look at what makes a metal musician, it has to be what motivates them to play in the first place. Many musicians today would still refer to Black Sabbath to some degree, as the English band is arguably the first ever Metal Band, remotely thanks to Toni Iommi’s down-tuned guitar sound as a coping mechanism to his fingertip injuries (when I say injuries, they are slashed). Other influences range from fellow Britons Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom, Motorhead and Saxon, each has their own distinct sound. Venom would be billed as the one who kick-started the Black Metal Movement thanks to their namesake album. Iron Maiden are often argued as the band that laid the ground to modern Power Metal sound, and Motorhead are referred as the ones that responsible to the rise of Thrash and Speed Metal, which in turn spawned genres like Death Metal, first popularized by Chuck Schuldiner, founder and vocalist/guitarist of the Florida band Death. 

Musicians take pride of their influences. The recently passed Canadian drummer Neil Peart is the referred as a “hero” by ex-Dream Theater, current Winery Dogs and Sons of Apollo drummer Mike Portnoy. Keith Moon of The Who is also a major influence by many metal drummers, like former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. The four-stringed section of the band is also full of talented and influential musicians, names like Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler, Motorhead’s Lemmy, Slayer’s Tom Araya, Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big and Sons of Apollo, etc. are only some of many bassists that laid their influences in the metal work today. And we can’t really talk about metal without mentioning the most important element of the music itself, the guitar. Metalheads and metal musicians would spend eternity naming their most favorite and influential metal guitarists. There are massive amount of guitarists either currently active or already retired, from household names like Toni Iommi (of course you have to include the man here), Kirk Hammett, Kerry King, late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, Dave Mustaine, and Zakk Wylde to emerging youngsters like Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold, Marco Coti Zelati of Lacuna Coil and Eluveitie’s Jonas Wolf. As far as the vocal side of things, there are many iconic frontmen in metal history, with names like Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, James Hetfield, and Ronnie James Dio. 

Referring to the fact that metal is one of the hardest musical genre to master, the musicians themselves are expected to evolve and perfecting their craft over the years, most commonly taking on a side project beside their main bands. German vocalists Hansi Kursch and Tobias Sammett are the prime example of this, with Kursch currently working in both his main band Blind Guardian and a collaboration effort with American guitarist Jon Schaeffer named Demons & Wizards, while Sammett focusing on either Edguy or his metal opera project Avantasia, in which Kursch himself lend his vocals to sing in two of the songs of the 2019 release Moonglow by the band. Sammett’s ability as a vocalist is often compared to Bruce Dickinson, due to similarities on tone and delivery. While Kursch has a habit of overdubbing his own voice to the point of actually create a perfect choir, implying that he is heavily influenced by English Rock band Queen. Other vocalists are known for their versatility, like Nightwish main woman and Dutch native Floor Jansen. She is known both as a powerful vocalist and a vocal coach herself. Other techniques like growling and screaming are also requires technicality in such a way to preserve the vocal chords. Vocalists that are known for these techniques are Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg, Cannibal Corpse’s George Fisher, and Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, to name a few. It seems like forming a super group is a thing commonly associated with metal musicians who wanted to spread their wings in the scene. The most recent example of this is Sons of Apollo, currently consisting of ex-Dream Theater members Portnoy and Derek Sherinian as drummer and keyboardist respectively, bassist Billy Sheehan, guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. The band is looking to release their second album MMXX in the beginning of the year. When it comes to musical ability, these guys are not to be underestimated either. Sheehan is known to be a shredder type bassist, always loves to bust out tasty bass lines, grooves and even solos, and also known user of three-finger picking technique. Sherinian is a type of keyboardist that mainly thinks like a guitarist, with most of his gears are run through guitar amplifiers. But when it comes to complex musicianship, every metalhead you know would probably give one simple and similar answer: Tool. This Progressive Metal band that once pissed an entire fanbase off is known for their odd time signatures and deep lyrics. Drummer Danny Carey is known for his polyrhythmic playing behind the drums, bassist Justin Chancelor is known for his complex bass lines, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan, who is known as an eccentric character on and off stage. 

Aside for it’s technicality, many bands are praised for bringing another element to the heavy tunes of metal. Rapper Ice-T formed the band Body Count initially as a media for his friend and guitarist Ernie C to play Rock music. The way Body Count play their metal is to fuse the metal element and Ice-T’s rap, with lyrics tackling on social issues like racism and Police Brutality. New Zealand upstarts Alien Weaponry went even further, by incorporating the Maori culture, including the Te Reo language into their Thrash Metal music with the release of 2018 debut effort Tu.

Aside from those who are talented in their own right, there are those who are also musicians, but not as talented per se, instead became a laughingstock of the metal world. Metalheads often argue that metal should be miles away from any other elements of the genre. It means originality, integrity, work ethic, and dedication. With more bands emerging from the underground scene, there are slew of bands that not only are criticized, but also ridiculed. The most known example is the Experimental Metalcore band Design The Skyline, hailing from Corpus Christy, TX. They were formed in 2010 as a 7-piece band, and signed by Victory Records in the wake of their debut demo Surrounded By Silencein 2011. They are viewed as “the worst thing ever coming out from the metal scene”, with severely auto-tuned clean vocals and chaotic composition (in a bad way, when I listen to the song out of curiosity, I was amused by how messy the mix and the composition are). Their appearance reminded me a little bit to the “Scene Subculture” in 2004-2005, with emo influenced colorful hair, colorful wardrobes and skin tight pants. It seems like auto-tune become the common enemy, as this piece of equipment can be used to justify someone who has terrible singing voice. Another band loathed by the metal scene is Toronto native Abandon All Ships, where they released the single Take One Last Breath from their 2010 album Geeving. This song gathered hate and loads of criticism due to clean vocalist/bassist Martin Broda’s heavily auto-tuned singing. This band effectively makes Nickelback like the most musically talented band ever (I said that out of sarcasm though, many people still hate them to some extend). Asking Alexandria also came under fire for the “auto-tune” issues surrounding current vocalist Danny Worsnop. These bands are also criticized for their heavy use of screaming vocals, similar song patterns like double kick bass drumming and guitar breakdowns, and also profane-filled lyrics. Plagiarism is also a thing of taboo amongst all metalheads. Last year the band Flaw are accused of plagiarism by several Metal YouTubers for stealing guitar riffs. Once the case surfaced and dealt with, the band decided to fire the guitarist, who accidentally slipped a confession regarding the case. The situation worsens when he issued an alleged “half-assed” apology online. Since the case, he has retired. 

These musicians are deserved the praise that they are given as they are, with years of dedication and hard work making them what they are today. They are influenced by many musicians before them, and will influence future musicians of the next generation. Just make sure you don’t cheat your way to fame by using auto-tune or time-aligned instruments along the way, you might get your backsides kicked because of it. And In the closing, I am writing this as a fan who admires the work that these guys and girls are putting out for Heavy Metal, and I am proud to be a fan because of them. 

The Dakar Rally: The Most Dangerous Form Of Motorsport Ever

Here we go. Ever since I wrote about the concerns of the safety of motorsport/auto racing after the death of two racers in the span of four months, I am constantly hoping that motorsport will be at least remotely safe with all these changes and improvements of safety regulations, but when the new year rolls, a rally raid endurance championship opens its doors for all the drivers and riders to test both the man and the machine to their absolute limits through harsh conditions. No wonder lives are claimed every year during this big motorsport spectacle. Although I am more into the on-road side of the spectrum, the off-road motorsport category always presents something new and unique through every race and every road surfaces these guys have to pass through. Both FIA (for cars) and FIM (for bikes) has their own interpretation, this particular cross-country event is open for all vehicle classes (as in 2019, these categories are cars, bikes, trucks, quads, and the new UTVs). Let me guide you into the wonderful, yet treacherous world of the Dakar Rally.

The Dakar Rally was first held in December 1978 (although its first official edition was dated in 1979) with the starting point in the French capital Paris, finishing in the city of Dakar, Senegal through Algeria, Mali and Niger after a brief sea transport through the Mediterranean Sea. The first event featured a total of 182 competitors separated in three vehicle classes, with 80 cars, 90 motorbikes and 12 trucks. This is also the only edition of the race where all vehicle classes are classified together. The subsequent events saw these categories compete separately. France was the successful country in this edition, as three French drivers all won the overall rally standings in all three classes. Those were Alain Genestier (cars/Range Rover), Cyril Neveu (bikes/Yamaha), and Jean-Francois Dunac (trucks/Pinzauger Trucks). This route ultimately gave the race the current “Dakar Rally” name, as the route between the subsequent events (from 1980 to 1991, as well as 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2001) features Paris as the starting point and finishes in Dakar, with variations of race stages going through cities in between (in 1998, the organizers went overboard, setting the race from Paris to Dakar and back to Paris). There are few times either the start or the finish is in different cities. In 1992, the finish line moved to Cape Town, South Africa in a bid to combat declining number of competitors. During the 1995, 1996 and 1999 events, the rally actually started in Granada, Spain. The rally would return to Spain, traditionally finishing in Dakar, with Madrid served as the route between Arras, France and the Senegalese capital in 2002, and Barcelona, which became the starting point of the 2005 edition. In few instances, the Senegalese city actually start the race, with the 1997 edition featured the Dakar-Agadez (Niger)-Dakar route, and the 2000 edition, which finished in Cairo, Egypt. One edition in particular (before the race moved to South America) featured neither Paris nor Dakar as either the start or the finish. The 2003 edition won by Hiroshi Masuoka and Andreas Schultz in the Automobile category driving the Mitsubishi (Masuoka became only the second Japanese to win the event after Kenjiro Shinozuka in 1997, also with Mitsubishi) started in Marseille and finished in the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh. After the cancellation of the 2008 event due to concerns over terrorist threat, the rally returned in 2009, this time in the South American continent, with the routes taking place between Argentina and Chile. Aside from the two countries, the race also traveled through Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, with the last edition of the event was back in 2019 held in Peru. The current edition of the Dakar Rally is currently held in Saudi Arabia, the first time for the Asian continent and the Middle East region. The drivers and riders are currently navigating themselves from Jeddah to Qiddiya, comprising 12 stages in total. 

Many would say that the Dakar is the true test of endurance for both man and machine, as this particular motorsport event typically held in unnaturally harsh conditions like mountains and deserts (most notably the African Sahara Desert and the Atacama Desert in the South American routes), with varying terrain surfaces like mud, sand, camel grass, erg and many others. The vehicles entered for this particular rally raid event are also specifically modified to last the entire event. You will probably notice a few key differences in vehicle specifications between cars used in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and the ones in the Dakar. Most common difference is the ground clearance level; with rally raid cars are noticeably higher than their WRC counterparts. Cars competing in the Dakar would most likely survive a WRC special stage, but the WRC class car wouldn’t last long in the more harsher desert environment. The key difference between both car classes is while WRC use the base of modern production cars currently on sale, most cars are either heavily modified or specifically built to withstand the more hostile environment. The drivers and navigators (on cars, trucks and UTVs) have to be extra careful on navigating themselves through the stages of the race. There are current talks about the inclusion of electrically powered vehicles to enter the rally itself, although it’s not for the first time. The 2017 edition saw a Spanish manufacturer Acciona, with a crew comprised of driver Ariel Jaton and navigator Tito Rolon competed with a fully electric car in the category, finishing 57^thplace overall. The car itself used a 250 kW electric motor with six battery modules capable of charging independently, with a 100-watt solar panel mounted on the roof as the energy source. The bikes used in the rally are also radically different from normal motocross bikes. While the FIM-spec MXGP bike equipped with a 250cc engine, the engines used in rally raid bikes are limited to 450cc. The motorcycle class once had two subclasses, the bikes and the quads. The latter was spun off as a separate class beginning from the 2009 rally. These quads are typically four-wheel drive with the engine capacity up to 900cc. The trucks are probably the biggest and heaviest category competing in this historic rally, with onboard crews can be up to three at a time, this category hold a specific distinction as the most powerful category of the race, with engine capacity exceeding 10 liters. The 2017 edition saw the introduction of the UTVs (Utility Terrain Vehicles). Previously fall under the broader Automobile category. These UTVs are permitted to run as a separate category with engines not exceeding 1000cc in capacity. 

The drivers and riders have to familiarize themselves with surrounding environment; with most of them are seasoned rally drivers with varying degrees of experience. Drivers like Stephane Peterhansel, current defending champion Nasser al-Attiyah, rallying legend Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz Sr are some of the famous names competing the rally from that background. Throughout its history, there are only two Formula 1 drivers who entered this prestigious event. Those two are the 1983 winner Jacky Ickx and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who is currently competing alongside co-driver and multiple Dakar Motorbike Class winner Marc Coma under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner, driving a Toyota Hilux Dakar. The Japanese manufactures have a long history in the cars category, with Toyota as the current defending champion and Mitsubishi being the most decorated manufacturer in history. Other manufacturers have also taste the victory circle, like Mini (although as a non-factory effort), Volkswagen, Citroen, and Peugeot. On the two-wheeled side of the spectrum, Australian rider Toby Price is the current defending Dakar champion with KTM as the manufacturer, dominating the class since 2001. The last non-KTM winner was BMW in the previous edition. Peterhansel also held a record to be the only Dakar winner to win in two separate categories. In the trucks, Russian manufacturer Kamaz is the current champion with driver crew of Russians Eduard Nikolaev, Evgeny Yakovlev, and Vladimir Rybakov. Although being relatively younger as a race category, the UTVs boasts manufacturers like Polaris and Can-Am as two competing makers. Much like KTM’s dominance on the bikes category, Yamaha has been dominant in the quads since its 2009 inception. Other makers competing with the Japanese are fellow compatriot Honda and Can-Am. 

I did mention that The Dakar Rally is the most dangerous, totally unfriendly racing events ever existed, didn’t I? This is also one of the things the event is most famous of. In every event, there are bound to be at least one fatality during the course of the race, with most of the recorded deaths is from the bikes category. The first fatality was back at the first ever rally, when French Rider Patrice Dodin lost control of his Yamaha XT 500 bike approaching the start of the Agadez - Tahoua stage while adjusting his helmet. He suffered from skull fracture and was later declared dead after being transported into a hospital in Paris. The latest competitor to succumb from this rally at the time this article comes out is Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves; his cause of death is cardiac arrest. There are some other competitors from the trucks and the cars who died after getting involved in a sort of an accident. Kees van Loevezijn from The Netherlands and Frenchmen Charles Cabannes and Laurent Gueguen are the only three competitors (engineer and two support truck drivers, respectively) from the heavy category to die in this rally, with the Dutchman died after being thrown out from the truck after hitting a sand dune, Cabannes was shot dead by rebels at In Kadeouane Village, Mali, and the latter name was killed after caught in a landmine in Morocco. The first automobile accident was occurred in 1998 when co-driver Patrick Canado died after the Range Rover driven by Rene Boubet crashed into a Mercedes-Benz 280 of Italians Klaus Seppi and Ambrogio Azzuffi at high speed while the last accident happened in 2003, this time causing co-driver Bruno Cauvy to lose his life after an accident during the Libyan stage of Zilla and Sarir causing the Toyota Land Cruiser driven by Daniel Nebot to roll over at high speed. Nebot survived this incident.

As a motorsport fan, I can’t seem to enjoy Dakar somehow, not because of lacking any excitement, but because of its body count. Despite this, I always keep on tracking the progress of the drivers and riders currently competing in this event, with the hopes of surviving the Saudi Arabian edition of the race in one piece. With future races expected to be held in the Arabian peninsula in five years time, I can only hope that the organizers would pay more attention on the safety of all parties involved in this event, and in turn, decreasing the death toll during the race itself. 

Neil Peart and Rush: A Rock Legacy

When I saw the news popped on my social media timelines, the first thing I felt was shock and disbelief. Sure, I don’t really dive into the more progressive side of Rock and Metal music, but the entire Rock and Metal community mourns the loss of a legendary musician who has been the ace behind the drum kit. He was mainly known as the drummer of a massive Canadian band (not THAT Canadian band), spanning a career from 1968 until his retirement in 2015. Today, exactly three days since the news of his death broke out, I’m writing this article in honor of the drumming ace Neil Peart. 

Neil Ellwood Peart was born on September 12^th1952 at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as the eldest of four. His first musical exposure came in a form of piano lessons, which later (according to the man himself) didn’t have much impact on his musical prowess. He got his first drum kit as a present for his 14^thbirthday and began taking lessons at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. He once went to London, England to pursue his career as a full time musician, but ended up having to support himself by selling jewelry at a shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby Street. Once he returned to Canada, he began playing drums for local bands before auditioning for a position as a drummer for the band Rush, at that time seeking a replacement. Despite differences on first impressions, vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson accepted Peart into the band on July 29^th1974, two weeks before their first US tour. With Rush, Peart acted as the main lyricist, as two of his bandmates are uninterested in writing lyrics in the first place. The band produced the album Fly by Night, their first album with Peart onboard in 1975. His most notable example of musicianship showed in the 1976 album 2112, at that time was Rush’s answer to the least favored 1975 offering Caress of Steel, as well as a big middle finger to the band’s record label who wanted the next album to be more commercially friendly and accessible to the masses, with its title track consisted of a 20 minute number divided into seven parts. He also loved experimenting with sound elements, began incorporating electronic drums for the 1984 album Grace Under Pressure, borrowing the words from an Ernest Hemingway quote to describe their trials and tribulations (according to Peart). He went into a sabbatical following the death of his first daughter (at that time, his only child) in 1997 following a single car accident and his common-law wife to cancer in 1998. After extensive travelling and mourning, he returned to the band to record the 2002 product Vapor Trails. During his hiatus, he married photographer Carrie Nuttall, which in turn gave Peart another daughter, Olivia Louise Peart. Neil’s (and Rush as a band) final album was the 2012 releaseClockwork Angels, and announced his retirement from the music world in 2015. Rush retired from the scene in 2018. After a three and a half year battle with brain cancer (glioblastoma), Neil Peart passed away at the age of 67 on January 7^th2020. The Peart Family (wife Carrie and daughter Olivia) announced his death to the public three days later. 

When I read all those news and tweets sent by the members of the metal community about the legacy this man left, it is safe to say that Neil Peart went from a household name in the Rock and Metal scene into a legend. The main reason Lee and Lifeson accepted him in the first place was because of his chaotic British style of playing, implied that Peart is influenced by The Who’s Keith Moon. His other influences came from Phil Collins, Billy Cobham, John Bonham, and Michael Giles, among others. He was known for his drum solos during Rush’s live performances. His solos were characterized by the use of exotic percussion instruments and passages in odd time signatures. He was also known for his 360-degree drum kits used on performances and MIDI trigger pads for his drum solos. 

As of today, tributes are continue to be posted from Rock and Metal stars like vocalists King Diamond, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, fellow drumers like Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Mike Portnoy, Alex Bent of Trivium, and former longtime Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Guitarists and bassists like Slash, David Ellefson, Gary Holt, Frank Bello and Scott Ian (both from Anthrax) also shared their heartfelt tribute. Comedian Brian Posehn are also among the ones mourning Peart’s passing. Former bandmates Lee and Lifeson also released a statement remembering their “soul brother and bandmate of over 45 years.” Fans around the world continue to offer support and condolences to the Peart family and Rush.

As I have said, when human died, he left two things, his name and his memories. In this case with Neil Peart, it’s his influence and insight of Rock music that would stand the test of time, even when the man is no longer with us today. For now, let’s remember Neil’s life and career in the best way that we can think of, by blasting some of Rush’s iconic albums, mainly 2112. I heard that it is a 20-minute epic masterpiece. Thank you Rush, for the music that you brought, Thank you Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and most importantly, thank you Neil Peart, for not only an amazing career, but for an equally amazing life.

Ip Man and The Legacy of Chinese Martial Arts

Usually I’m not a big fan of martial arts, despite studying Tae Kwon Do during my grade school days as a form of self defense, but last night by the time of writing, I got to see the latest (and according to the timeline, the final) installment of the Ip Man movie series, titled Ip Man 4: The Finale. The movie itself features Donnie Yen playing as a calm and composed title character who is a Wing Chun grandmaster. At first, the name Ip Man (or Yip Man, it’s all depending on the spelling) doesn’t really ring any bells, but after finding out that one of his students was the legendary Bruce Lee, I have to figure out who this man was.

Ip Man was born into a wealthy family in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China on October 1^st1893. During his childhood, presumably around 9 to 13 years of age, he began studying Wing Chun (literally translates to “eternal spring” or “beautiful spring”), which is a form of Chinese martial arts (under the umbrella term Kung Fu) that mainly focuses on speed and relaxation favoring close range combat, which primarily targets vital points of the body. He once worked as a Police officer in his hometown of Foshan after a brief stint in Hong Kong attending secondary school, while at the same time, despite not running a martial arts school officially, he taught the Wing Chun martial arts to some of his subordinates at the Police Force. Two of his informal students, Kwok Fu and Lun Kah eventually went on to teach their master’s style of Wing Chun to their own students across the Foshan and Guangdong region. Master Ip even lived with the former during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and returned to Foshan and his career as a Police Officer. 

Master Ip moved to Hong Kong with his family (mainly his wife, Cheung Wing-sing and daughter Ip Nga-sum) in 1950. His Wing Chun School in Hong Kong had a rocky start, with most of the students typically stayed for a couple of months. Between late 1956 and 1957, Master Ip accepted the 16 year-old Bruce Lee into his school, after losing a fight to rival gang members. This is due to Bruce’s frequent involvement into fights. In 1967, Master Ip along with some of his students established the Wing Chun Athletic Association. Surprisingly, he did this to cover his economical difficulties, due to his regular use of opium, according to one of his students’ claim. The association itself is still exist today. Master Ip died at the age of 79 on December 2^nd1972, creating a seven-month gap between his death and Bruce Lee’s death on July 20^th1973. He suffered from throat cancer. 

When you talk about the legacy that Master Ip left behind, I have to mention one big step that he made besides making Bruce Lee his own student. He was the first Wing Chun grandmaster to document all the teachings and movements of Wing Chun on video, while Bruce did it in the form of writing. Master Ip decided to film the movements out of fear that when he died, the students would adopt the wrong system of the martial art form. He was also the first Chinese martial arts practitioner to accept a non-Chinese student (Bruce was a mixed heritage), thus making him the first grandmaster to made Wing Chun public. This move was considered as an act of deviation, and many of Master Ip’s students refused to train with Bruce, all because of a fact that he is not a full Chinese. Bruce later introduced this style to the American public, as well as developed his own Jeet Kune Do style Kung Fu, which he viewed as “the style of no style.” According to Bruce himself, this style is developed to suit the chaotic street fight environment, as he viewed that the traditional martial arts as “too rigid.” Master Ip practically wrote the history of Wing Chun to the wider public. The establishment of the Ip Man Museum on the Foshan Ancestral Temple Grounds further immortalized his life, with many artifacts of his life are on display. Many movies were made to include the witty grandmaster, mainly ones like Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and The Legend of Bruce Lee, both based on his student’s life. The first Ip Manmovie was the first movie to be based on the life of the grandmaster himself. This then expanded to four main feature films and a spin-off. Hong Kong actor/martial artist Donnie Yen (who is also a Wing Chun practitioner himself) portrayed him in all four main movies. 

What began as a form of self-defense, Chinese Kung Fu is now the most practiced form of martial arts alongside Karate from Japan. With so many known practitioners of many styles of this ancient art, this is also one form of martial arts recognized as a full body contact sport, although only contested as demonstration sport at the Olympic level. From names like Jackie Chan, Cung Le, Donnie Yen, and the legend Bruce Lee himself, none of them would be at the level that they are today if it wasn’t for Master Ip Man. And I’ll end this by saying that no matter who we are, it is our cultural heritage and our ways of life that makes us what we are today, and one should not lose grip of his/her own identity. Embrace your culture to fully embrace yourself.

K-Pop Fans Part 2: How they became The Most Cringe-worthy Fan base Ever

(Warning: Strong Languages and Full-blown rants ahead)

At this point, you are probably wondering, “Why the hell is this guy keep writing on K-Pop fans? Does he have anything else to write about?” To be honest, I’m kind of stuck in a rut, with nothing else to write. Besides, with so many trending topics around all social media channels are revolving at either the imminent threat of world war 3 (Yeah, I know, Trump brought this to himself. He deserves to be impeached anyway) or the current state of world music scene, particularly the one from the Korean Peninsula, such as the recent inclusion of BLACKPINK and BTS on the iHeart Radio Music Awards and the recent disbandment of X1, It seems like I have to write this. But instead of a simple explanation, this is just going to be my thoughts and my thoughts only.

I explained to you many times about fans of a certain musical genre that is kind of like two opposite ends of the spectrum. At one end, there are these matured, well behaved and civilized fans, who loves the genre because of the music itself, and at the other end, well, if I want to elaborate it in a nutshell, it's like stepping into a gang fight while only armed with a single camping knife, while everybody else are armed with either baseball bats, machetes and even sledge hammers. One small false move can spell the end of the road. I can totally feel the emotion and dedication of these fan bases, but like I said in previous articles, shoving your own taste to everyone’s throats would only causing more hate towards you and your fan base, effectively dragging everyone, even those who aren’t even remotely responsible with those events. Sure you are doing this on the basis of “defending your idols” but come fucking on! Even those who only point out the smallest of details about the flaw of your supposed “boys and girls” are greeted with nothing more than hostility and toxicity. You actually have the audacity to attack those who just merely said, “I don’t really enjoy K-Pop.” If someone doesn't really enjoy it, then just move the fuck on! You don’t have to be like a swarm of insects just to defend your idols. It’s basically pointless anyway. The world is not revolving around K-Pop, and not everyone is interested in your taste. 

I recently noticed a specific pattern about how these K-Pop fans make themselves known on every social media platform. If there is a post about their groups or a news involving one of the members of the group, then it is almost certain K-Pop stans will swarm that thread and make it their own appreciation post. Not so long ago, I encountered a Twitter post by FIA Formula E (my favorite racing series today, beside NASCAR and Formula 1) who post their collaboration with none other than BTS, who coincidentally also campaigning on climate change, as well as welcoming Seoul as one of the cities hosting one of the races. And what did I encounter at the comments section? A swarm of ARMYs being annoying just because of 7 Korean men was chosen to be global partners of an FIA sanctioned racing series that will have a World Championship status on their name starting next season (2020-2021). From fancams to pictures of their biases,they are effectively turning a thread from a highly competitive form of motorsport into a BTS appreciation. No wonder some motorsport fans are not happy about this. It maybe for a good cause, but all these fans are doing is solidify a legacy, but as the most cringe-worthy fandoms ever existed. On other topic, I’d really want to see those guys drive that car around Seoul Olympic Park and see how long they can last, because those Formula E cars can generate G-force on cornering that is so big, it can put a massive stress on the neck, possibly snapping it. And also those cars don’t have certain driving assistances either (Traction Control and Anti-locking Brake Systems). I also need to point out, between Tool outsold Taylor Swift on Billboard charts (with lots of Swifties fanbase being mad because of it) and Queen’s resurgence thanks to Bohemian Rhapsody (the movie, named after THAT 1976 eternal masterpiece), when Chart Data released Billboard’s Top Album Sales of 2019 based on pure sales, ARMY swarmed the post with all they got, without taking a consideration that a legendary English Rock Band whose frontman is already dead and doesn’t release any albums since is above them on pure sales (BTS came at number 3, with Queen at number 1). And Tool might only get the 7^thspot, but they just don’t really care. 

When it comes to dedication, nobody tops these fans. Yes, these fan girls and fan boys are so dedicated to their respective groups. But sometimes, at one point, they stan these groups to the point of actually became disgusting. I did mention about sasaeng fans before, didn’t I? While not being a sasaengthemselves, some of these fans just simply whack jobs. There is one thing common across all fandoms of the pop culture, and the element I’m referring to is the one called “shipping.” “Shipping” basically means putting two characters (either from the opposing gender or same-sex) together and fantasizing about the two having a romantic relationship, usually presented in a written form (fanfictions) or drawings (fanarts). And the way this works on K-Pop fandoms are no different either. But what makes me horrified about this element is sometimes they put it on bands like BTS and EXO, and write a fanfiction story like some kind of a love story between two guys! (I am personally not against the LGBT Community; I have few friends who are representing the community itself) What makes me even more mortified; they didn’t hesitate to make it a sexual one either, like a full-blown sexual relationship (like, I don’t know, FUCKING EACH OTHER?). Some of these fanfiction writers portrayed themselves (usually written by fan girls) married to one of the members and having sexual and intimate life with their chosen bias(I read one out of curiosity, and let me tell you one thing: my eyes are scarred for life). Let me tell you one thing. Despite all they did is singing and dancing, these guys are MUSICIANS! Not some kind of a play doll that you can exploit with your heart’s content. And don’t get me started on the “No dating rule.” These guys and girls are humans. They have their own rights to fall in love and start a relationship of their own. So if you are blabbering the lines of “he should not date anyone”, then congratulations, you have been fooled. 

Many would say that during a band’s tenure in the music scene, the fans are the most important to have. And K-Pop fans are no exceptions either. It's just that sometimes, just for the sake of breaking every record on every chart, these fans would do ANYTHING to ensure that their idols are at the top, even if it means to encourage them to be more productive on their promotions and comebacks. For these fans, their idols are everything. If a band didn’t release an album, a single or even making a single appearance, the fans will be going absolutely berserk. It’s not the case when Progressive Metal giants Tool released Fear Inoculum, their first album in 13 years. Tool fans were absolutely chill, but occasionally post memes about “Tool not releasing a new album for centuries.” They can be in denial too; despite initially it was their wishes in the first place. Back when the vote manipulation scandal rose in the aftermath of Produce X 101, I’ve already sensed that X1 is bound to be disbanded, even some of the fans thought so too. But when the daunting announcement came, every single One Its (Their fan base, but I have no fucking idea how the hell they can come up with that lame name) went crazy, demanding the managements to keep the group and its members. They even took to Twitter to express their distress with various hashtags, basically wanting to tell the management to keep X1 or at least rebooting the group. I know what militant fans are, but (to quote Vegeta of the Japanese animation series Dragon Ball) the level of obsession is over 9000. 

Okay. Enough ranting. I personally think that although the music itself is enjoyable (But honestly, I can’t enjoy it as much), it’s always the one who devote themselves as fans that sometimes grinds my gears. To think about having to endure a conversation about music when a K-Pop fan is around kills me slowly. I can only guess that each of us has that one friend who is obsessed with this music, all they wanted to do is to bother everyone else about how amazing these guys are (when you think about it, it’s equally hard to sing and dance at the same time, not much less ripping a guitar solo while growling at the same time), but please. And they are not hesitate to bash, even get pissed if their idols are treated like a big hunk of shit, whether talking trash or flooding someone’s social media account with hate remarks, these Neanderthals will stop at nothing to ensure that their “idols” are pure and untouched (Yeah right, but I believe you are currently fantasizing about being married and having intimate relationship with one of those guys huh? What a bunch of hypocrites). Now I have an urge to just blast Slayer or Dying Fetus to these crazed fans, just to see the reaction. Hell, let’s put Mayhem or Behemoth albums o the loop. If I can get at least horror or scared reaction, that would be enough for me. And I’m saying this one more time, this is written without dismissing a large portion of fans that are more civilized and open-minded. I’m just pointing out some of you that can be really annoying most of the time. I guess no wonder why people hate more on the K-Pop fans lately.

K-Pop & European Metal: Two Opposite Ends of the Same Coin

This is by far my most bold comparative article I’ve ever written so far, because discussing two genres of music at the same time, it’s like messing around with the starved lion while inserting your head into a gaping mouth of an alligator. One is a nation’s pride and joy, as well as international sensation, the other is a continental affair, lurking in the depths of the underground, biding its time to explode and dominate once again. I am currently into this continental affair, now that it’s currently rising from the ashes like a newborn baby phoenix. Both have their own distinct fan base and cultures, and sometime, these two genres would clash at each other. One is from South Korea; the other is from the Continental Europe, Korean Pop against European Metal.

When we talked about the history about these two styles, it’s safe to say that Heavy Metal, claiming its roots from Blues Rock and Psychedelic Music back in the 70s is the older genre compare to its much younger modern Korean counterpart, which rose in the late 90s-early 2000s. Some even say that it was invented by accident. It started when Black Sabbath guitarist Toni Iommi was caught by an accident that severed few of his fingertips, and in order to continue to play, he had to modify his Gibson SG with lighter strings and tuned-down sound, which created a signature distortion now common on metal records today. Before that, the closest Rock song ever to the then unknown Metal territory was Voodoo Childby Jimi Hendrix. K-Pop (modern K-pop, that is) on the other hand, began to rise after a slew of influences by the American market, with the first confirmed modern K-Pop boyband H.O.T debuting in 1996. But not until 2003, the K-Pop market is still contained in the peninsula, after TVXQ’s debut, the movement exploded to a global scale, dubbed the Hallyu Wave(but honestly, I don’t understand any sort of this thing by the time it went popular). 

Since the Hallyu Wave, bands from older generations like Girls Generation, Wonder Girls, Super Junior, 2NE1(now disbanded), Kara and the newer ones like X1 (recently disbanded due to vote scandals), BLACKPINK, BTS, EXO and TWICE continued to spread their wings of K-Pop to worldwide audience. The Heavy Metal movement also spread through continental Europe, with Finland, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom as the frontrunners of the genre, with bands like Judas Priest, Motorhead (disbanded after Lemmy’s death), Saxon, Scorpions, Lordi, Nightwish, Epica, Mayhem and Amon Amarth leading the charge. Although Metal has established its influence across the American, Asian and Australian continents (Africa now has a growing metal scene, most predominately in the South and Northern part of the continent), Europe is still viewed as the place where Metal was born, and the most metal friendly continent. 

Both K-Pop and Metal in Europe are a spectrum within itself. Despite most K-Pop girl and boy groups have a certain formula to their music, it is the visuals that can separate one group from the other. Girl groups like 2NE1 and BLACKPINK went for the “badass girl” persona, and other s like APink, GFriend, Momoland and TWICE once went for the cute and bubbly image, while most boy groups are portrayed as cool, masculine and badass, without taking out the cuteness aspect most K-Pop groups have. The musical aspect of the genre involves inserting some English words to an otherwise Korean lyric in an attempt to appeal to a worldwide audience. Some singers and group members also use English names to gain popularity. Another aspect present within the genre is the choreography and dance. This is mainly done because of most bands having multiple singers, so choreographers must work in such a way that both the singing and the dancing can complement the music and hooking the audience during the process. Whereas the Metal scene spawned multiple subgenres across Europe, with England’s Iron Maiden once viewed as the pioneers of Power Metal, with the genre now has produced prominent bands like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire, Hammerfall, among others. Dutch native Epica is deemed responsible for the birth of Symphonic Metal alongside Finland’s Nightwish and Sweden’s Therion. Norwegians Mayhem played an integral part of the rise of Norwegian Black Metal, and most notably Motorhead, whose sound is the main starting point for Thrash and Speed Metal, which in turn, created bands like Kreator, DragonForce (they mix the Speed Metal element with their prominent Power Metal sound), and Destruction. Europe’s version of Death Metal is a little bit more melodic, thanks to bands like Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth. One of the most famous examples of European Influences on Metal is the existence of Folk Metal. This particular sub-genre blends traditional metal sound with Folk music either Celtic, Slavic or Viking elements. Bands like Russia’s Arkona, Switzerland’s Eluveitie and Finland’s Finntroll and Korpiklaani are considered the main frontrunners of the genre.  The lyrical aspect of this genre is also evolved over the years. What began as a protest or a channel of frustration quickly evolved into songs about drugs, alcohol, politics, religion, culture and counter-culture, and mythology. 

From praise, come critics. While Metal has been viewed as a supposed “dangerous” music, K-Pop has a dark and grim secrets looming beneath the supposed bubbly and bright scene. For many years since the Korean Wave, K-Pop artists are often accused of inauthenticity as well as ripping off some elements from their western counterpart. The use of English phrases also criticized by the base of “making the phrase itself meaningless.” Others even say that the scene has ZERO ties with the Korean national identity. The controversy doesn’t even end here. You can actually trace this back to my article Depression and Hard Times: Revealing K-Pop’s Darkest Secrets about all the sketchy, often disturbing underbelly of the K-Pop industry. All those scandals, controversies, bullying, depression and sketchy contracts are part of the industry’s hidden abyss. And we can’t talk about Metal without mentioning all the stereotypes that comes with it. Drug addicts, hedonism, Satanism, Crime, Violence, you name it, we have it all. 

The fans are also an important aspect of these genres. Both have enormous dedicated fans around the world, but some of them (Metal elitists and Overly-obsessed K-Pop stans) are considered to be the worst type of fans you have ever encountered. Both of these groups will do anything in their power to ensure that their preferred genre overpowers the other; some can even escalate to fanwars. But surprisingly, the most known fanwars mostly happen within K-Pop fandoms, with currently brewing fanwar between EXO-L (EXO) and ARMY (BTS) over many aspects like chart positions or popularity. Some fanwars can escalate to fistfights or online harassing. Metal elitists meanwhile are considered enemies by a more open-minded ones, citing that metal is diverse, and no one should judge a band solely by someone’s own standards.

Speaking of the dedicated musicians of both genres, I know it may sound weird and impossible, but I would like to see K-Pop Bands and Metal Bands engage into a competition, like pitting one band against another or singers against each other. I mean, in my twisted mind, I’d like to see BTS leader RM square off against Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kursch in a sing-off competition, or TWICE trying to fend off Finnish beasts otherwise known as Nightwish, or even Blinks and The Hordes can tear each other apart when BLACKPINK and Kreator decided to compete against each other. Hell, let’s put Kai of EXO against Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg and have a high note VS high scream riff-off. That would be a spectacle to the masses. 

In the end, both genres have their own distinctive features, whether you are a K-Pop fan or a metalhead (I am one), just enjoy the music and all other things both genres have to offer, and I’m gonna stress this again, don’t shove your taste into someone else’s throats. Quit bitching about other’s musical taste and just enjoy it.

World War 3: Either A Worldwide Fiasco or a Global Laughingstock

Ugh, Politics. This is the one topic that I mostly avoid during my stint as a blog writer, especially if an international incident spawned over the Internet. I have to say that personally, I have a slight paranoia and a sense of distrust to those who call themselves “politicians,” with most of them who gained the trust from the people are yet to be dissected of their backgrounds and their ideologies. Without dismissing those who serve with honor and integrity, I have to say that these days, this supposed “People’s Representatives” are more about meaningless words and focusing to their own agenda rather than actually be useful to the masses.

Yes, we are only 6 days into the year of 2020, but already we are shocked with the news of the death of Iranian Military General Qasem Soleimani, allegedly because of an drone strike in Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq carried out by the United States Military Forces by the order of the ever controversial President Donald Trump, whom at the same time is currently facing impeachment by the US Senate. President Trump claimed that the reason behind Soleimani’s demise is to upheld peace, but in reality, The Iranian-American relation is currently on its lowest point, with the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s intentions to resume the Iranian Nuclear Program, effectively breaking the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) 2015 initiated by President Obama with Iran, France, England, Germany, China, Russia and The European Union. Khamenei also stated that he vowed to avenge the death of General Soleimani by striking major points of the American territory. Trump responded with equal amount of threat, claiming that 52 Iranian sites will be targeted if the Iranian military carried out its “retaliation. “

In the aftermath of the news, the hashtag #WorldWar3 trended across social media platforms, fearing that if the tension escalated between Teheran and Washington, D.C, the third world war could start. Every nation across the world are doing the best they could to defuse the situation, while at the same time alerting their overseas citizens resided in Iran. World citizen have a strong reason of the scale of devastation if there is going to be a third world war, while the first two wars are about the manpower and advanced weaponry, if there is a world war 3, nuclear weapons could be a prime option, since both the US and The Islamic Republic of Iran has their own nuclear programs. The already heating situations can be further escalated if some of the allies both to the US and Iran wage war against each other, like Israel. Indonesia meanwhile being a neutral party, advised both countries to hold back. 

On the other hand, the threat of World War 3 is treated as a mere laughingstock with memes across all platforms of social media. On Twitter, for instance, you can find a magnitude amount of memes referencing #worldwar3, and most of them being satirical memes in the form trending memes like Baby Yoda, “Me and The Bois” meme stating that they are “being drafted” to fight in the war, among others. They are also poke fun of other “sworn enemies” of America like North Korea and China. Other memes are directed to Trump, mainly how a “soon-to-be impeached president started World War 3.”

Despite all the laughs, I have to stress this more than anything else: War is not a game, nor it is something to make fun of. We have history of fighting amongst ourselves, and the results are not pretty either. We all know the infamous Adolf Hitler, that same man who responsible of a possible ethnic cleansing of Jewish Germans (Holocaust), or one Benito Mussolini, an Italian plague that side with the Axis during World War2. And don’t ever forget a certain radical Islamic group ISIS, who ran rampant over Iraq and Syria, robbing people of their homes and their lives, and children of their futures. And I am sure that we can all agree about the aftermath of these wars currently raging around the globe. Not only loss of innocent lives, the world economy can take a major hit as the result of these wars. And the effects are no jokes either. Food prices will raise to a significantly worrying levels, and at the same time, those who are affected could be suffering from starvation as well as being detainees of war if all countries involved decided to adopt the “no prisoner” policies.

In the end, as one of roughly 7 billion citizens of the world, I am going to ask one thing, and one thing only to the world leaders. Please restrain yourselves. There is no need for another world war if the first two is already painful enough. All we want is peace and serenity, and also for everyone across the world to stand together against hate and segregation. And for both President trump and Ayatollah Khamenei, please, don’t proceed with your threats, especially for Trump. I know that you are currently facing impeachment, but don’t take your frustrations towards innocent Iranians, now that you have killed one, coincidentally a military general of all people. You wanted to upheld peace, yet you do it by starting a war that is not remotely necessary for world stability. No more wars, no more pain, no more suffering. Let’s be one big happy family, regardless of your personal backgrounds.