Happy MMXI !!

Right. This is for the benefit of all those people who didn't get the lovely email I send out every year.

Well, with the culmination of 2010 yesterday, its the end of many things as I see it, like the end of first year of the second decade of the new millennium, the year '10, the month of December in the year of '10, the last of week of the aforementioned month, the last day of the aforementioned week of the aforementioned month, so on and so forth.

Knowing me, this really could take a while, though I've decided to mend my ways and annoy people a little less at the beginning of the year and hence will get to the point of this mail, that being wishing all you morons a very great year ahead. To all those who in their infinite wisdom have made new-years resolutions, my heart, yes the teeny tiny one goes out to thee but before which I shall wish you all the very best in your endeavors. 

Till the end of 2011 and with fairly warm regards,

The Sign of the Fucking Horns

The sign of the horns. The corna. The Devil's horns. One among many things of Ronnie James Dio's great legacy. Thrust high in the air wherever heavy metal is played. Something that holds a very special place in every headbanger's heart. The gesture that has come to signify everything fucking metal.

Of late the use of the gesture has become ubiquitous to indicate approval or admiration (of God alone knows what) amongst those very people who tend to vehemently abhor metal and look at the metal loving populace as one of society's many abominations (which admittedly we are). Everywhere on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, "\m/" is used in conversations, by the above mentioned folk, the rationale/motive behind which is unbeknownst to us.

For some quaint reason pop/alt bands (read Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan et al) see the need to use the gesture, at gigs, in videos, interviews and everywhere else. Cheapening and commercializing it. We obviously believe the use of it by any other genre is inappropriate to word things rather mildly.

Very obviously the blatant misuse of something so holy to the average metal fan, the degradation of it gets us rather livid. And you do not want to get a metalhead pissed.

To quote Dio " It was a symbol of darkness... not something to be passed on Britney Spears!"

So if you aren't a metalhead here are a few points we'd like to share with you.

• Essentially the sign is not meant to show how "awesome", "amazing" or any other fricking adjective you were to use to describe whatever it is you wanted to (to all those using the virtual horns).

• It does not fucking mean "Rock On".

• Nor does it mean "Rocking". Nothing about metal is "rocking".

• It does not make your poseur arse look "cool"/"kvlt"/"metal" to have pictures of you showing the horns. Especially if you're doing it wrong. So if you really want to stick that thumb out, stick it up your arse.

So in conclusion, if you're head is neither banging nor thrashing, do not fucking use the horns!