Thrice is Nice

It was 2001, the year of Diablo II. More importantly, it was the year that I first heard a band called Thrice. “Identity Crisis” was the name of the song, and to me it sounded like punk and metal had finally decided to put aside their differences and be pals. Aggressive yet melodic, this song marked the beginning of my ardor for everything Thrice. Not only was I captivated by Thrice’s sound — I was firmly hooked by their lyrics. Meticulously crafted and poignant, their lyrics not only provoked thought but spoke truth.

“Identity Crisis”


Image marred by self-infliction
Private wars on my soul waged
Heart is scarred by dual volitions
Juxtaposed and both engaged
Kindle flame, a test of faith
Pray help me see it through
I put all my trust in you

Refine hate and love
Fall afresh on me
End this crisis of
Identity

Draw this darkness out like poison
Stab, retrieve, again decline
Help me drive the dagger deeper
Trace with me explicit line
Take this blade, a test of faith
And strike me deep and true
I put all my trust in you

Refine hate and love
Fall afresh on me
End this crisis of
Identity

This is my voice, all shadows stayed
This is my heart, upon the altar laid
Please take all else away
Hear my cry, I beg, I plead, I pray
I’ll walk into the flame
A calculated risk to further bless your name
So strike me deep and true
And in your strength I will live and die both unto you

All in all, I love the energy and authenticity of Thrice…! Years later, this amazing band is still making music. Their sound has evolved as they’ve grown, at times almost unrecognizable as the same band from the previous album. Yet throughout all the change, Thrice continues to sustain their listening base. I could go on and on and still not do them justice, but I’ll stop for now. More will follow about this talented group of guys.

The Purge by Akismet

Ever since I started my journey with WordPress, I’ve grappled with a thorny question:  Is this a real comment or a spam comment? After about a year of blogging, I still find myself asking the same question. I’ve pored over hundreds of comments, yet am still often unable to negotiate the fine line between spam and legit.

Pondering Kitty

So, at some point not long ago, I decided to activate a neat little plugin called Akismet. According to the light blue badge located at the very bottom of this page, it’s caught quite of lot of spam since then. Nowadays I spend very little time sifting through spam.

Looking back on all those comments that were haphazardly approved when this blog was still very young, I have to wonder why I didn’t implement this plugin much sooner. … And it turns out that I can’t justify doing otherwise — it’s time for the great purge. By that I mean, it’s time to delete all the comments.

Cleaning Cat

My apologies to any legitimate comment posters whose comments get lost in the process. From this point forward, Akismet will be doing most of the cleaning for me.