| (no subject) |
[Feb. 8th, 2006|02:19 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Remembering Never--A Clearer Sky | ] |
I had heard the first of these things last year, but I thought the second was funny too.
This year, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address fall in the same week. It is an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, and the other involves a groundhog.
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Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its condition is improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. Illuminating rooms is hard work. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effort. Why do you hate freedom? |
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| Substitute teaching kicks ass |
[Dec. 1st, 2005|12:30 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Throwdown--You Can't Kill Integrity | ] |
11/29/05
Day 1--High school English. Grades 9 and 11, with some of the higher special ed students scattered throughout.
I have to say, it went well. I had to be very loud and project my voice all day, many times to no avail. I had some loud classes, and there were lots of people that didn't want to listen and refused to do their assignments. But I think that if even one person was in there with the objective of learning, then I think I allowed them every opportunity to do that. I was glad that I got to do more than just hand out an assignment; I got to answer questions, give advice, facilitate class discussions (even though only five different people responded to my questions all day), and at one point I even got one class interested in what they were doing. That felt really fucking good. Oh, and during my planning period? I sipped a bottle of fruit punch and watched some Judge Mathis. Hell yeah.
11/30/05
Day 2--1st grade Art. Laugh if you want, I couldn't believe they were putting me in charge of little kids either.
I had a lot of fun. I had to keep reminding myself of the perspective these kids carry into the classroom: teachers DO still have some authority at this level. There was just something gratifying about hearing a class of 16 all saying "Good afternoon, Mr. Bronn" in unison. Our project was to make candles our of construction paper. There were many variations, and lots of people needed help actually drawing the candle. Spatial recognition was also variable among the students, and that led to many different sized candles. I did have to improvise a little toward the end of the classes, because the project didn't take the full time and you can't tell first graders to use the rest of the period as a study hall. It was okay though, because "Mrs. Hartman NEVER lets us write on the chalkboard" and "We get to play with clay?!" ended up making me real popular.
Stay tuned, I'm doing P.E. with little kids tomorrow. And what have I done with my first weekday off in forever (discounting Thanksgiving)? So far it's just been shoveling, haircut, lunch, and walking the dog. Oh well, I'm having fun. |
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| An Eric post |
[Oct. 18th, 2005|12:47 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | The Vandals--Happy Birthday to Me | ] |
Happy birthday, my nigga. We are getting too damn old. I noticed that my input was requested as follows:
List five songs that you are currently loving. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the songs in your blog. Then tag five other LiveJournal friends to see what they're listening to.
1. Bury Your Dead--Sunday's Best
2. He is Legend--Scram Toots
3. The Stingers ATX--Your Patient Ways
4. The Red Chord--Dreaming in Dog Years
5. Streetlight Manifesto--Point/Counterpoint
When I think about it, restricting it to five choices sucks as I've been listening to so much lately.
You know, it really doesn't seem like that long ago when whole summers would be spent hanging out playing video games and drinking Mountain Dew, playing The Farming Game and eating Schwan's cheese pretzels, getting Taco Bell for lunch nearly every day and playing with kitties. I bet your mom doesn't miss the times when we hit her with a brick wall of fart when she came to tell us the pizza was there. But playing Killer Instinct tournaments and Magic was a fine way to pass the time. Maybe no one misses the time that I skipped lunch, and as a result everyone including Luigi had to evacuate the premises. It was always a good time when Ryan would have squirrely-looking friends over that we could constantly mock. Problem is, he's bigger than me now. More than once did I come to spend the night and wake up terrified because two cat eyes were inches from my face, but I can't say I've ever experienced a more comfortable floor. On another random note, it was through you that I can say I've gotten to experience a Catholic church service. Man, the shit we'd have to take just to go to a Magic tournament on Sunday. When I think about how fast time has passed, I realize that I've probably never been so unaware of hours going by as when we'd sit there and play Heroes all freakin' day.
I actually saw a couple phenomenal pictures not too long ago as I was looking through my photo albums. One of them was of you, Eden, and Sam Winkel from the Washington DC trip. You and Sam dwarfed Eden, who was of course looking like a retarded penguin. Remember how that was the only time we ever actually got pissed off at one another? The other one was from the spelling bee in first grade. It was us standing there victoriously, holding our prizes and looking downright poor. I'm sure we thought we looked fine then, but you had on a Charlotte Hornets sweatshirt with bright blue sweatpants and I had a crappy generic baseball sweatshirt with red sweatpants. What the hell was I thinking?
Well, there it is. Memories are pretty damn sweet. |
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| Every time you kill a scene kid, Jesus smiles. |
[Oct. 14th, 2005|02:20 am] |
| [ | music |
| | The Pietasters--Girl Take it Easy | ] |
Good show tonight. I'll break down the various aspects of it.
The bands: He is Legend, Anberlin, Funeral for a Friend, Story of the Year.
Waiting in line:
Standing up in front of Joey and me was this cracked posse of hilarious people, and I quickly assigned them all titles based on my judgment of them. The first and most noticeable guy was a man who I will refer to as Cockmouth. Picture, if you will, a guy standing about 6'0" and wearing an Anberlin shirt (strike one), a Gibson hat when it was pretty clear he didn't play guitar (strike two), and then envision him using the time in line to show off his hunting license to his buddies (strike three, you're gay). On top of all this, he talks very loudly and moves his mouth (containing many crooked teeth) in the most odd and pinched way. Looking at him made me laugh because I don't believe I've ever seen someone so inclined to perform oral sex on a guy. His mouth was seemingly constructed for cock, hence the name. Cockmouth had a girlfriend, apparently, and her name was Shifty-Eyes. She was unfortunate-looking, and her primary field of vision appeared to be perpendicular to where her eyes were pointed. I kept thinking she was staring at us when it just wasn't possible. Which brings us to the only barrier in between us and Shifty-Eyes, Bald Gay complete with goth girlfriend. Now, Bald Gay complete with goth girlfriend was hilarious because he had a shirt that said "I'm excited to be here" and nothing else, and he's one of those guys that looks about 20 and already has a wickedly receding hairline. His faux comb-over was a real boost for the self confidence of every other person alive. Standing further over was one of the fringe group members who I'll call Goateemo. You see, this guy almost gave the impression that he was normal. Unfortunately for him, he had an Anberlin shirt on under a Relient K sweatshirt. He also had one of those hemp necklaces that I think males should be castrated for wearing. His goatee was clearly all he had going for him, and it wasn't much. We were in line for an hour--I can't be faulted for overanalyzing these people.
The show:
He is Legend-- ...played a phenomenal set. It was only a half hour though, and they didn't play any songs from 91025. Starting with 'The Seduction' and ending with 'I Am Hollywood' scored them lots of badass points though. Their lead singer is more grizzled than YD was in his prime, which is scary to think about.
Anberlin--...provided the best opportunity to check out the merch tables. Unfortunately you could still hear the music no matter where in the House of Blues you went. We even made our way to the House of Blues store, which says something about Anberlin's degree of showmanship. I went to the He is Legend table, and one of their guitar players was just getting back to it. I bought a pair of shirts for $15 each and then put a dollar tip in the jar because I just like them a lot. After I did that, he asked me if I had both of their CDs and I told him I only had I Am Hollywood. He then offered me 91025 for $5 instead of the $10 at which it was listed. I was stoked about that, since I couldn't find that CD anywhere. We came back in time to see Anberlin attempting to get "everybody from back to front and side to side to move" with their closing song. The only place anyone should have been moving was toward the exits.
Funeral for a Friend--...made me glad that I finally got to see them. They played a good mix of songs from all three of their CDs, and they brought a lot of energy. The funniest part was that between songs, the lead vocalist would always yell lots of shit to try to fire up the crowd. Problem was, he's British. No one knew what the hell he was saying, so generic screaming followed nearly every appeal he made to the audience. It was interesting to hear him shift from being an Englishman to sounding very American in all of the songs. Also, there was a multitude of fat girls there that incessantly bitched about their set. When they finished playing, the blobs prattled on and on about how much Funeral for a Friend sucked and how they couldn't wait for Story of the Year. Well you bovine showgoers, no one gives a shit about what you think and you were in the minority. Conclusion: Fat girls hate Funeral for a Friend.
Story of the Year--...had a stage show that lived up to all the expectations I had from other people having seen them and telling me about them. They really get into their music, they rock hard, they jump all over, they do backflips off the stage, they crowdsurf while playing, and they say 'fuck' a whole bunch. What more could you ask for? They played many of the stronger songs on Page Avenue, and probably the four best ones on their new CD. They even played an 80s rock medley which featured 'More than a Feeling' by Boston among other things. You know I was yelling like hell during that.
All in all, the money was well spent. See those bands, they're good. |
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| Four things |
[Oct. 4th, 2005|12:53 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Bloodshovel--Dig Up the Past | ] |
1) I happened to be watching a little TV this morning, and as I flipped to CBS hoping to catch some Price is Right, I instead found the president holding a press conference. I thought I'd then shift my focus to some Judge Mathis on Fox, but there was that incompetent asshole at his podium again. This angered me greatly. I checked all 79 of the channels that we receieve here, and the president could be found babbling like an idiot on 9 of them. That's a ridiculous percentage. I felt compelled to watch for a few minutes on the off chance that I might improve my vocabulary with some new words created by our ape-like leader. The point of the gathering appeared to be justification for his new selection for the high court, Harriet Miers. Many people jumped on that choice right away, saying that she had no judicial experience. I don't care about that, though--40% of the judges in the system right now came in under similar circumstances. Fine. Whatever. The part that kills me though, is listening to him talk. Anytime one of the many reporters asked him about a certain issue regarding her or her stance, he made sure to respond by doing two things: listing three vague reasons why he picked her and then offering to repeat them, and stating that he has known her for twenty years and she will never change. Seriously. Here's an example, rewritten as closely as I can remember it.
REPORTER: President Bush, have you discussed the issue of abortion with Ms. Miers, or can you tell us her stance on the issue?
BUSH: I just told you the reasons I chose her, shall I repeat them? All I know is that she has been close to me for twenty years and she will never waver in her character.
Every time I have tried to watch this man speak, not just today, I am awed at how awkwardly and poorly he deflects any question of substance. It's always something, whether he's repeating himself a hundred times or using 9/11 as a bargaining chip, or even saying something completely nonsensical. His responses sound so bad, it could almost be considered a game. Take someone smart, for example, and tell them that they will have to field some questions from reporters. The only catch is that they have to take two ideas that someone wrote for them prior to the time and use them to answer every question, regardless of what it is. That would be pretty tough, and the answers would make little sense and be worthless. It would be almost like what Bush did today, except that he's not a smart man.
2) I did in fact catch the tail end of the Price is Right this morning, and immediately following the program I saw a commercial for tomorrow's Early Show. They always try to preview the show with a couple of quick points, generally trivial and based completely on pop culture. In this particular commercial, they pointed out two segments that will be aired tomorrow. One of them was about how there are a bunch of anorexia websites popping up and how people should deal with that. Then the next one was how people 50 years and older aren't too old to get face lifts and try botox. Wait, what? So pretty much what the Early Show is suggesting on tomorrow's show is that you shouldn't use harmful methods to try to improve your body image, but you can go ahead and use potentially harmful methods and waste tons of money trying to make yourself look better. Right, got it. I hate television and people. Moving on...
3) My dog Sasha actually caught a squirrel today while we were out for a walk. Countless times in the past we had chased and treed squirrels because she loves it, but they were always too quick. Always. But today, we found a squirrel kind of out in the open, and when Sasha pursued, its first move was not to a tree. It circled around, allowing Sasha to gain ground on it and she basically tackled it and almost bit it. It was at that point that I pulled her back, because I didn't want her to eat the damn thing. But man, she definitely caught a squirrel for the first time ever.
4) I am the vocalist for a generic rock band called Bloodshovel. Don't question it. Our debut CD "The Struggle" is currently in the works and will be slated for release sometime next year. |
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| Hurricane |
[Sep. 15th, 2005|11:23 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Afternoon Delight | ] |
MORAL QUESTION
This test only has one question, but it's a very
important one. By giving an honest answer, you will
discover where you stand morally. The test features
an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which
you will have to make a decision.
Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet
spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and give due
consideration to each line.
THE SITUATION
You are in Florida, Miami to be specific. There is
chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with
severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical
proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a
major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic
disaster.
The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to
shoot career-making photos. There are houses and
people swirling around you, some disappearing under
the water
Nature is unleashing all her destructive fury
THE TEST
Suddenly you see a man in the water. He is fighting
for his life, trying not to be taken down with the
debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks
familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's
George W. Bush!
At the same time you notice that the raging waters
are about to take him under forever. You have two
options--you can save the life of George W. Bush, or
you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize-winning
photo, documenting the death of one of the world's
most powerful politicians.
THE QUESTION
Here's the question, and please give an honest
answer:
Would you select high contrast color film, or would
you go with the classic simplicity of black and white? |
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| everybody's workin for the weekend...except me. still no job. |
[Sep. 13th, 2005|10:42 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Winter Solstice--Malice in Wonderland | ] |
I just applied today for an on-air job with an R&B station in Chicago. They are an equal opportunity employer. However, I would be the only caucasian on staff. Truth be told, I don't give a shit. It's honestly gotten to that point now. And what would be so wrong about me transitioning between Luther Vandross and Patti Labelle? I'm pretty down with it, as far as the soul power goes. I'm ready to get my damn groove on somewhere.
If all it takes is a four year degree, I might be a substitute teacher in the Freeport School District at some point. There would be few things worse for the youth of America than "Mr. Bronn" being your teacher for the day. The compensation for one day of putting up with kids' shit would be well worth it though, and I'd love to sub for a gym class sometime and own some kids in floor hockey.
Thus far this morning, I have sent out about 30 emails to various radio stations in which I gracefully and tactfully beg them for any sort of jobs they might have available. I even mentioned that if necessary, I could come and kill the least favorite person of the majority at the station and take their job. I'd move the body free of charge and clean up my own mess. Come on...
Here's the plan: SOCCER, I'M TALKING TO YOU. GET MORE POPULAR IN THE U.S. RIGHT NOW.
Seriously. I can broadcast that shit like nobody's business. |
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| What can brown do for you? |
[Sep. 8th, 2005|03:12 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Three 6 Mafia--Yeah I Rob | ] |
So at my job interview today, I was the only person not wearing jeans. Furthermore, one of them was wearing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirt. I should be good to go. |
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| Bullshit! Strawberry pie fixes everything! |
[Jul. 10th, 2005|04:47 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Haste the Day--Fallen | ] |
Here's an email exchange through eBay between me and a random person that I got a kick out of.
HAVE NOT HEARD FROM YOU REGARDING THE GAME THAT I PURCHASED FROM YOU ON 6-30-05.I PAID FOR IT IMMEDIATELY--PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN IT WAS SENT AS WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN IT YET.THANK YOU-MARGARET WEBER
Now this was sent through eBay (yes, it was in all caps), so I didn't know what to think. I responded as such.
Hi, I'm afraid I received a message in error from you. You were inquiring about a game you won from me back on 6/30, and you said you paid immediately. There are only two things wrong with this. The first is that I have never even set up a seller's account on eBay, much less sold any games. But just for fun anyway, I checked my paypal account and I have not received any payments of any kind. If you really think I sold you a game or something, I'd like it if you could send me the link to the transaction page so I could see. There's nothing showing up on my eBay. I'm just awfully confused right now.
A day later, I got this:
I'm so sorry, this was sent to you in error.My son prchased a game and for some reason sent the reminding e-mail message to you by mistke.Please disregard.
Peggy Weber
The reason this was funny to me was because if you are familiar with eBay, you know that this kid would have had to go out of his way to do such a thing as send me that email using their system. So the moral of the story is that Peggy Weber has a really stupid kid. I think I should start a new username called genepoolcleanser or execute_retards or something like that. |
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| Fresh as a Daisy |
[Jun. 24th, 2005|11:33 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Living Sacrifice--Reborn Empowered | ] |
Me, Luke, and Mr. Luke managed to dust off the bikes and ride just short of 30 miles today.
I bought Burnout 3.
I miss my baby.
Sheldon, IA could be a future residence.
I have two friends in Freeport that like hanging out.
Someone is trying to steal my identity via my Yahoo account.
Kev owes me $19.45 yet.
I went 4-5 with a double, triple, three runs scored and four RBIs in a losing effort in our last church softball game.
Today made two days in a row without working, and that may not happen again for awhile.
There's really not much else. I'll tell you what, I miss hockey and video games and people from Valpo. Hope all your summers are going well. |
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| It's summertime in the city/ I'm not feelin' shitty |
[May. 21st, 2005|05:09 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Unearth--Black Hearts Now Reign | ] |
Despite mom and dad's best efforts to prevent me from having an ounce of fun this summer, I prevail and spit in their collective face. It's so awesome when everyone comes back home, seriously. The only thing I'd change about my summer so far would be to not orally sex up those prostitutes that certainly resulted in this cold sore that I have. I forgot that graduating has its perks, from getting $100 from my aunt in California to getting $10 from my mom's boss. It's like a birthday that only comes twice in your life, graduation is. It's pretty cool hanging out with Kev more too, since we both like badass music. All I really want now is a 5-lb box of Mrs. Mike's chips. Hooray. |
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| I left my goddamn phone charger at home |
[May. 10th, 2005|12:55 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | The Bollweevils--Last Laugh | ] |
It would have been sweet if one of the repayment options when I consolidated my loans today would have been the "Wheel of Fortune Plan" or the "Price is Right Plan". I don't feel like it would take me any time at all to make $11,625 on either one of those shows. Or if someone could help me out by coming on Judge Mathis with me and saying that they raped me, threw me out of my apartment, used drugs around my kids, and destroyed my car, that would probably net me a pretty sweet judgment as well. That's where the money is in TV--not working at a television station, but going on all the sweet TV shows that award you money for either playing games or being a victim.
The last WVUR basketball ever for me was a success last night. Me, Slick, Haase, and Brooks won the opening series two games to one to move to the championship game. We then made a huge comeback in the championship game and won against Andy, Josh, Rony, and Champ. I couldn't have gone out on a much higher note. With that, I'm tired of realizing that so many of the things I do will be the last time that I do them.
So close to done, yet so very far away from the ideal. |
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| Couldn't sleep |
[May. 2nd, 2005|01:34 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Rise Against--Paper Wings | ] |
For some reason that song makes me sad.
I became ill fast. I couldn't tell you what caused it. The place is so empty now, and it honestly reminds me of the beginning. The first time I moved all my worldly possessions from one residence to another was really something. I'm coming back, but I don't know for how long. It'd be easier to sleep if I could shut off thoughts.
I love music. How about a job where all I do is listen to music all day? It wouldn't even matter what kind. But it's a moot point now, since I basically have a job wrapped up because Production Dan whom I met last Thursday knows a guy in New York and thinks I read well. Good thing it's so easy.
I should have stuck with the trombone. Musicians make just as much as I will and probably have more fun doing it. But dammit, I like broadcasting sports and being on air. Everybody says it'll come, and I wish I believed it.
I've got two days to do a lot more than I bargained for and I'm not doing myself any favors right now. Leave me a diagnosis if you have any idea why I developed amotivational syndrome over the past week, and I'll give you a hint by saying it's not marijuana. I just feel nothing right now, and it's a bad time for that to be the case.
Family Guy and South Park are very gratifying to watch. Those I do enjoy. I need a lawyer so I can get money. |
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| This is just sad |
[Apr. 17th, 2005|11:23 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | the smell of freshly cut grass | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Dave's good music karaoke radio show | ] |
I am studying for a Venturelli test. My Drugs and Society test tomorrow actually matters somewhat, and because of that I am not road tripping to Cincinnati with the dudes to see the Cubs play the Reds tomorrow.
The average time of one of my cell phone calls is 7.1 minutes. That seems high.
I'm just flat out running out of time.
UPDATE: I had a weird dream last night. Since Haring took the liberty to cancel class for no reason, I'll post it so I remember it.
I was just about ready to leave for college, and I was all packed and set to go. Then for some reason, my mom suggested that I go to the high school and say goodbye to one of my former teachers. I thought that sounded like a good idea, so I went there to find Ms. Burchett, my former 4th grade teacher. Apparently, she had become a guidance counselor at the high school. I walked to the office and knocked on the door. Three girls emerged from the office, and they all looked happy in a strange, zombie-like sort of way. They were laughing, but not really talking. Ms. Burchett followed them out, and she looked strikingly different. She was much older looking than I would have guessed, and there was no trace of a smile on her wrinkled cheeks. Her name on her nametag said Sharon (this is strange because her name is Judy). It was as if it was a different person. The guidance office looked like a poorly lit dentist's office. Upon arriving there I noticed that it cost $1 to see the guidance counselor now, so I got it out. There was a cash drawer sitting on the table which was just inside the door well in front of the two chairs. I hadn't even introduced myself yet, but I flashed my dollar and asked her if she wanted it or if I should put it in the drawer. She took off one of the latex gloves that she had on, took my dollar and put it in the drawer. When she turned back to look at me, she had a hypodermic needle in her hand and began filling it with something. I asked her nervously what was in the needle, and she said it was pormilla (note: not a real thing, to my knowledge). Assuming it was some kind of drug that I didn't need, I asked what she was doing with it. Very matter-of-factly, she said "It calms everybody down". She was still between me and the door, and she quickly grabbed my arm and tried to stick the needle in. I yelled and pulled away, swiftly hitting her arm with my other hand and knocking the needle loose. Without looking back, I ran out of the room.
That was it, and it was strange. |
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| I'm just pretty bored |
[Apr. 15th, 2005|11:33 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Bury Your Dead--Eyes Wide Shut | ] |
I think that given the opportunity, I would take some time off from life and just listen all the way through every single one of my 570 odd CDs. It would occupy me for a little while, but I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy myself the whole time.
People that fix student body presidential elections should be drawn and quartered, with the pieces being laden with honey and fed to red ants. I am as irate as a person who is far removed from the situation can be regarding that.
I was looked at skeptically today by a couple of different people that I know as I was riding my bike around campus. To receive the glances I did, one would have thought that I just stole the bike from a nine year old kid right in front of them or committed a similar atrocity. There's nothing wrong with my car; it's just that with gas prices the way they are combined with how nice the weather's been, it's going to take an awful lot of rain to get me to drive anywhere on campus.
There is one thing that remains constant when you go through the Taco Bell drive-thru on 30. It's not Addy McFlash the Human Calculator, Sarcastic Guy, or Dude That's Worked There Since I Started Coming to VU; it is the fact that they give you approximately three pounds of napkins in your bag in addition to your food. If you went through there twenty times and saved all the napkins you got, you would never again in your life have a need for napkins, kleenex, or toilet paper if you were that dedicated to the cause.
If someone had a gun to my head and told me that my brains were going to repaint the walls unless I came up with $600 in five minutes, I'd be the new decor. My net worth is less than that right now. Perhaps that would be of less concern to me if I had a place to live in a month or a source of income.
Part of the reason that I try to exercise enough is because I want to be healthy (to avoid diabetes, cancer, other family heirlooms). Another factor is that I want to be strong enough to handle any physical task that might come up in an everyday situation (moving into a new place, lifting heavy remote equipment, etc). The other reason is that I want to be able to go outside and play with my grandkids someday down the road. Laugh if you want, but I'll never forget all the times my grandpa went outside and played catch with my brother and me. I'll be damned if I'm going to lay around inside and rot all day.
Green antacid tablets taste the best. |
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| So let the time pass...and every moment last |
[Apr. 11th, 2005|11:08 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Boston--More than a Feeling | ] |
When it gets warm and sunny out, I get in a goddamned good mood sometimes for no real reason. This despite the fact that I have no job and no place to live in just over a month's time. The other day as I was out riding my bike (also very relaxing), I caught a whiff of something in the air. Someone somewhere was grilling burgers over charcoal, and holy shit did that take me back. That might be my second favorite smell ever, and it just reminds me of really good times. It was very nostalgic, and for that one moment I ceased to care about bullshit and it was fantastic.
Along with this idea, you all know that I like a wide variety of music. I could probably listen to any number of songs and say they kick ass. However, I think it's fair to say that everyone knows what I'm talking about if I say that there are some songs that are so good or so meaningful in some way to you that they send a chill down your spine whenever you hear them. It's about the right time of year for some of those songs. I don't know why some of these have that effect, but you'll have to take my word for it that they do. In no real order, here we go:
Boston--More Than A Feeling
Journey--Don't Stop Believing
Atreyu--Someone's Standing On My Chest
Peter Cetera--The Glory of Love
Forces Of Evil--Angry Anthem #347 (acoustic)
The Isley Brothers--It's Your Thing
Jean Knight--Mr. Big Stuff
Avenged Sevenfold--Warmness On the Soul
Stevie Wonder--For Once In My Life
Less Than Jake--Automatic
Norma Jean--Face:Face
Poison the Well--Artist's Rendering of Me
Simon and Garfunkel--The Sound of Silence
Alkaline Trio--Radio
The Stingers ATX--Can't Wait
Atmosphere--The Woman With the Tattooed Hands
Dan Potthast--Another Name in a Magazine
Finch--Awake
Mustard Plug--Yesterday
No Use For A Name--On the Outside
The Pietasters--Girl Take it Easy
Reel Big Fish--Sell Out
Smashing Pumpkins--Bullet With Butterfly Wings
The Toasters--Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down
The Slackers--Make Me Smile
He Is Legend--I Am Hollywood
Rx Bandits--Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers
Bigwig--Sellout
Hepcat--Goodbye Street
Killswitch Engage--The End of Heartache
Lagwagon--Black Eyes
MU330--Rocket Fuel
Pulley--Second Best
Rise Against--Paper Wings
Strung Out--Too Close to See
Taking Back Sunday--You Know How I Do
Streetlight Manifesto--every single song on the CD, basically
For various reasons, those songs really pick me up. Try some of them out, and enjoy every beautiful day or you're an asshole. Eat that. |
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| Sometimes people die...it's not news |
[Mar. 24th, 2005|11:06 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Every Time I Die--Morphine Season | ] |
So in the case of Terri Schiavo, the down's syndrome vegetable that we can't avoid hearing about in the news, a Florida judge just denied the state of Florida the ability to take custody of her. Thank the lord, because I'd hate to see this situation get any stupider. Her feeding tube was removed because she is beyond hope for having even close to a normal life. People have been saying that she never said she wanted to die, so she should have the tube put back in. What they seem to be ignoring is that SHE CAN'T SAY A DAMN THING because of her condition. Maybe this is just a case of the husband taking pity on her, because there is no life insurance policy or money of any sort in it for him. Congratulations to the family for earning the "most blindly selfish people ever" award--for all you assholes know, you're campaigning for her to go through even more unbearable pain than she already has. Way to go. Sometimes, you just have to accept it when someone loses a battle with life. I agree that the situation she's in is unfortunate, but how many other people are in the same state and not getting the same coverage? A lot, and there's a reason for that; it matters to fewer than 100 people. For shit's sake, look:
Just let it drop, already. Despite what the spiritual adviser for CNN says, this woman is not Jesus. She is an unfortunate victim whose time should be allowed to end were it not for a posse of ignorant jerks. |
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| Oh the memories |
[Mar. 12th, 2005|05:10 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | He Is Legend--I Am Hollywood | ] |
I signed two pieces of paper today signifying the end of an era.
Freshman year of high school, Andy Eden brought me with him to the open house week at the YMCA, where anyone could come and use the facilities for free. Of course, there were about three straight weeks during which I got into the Y for free because Andy's mom works there and the desk person knew him. They never once asked a question about me. I started to lift a little, run a little, and occasionally shoot baskets. I purchased a membership because it was then that I decided it was time to get myself in shape.
I remember the first time I went to the YMCA with any consistency; it was for church basketball. Our team was never very good, and I was among the worst on the team. I liked to play, but I got tired easily, had a mediocre shot, and could not dribble. In fact, I was scared to. Nobody else on the team was very judgmental about how bad I was, but I was fully aware. During one game I recall, I only played two minutes or so--however, Adam Stadel passed it to me on the baseline and I hit a game winning shot with five seconds left. It was a meaningless game, but I was so happy and I finally felt like a part of the team.
The Freeport YMCA was the first place I ever lifted seriously. That track has supported more of my miles running than any other surface. And they might as well have a plaque in the auxilary gym with my name on it that denotes the first basket in there as mine. As I went there today to run for a final time, my heart just wasn't in it. I just kept looking around as I ran, taking in all the things that I will miss about that place. I only made it three miles because my legs wouldn't cooperate. Afterwards, I went down to the punching bag room to get my wonderfully cold drink and stretch. It really hit me then that I was not going to be able to come back to this place again. A one-time use guest pass fee of $10 is absolutely outrageous. I went back upstairs to shoot my last baskets ever at the Freeport YMCA, where I have made new friends and played as many games as anyone. Fate would have none of it however, as both gyms were taken up by 5-6 year old indoor soccer. It just killed me that I came up short on my run, didn't lift, and couldn't play basketball on my last trip to one of my favorite places away from home. It seemed almost too easy to cancel my membership when I was all done.
Of course I'll join another YMCA/Fitness Center or something wherever I end up at the close of the school year, but the fact of the matter is it just won't be the same. I didn't even get to keep my membership card with the subpar picture. Thanks to everyone who ever went lifting with me, showed up to play basketball, and motivated me to run.
Andy (Viano) and I will be going to see Atreyu, Norma Jean, Unearth, and Scars of Tomorrow tomorrow. It should be fun. We might have a dog. That'd be good, because this has been kind of a down day. |
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| Living with my dad is like being on your period all month. |
[Mar. 7th, 2005|01:00 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Karl B and the Dickless Dicks--We Love Men | ] |
At least I would have to assume that this is the case. I hate my dad an awful lot. He sure can be a fucking expletive sometimes. If anyone wants to "help me out" with this, I can make sure a picture of him that got messed up with his work schedule and a list of his fears on the back finds its way into your hands.
Here's what I've heard at least 100 times now.
"You're not taking this seriously enough."
"We're not going to support you after school ends."
"We're going to have a serious talk."
"You can't take this summer off."
No shit x4. It's really too bad, because after all the money that he's helped put toward my education, I STILL HATE HIM. I'm not saying it's right, but he makes it so damn easy. I should be grateful, but alas, I simply want to punch him in the face. Thank goodness the initial rage storm lasted only about one minute. Otherwise, wigs might have been split.
(the song i'm listening to might be a slight fabrication)
UPDATE (3/7): Here are two links to sweet music videos that Dave showed me, neither of which will work on this piece of shit computer. I post them hoping that I'll have better luck at school and that you will enjoy them.
http://www.acquastrada.com/hil.html
http://www.uncherished.com/wakethedead_large.htm
The first one is The Seduction by He Is Legend. I just got that CD and Dave was right, it is sweet. The video has a puppet show with a monster eating everything (how positively badass). The second is Comeback Kid's video for Wake the Dead, which in my humble opinion is the only song really worth listening to on that CD. Picture a Break the Silence or a With Honor but with less talent, and there you have the new Comeback Kid CD. Won't be too long now till more people see that since With Honor just signed to Victory Records last week to join Comeback Kid and others. However, the description of the video sounds wonderful. Apparently it is zombies that are moshing and doing hardcore dances (must be cool). Someone with a good computer should invite me over.
UPDATE (3/8): It is now exactly two months and one week before I am scheduled to graduate. Dear Jesus. That sends the bad kind of chill down my spine. |
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| Cement dome action! |
[Mar. 2nd, 2005|11:41 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Journey--Don't Stop Fucking Believing | ] |
The Idaho Vandals ran the table, going 13-0 and winning the Fiesta Bowl 87-7 over UCLA. They ended the season ranked #5 in the nation. This after having the 108th best team in the NCAA the previous season. Death McSatan can really do anything.
I have no problem spending my whole break hanging out, playing video games, and exercising. Yeah, I suck. |
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