RVIVR

Rvivr may be my favorite band as of now. Feeling for you punx in a poppy but gritty way, their melody weaves its way through every tune they have to offer. Trading off female and male vox throughout the tracks keeps it interesting. Along with some of the best guitar leads and fills I've heard in a punk band in quite some time, this is something not to be taken for a once-off. I believe with every subsequent listen, one can take something else from these songs. If you don't like RVIVR, just leave, cuz you don't recognize good music, and you probably never will.....

Ladies and gents.... RVIVR!!!

http://www.mediafire.com/?j4tyinawnnn Life moves

http://www.mediafire.com/?ntjtjnmz1jd the best lp

The Lillingtons - The Too Late Show

So The Lillingtons. A band I recently found out about, but ultimately, one of the best records I may have ever heard. They keep the 1-2-3-4 Ramones styled super energy flowing from the first slams of "Gunbullet" to the very last notes of "Stay Tuned". Kind of nasally, but not whiny vocals tie it all together in a great way. Keep rockin on this one and try very hard to not get "Do It U.S.S.R." stuck in your head for too long. Contains one member of Teenage Bottlerocket. Don't let that scare you, because this is far better than that outfit in my opinion. Or if that makes you happy, well...yeah.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Lillingtons!

Are Scary Movies Really Scary?

It's Halloween. You're either excited because of one of a few reasons. First, because you're five. You get to dress up, go out, guided by your parents (if you aren't lucky enough to live in a gated community), and get all the free candy you can get. If you are older than ten and trick-or-treating, then you are too old and need to go home and stop it. Secondly, you may be excited because you get to also wear a costume. Yet you're not five nor ten years old. NO! You are in your college years and get to go to a Halloween Party. What excitement! Booze, and girls just slutty enough to dress up as Sexy (insert word here). Well go and have your fun my bretheren. Just make sure you don't drink and drive as it is, count it, double the fine on Hallotweekend for DUIs or suspected ones.

Or, maybe you're like me.. no friends to count on. Just passin out candy to the young ones and digging on some Halloween type scary movies. However, I don't like them. My girl is the avid horror-flick lover extraordinaire around these parts. To be honest, it takes a lot to get me to sit through a movie that is not a comedy. I just don't have the attention span. Watching an hour and a half of crap that passes off as a movie nowadays for Hollywood is comparable to a full-scale Lobotomy. It is not worth it eight times out of ten. However, when it comes to horror movies, it is even more of a drag to bring myself to watch these ones. They just are not scary. Maybe I'm too much of a realist to be conned into the leap of faith that requires belief in the "paranormal". Half of the time I'm just trying to either figure out the plot, guess who's getting killed next, or waiting to find out who the killer is. That's most of the enjoyment I get out of them.

As far as scary goes, not so much. The type of self fooling that goes into being scared by these movies isn't gonna happen any time soon. For instance. You don't believe in God. Good for you. You go see a movie where religion plays the major part in the movie, and requires belief in "said god" to get the enjoyable effect of the movie. Whether it be fear of the devil, spiritual enlightenment, or godlike intervention amongst the characters; you won't care. You'll hate the movie, and more likely than not be laughing and just sort of putting it down in your head till the end. So since I don't believe in the undead and spirits, or God, this happens to me in horror movies a lot. It just doesn't grab me as much as others may be grabbed. So Sue Me!

Let me know If this makes sense to you, or if you've felt a similar thing with movies that you don't enjoy.

Happy Halloween, unless of course you're an adult. In which case, have a decent Sunday.

Ben Weasel

So, I guess I wasn't following him quite as rabidly as the rest of you. Anyways, I have recently been listening to the backlogs of his Weasel Radio show that was cast out of Madtown, WI until recently. Or so I'm told. It's just kind of interesting to compare his albums I've listened to with the most recent radio shows he has done. It was kind of shocking to hear he voted for John McCain, against the backdrop of "Anthem for a New Tomorrow" echoing in the back of my skull. However, I'm not as avid as the average Obama voter. I just thought that the party of the possibly worst President ever should not get another crack at the economy, as well as other social issues. That was my main reason for voting for Barry. On further evaluation of Ben's arguments, it kinda made sense to me. The fact that Obama's hype was way too much to live up to is a major standout. Yes, hope and change... It really did not work out too well for him. He was preaching to the idiot voter and maybe I'm one of them. "derrr". The economy is at a standstill and he cannot even pass decent social legislation with a majority of Congress on his side. Something tells me he just doesn't know what he's doing, or is not as "intelligent" as is stated. Besides, punk is supposed to be anti-establishment, which is just what Obama has become. Oh well, business as usual for Washington is all I can say. I'm shaking off the voter guilt of giving him my endorsement. Well, If only I were in charge.... right?

The facts are it is not easy to enact change without bipartisan support. He clearly has none.

One interesting thing I heard on BBC World News that kind of coincided with the whole discussion is how one party figure, whether it be Prez, Senator, etc... only panders to his own crowd. Wouldn't it be fun to see Obama get grilled by Hannity and Rush, rather than the good ole' boy Jon Stewart? Don't get me wrong, Stewart is a funny guy, but he's no conservative. A nice fireside chat with Mr. Dennis Miller would be quite different, with plenty of confusing words and references to really test Obama's intelligence. I heard one Daily Show fan talk about how Stewart "grilled" our President. Well maybe a bit. But only because he's as disappointed as the realistic Obama voter was. He'll probably vote Democrat again, being the Democrat rebel-rouser that he is. I'll really contemplate whether voting is worth it. Why can't Libertarians get more play in the run up to elections? Is that so much to ask?

"do you really want to be In America?" - the Fastbacks

Continued.. record score!

Yes it's the continuation.

Germ Attak "Ouroboros" LP
- This one sounds like it was straight out of the eighties, but in a good way. Raw, and thrashy h/c punk ranging from Discharge to Crucifix influences. The lyrics are short and to the point, which is nice. Sometimes volume of songs outweighs the actual content for the benefit. The lyrics are not just thrown together for no reason, as some punk bands have been known to do, and the resulting effect is slogans that are easy to comprehend, without being overly preachy. Love every minute of this, you spiky punks! The energy is coming at you with every lick, and these Canadian boys keep you bobbing your head til the end. Highly recommended for your hardcore thrashy fix of the month. On Capitalicide records.

The Measure [SA]- "Old Crow" EP
The first song is absolutely great! Trading off female/male vox makes for a very heartwarming song about parting ways. The second song, "good soup" is the clearly weakest song here. It is a faster h/c'ish song that just falls flat lyrically and vocally. The rhythym is off from music to vox, and it shows. The third song is a cover and is very strong. Originally by Soltero, "The Moment You Said Yes" is a ever increasing song in the pop punk vein with great vox on how both parties are disaffected with their sexual partners. Builds up and keeps the interest flowing throughout. A definite classic.


New Bomb Turks- "Stick It Out" EP on FatWreck...
Yes!!! Blazing speed on the first two tracks, lyrically inclined and on shiny Blue Vinyl to boot! Excellent punk rawk and roll thrash through the first two. The cover I feel is the obvious standout. "Job" is clearly excellent, forcing you to respect their punk credentials on the other two tracks. They rip through their songs with plenty of licks to handle themselves, yet the vocals either seem too buried or too irrelevant to anything for me. Some improvement could come from this. However, "Job" cover from Nubs is well worth getting this one.

September Is The One To Remember

It's been awhile since I've been up here. Yo.

It seems that 8/8/10 I got meself a girlfriend. G.I.R.L.F. RE end. So that, and the added stress of taking to school once again have combined for my loss from this dear blog o' mine. Ones of people seem mad about this. She's great. A brief description. Blonde, Sexy, and oh-so talkative. Too bad we can't hear her (seriously she's quiet). She speaks in a hot, yet quiet way. Like a subtle moan. mm. It is an opposites attract way in some sorts. She seems to be a teeny-bopper in disguise, and I am a punk to the core (at least I tell myself that). However, she is NOT a dumb blonde and can hold her own in any situation fact related, except politics. This is good, because if she was entirely the dumb blonde stereotype, it probably would not have worked. After all, I'm attracted to intelligence too. However, some of the things she enjoys...not the best. In a word, Glee. A TV show I have never seen. And all signs point to NO I'm not watching that crap ever. That show scares me way more than Hunx & His Punx do (damn they're catchy). So she's good to me, incredibly smart (except where "media" falls) and enjoyable to be around. Overall plus, because there has to be give and take with these kinda things, it's the little things that are more important. Like how we both are atheists and hate children. Fuck Religion. And dogs.

Anyhoo..
My birthday came and went, and I recently went record shopping to celebrate. One of the best days ever at Flipside. Glad I went there. Was on the way to Great Lakes to go to Gameworks, which I later found out was closed. Total anger. Bar Louie, which is a weak name for a weak bar, took its place. RRRRGGGGH! I really wanted to play Topskater! Of course with the yo-yo dude. Triple backflips for all to see. Life sucks, then you die...then good records make up for it.

McRackins "I'll Stick To Beer" 7"
I'll stick to beer is a hilarious song, doting on his never drinking hard liquor again since it made him sick. Also very catchy. Props. "Puppy Mill". This is the weakest track on the single. It has a decent beat and rhythym, however, the lyrics. Downright awful. Talkin' about how his dog is sick and came from a puppy mill. Weak and who cares about that anyhow? "Beautiful Sunday". Daniel Boone cover. Simply the strongest track on the wax. The playful lyrics are so sweet. Add to that some Queers like beat and some whiny pop punk vox (good), and you have an excellent track to enjoy. The only problem is how quick it's over and out. SWEEEEET! And it didn't leave the table for a week.

to be continued in next blog post... trust me it's quite the score!

Premier League Starting UP

OK. I know I'm a Yank (at least I'm not a Rebel). Yes, we follow football here, and not "football", like you Brits do. However, I have been taking a liking to the sport in recent times. It all started in 2004. I was in France for a summer exchange program for high school. And so it went that when we arrived, Euro Cup was going on. We tried to be all polite and root for the French, but they choked (as usual?) and Greece went on to win. Anyways, we watched all the matches, and once I learned the simple rules of soccer, I ended up carrying the love for the game with me to this day.

The only problem I have is finding an English club to support during the season. Most of the time, I end up rooting for the underdog in most games. Which I guess gives me more cred than rooting for Man U or Chelsea, and buying their gear. Either way, It'd be nice to have a team to root for. And for the record, I hate the MLS. It is a gutter league of castaways and college kids from the States who are not good enough to make the better league, (FA). So I'm welcome to any suggestions on which teams to root for as a Yank, what is permissible, if any? If I'm not able, by your standards, to call a team my own, I will continue rooting for the less favorite side in any matchup. Also, I will continue to enjoy the action of one of the best sports around. I know rooting for the best team is lame, so I'll take any suggestions as to which club is fair game. Thank you for your time spent reading (not "Reading"). Blahh. Soccer is back!

Just Letting you know...

The Ukelele Sucks

Just watched this movie..

Well not the one I will direct you to below. It is a documentary about the runup to 9/11 and the resulting start of a military advance into Afghanistan. Anyhow, the movie, "9/11: Press For Truth" was a great watch. It outlines all the evidence of threats, attacks, and possible attacks planned against the U.S. in the years leading up to the tragedy in New York City. Also called upon are the actions, or inactions, the U.S. government and elected officials took during those times. This movie gives well researched facts, news video and press clippings to the viewer. .This bombardment with facts is one of the things I liked best about the film. It provokes thought in a time where negative things about the government are often censored or thrown out of news stories altogether. Government accountability is also brought to mind, through the questionable actions of those in power took around these times.

One clip in the film shows Condoleeza Rice trying to "Politician" her way out of the facts presented to her in a Presidential Briefing she had reviewed on August 6th, 2001. A month before the attack. Youtube punksucks2525, which is my channel, for the entire vid. It is hilarious how she tries to slant her knowledge of any threat at all.

The moral of the film is that Knowledge Is Power. Knowing the facts allows one to formulate the right opinion, when lies are no longer suitable. It is for facts and hard news to exist for governments to be kept in check. We need a lot more independent media around, and that is a fact as well. Watch this documentary if you get a chance, you'll be rewarded for it. With Pizza, or something..

good rec from recently.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIlyIfp610IhqMLjykGZ1ydfkD7sdwtGitkX0EogK9FQluJUSerPF16lioCQBUYI9w7UMMYRYNAz91KSGAhDsZGChMoiw_QiQCCgKKIFB5pmwt0wqWzCceaU8ufVCVJZ07IwuorB-78QZ/s320/used-kids-yeah-no-200x200.jpg

The cool thing about this record is they play straightforward rocknroll without the pretentiousness. The lyrics come straight from the heart and have a classical rnr sound that seems so familiar. I feel the familiarity through the songs "I Miss My Records" & "Desperate Times" in particular. They remind me of the first time I listened to Darkness On The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen. Even though their punkier influences shine through on "Dancing.." and "Look Out For The Cops," this band exhibits a very good classic rock sound. It is totally rocking in a mellow sense, and leaves one with a longing for more of their thoughtful and soulful stylings. Badlands ain't got shit on the new stuff from the Used Kids! Not much of the punk style, but the rocknroll is to be appreciated here. Enjoy, and roll that pack of Marlies into your sleeve till it burns through. Catch this one now!!

My Near Future Letter To Maximumrocknroll, Rough Draft

Har har just fooled ya. I got nothing to say. Oh there is the whole thing on my mind on how this magazine Maximumrocknroll could be improved. But not in the magazine's entirety. There is only one area which I would choose to change, if I were CEO or "Coordinator". The Reviews!! My objection is that not everyone listens to every new punk band around. It seems the reviewers fail to realize that a new reader or member of the punk community may be checking out the mag for the first time ever. A common misconception is that EVERY punk knows about EVERY punk band around. Unfortunately, most of us have other things on the mind, and have not had the ability to sample every band of the world, as the reviewers clearly have. One thing that could be taken to heart is a few details on what music the band plays. As easy as it is to find things on the internet, some of us don't know all the bands you compare new bands to. For example, 'well it sounds like Ty Segall and Fucked Up had a baby.' What does that mean to a new reader?? Why not define the music as either 60s, thrash, heavy metal, or 77 punk as you used to? And if it's psych pop, garage pop, electro, don't review it. Also power pop and poppunk are good buzzwords to throw out there for us. What is powerviolence? What is Grindcore? Why all the words anyways? Provide clear examples of the MUSIC ITSELF. Not, "well I hate the artwork, my stomach hurts so I hate every record I reviewed today." Then give a review of the content, lyrics, etc.., and let us decide. Don't hide the music in a riddle of obscure bands/buzzwords most of us haven't heard of yet. It would be nice to get a more classical description of the band, based at the least, on bands every punk is sure to know. The classic major bands would be a good launch point. This may sound kind of contrived to those whose job is to delve into every nook and cranny of punkish music, but the fact remains, we don't know every recent band, nor should we. The classics set the stage, and many genres of "mainstream" music factor into the punk movement. It seems the actual punk bands take a backseat review-wise in relation to other experimental sounding bands. All I ask is please get those reviews on the right track. The artists hurt as a result, and so does the scene in general. I would love to listen to more recent music, but am confused as a result of your reviews as to where to look for parallels to some classic punk faves I have. And being left to decipher whether or not it's actually punk can be all too annoying as well.

Awful Day

Nine Oclock and I'm thinking about a run up to Meijer for some replacement razors. I'm low on the mach 3 replacements and have been resorting to shaving with single blade disposable bics. Taking one of those to my face is like playing russian roulette, because I know I'm going to get cut, but not when. Throw the car into reverse and BLAM! Flat tire. in the driveway. At this point, I'm pissed off. Get out the spare saver and proceed to undo the lugs and get the old tire off. After about ten minutes I am covered in sweat and throw my shirt to the porch to finish the job. Thirty minutes later, and my back looks like malaria city. I have at least twenty mosquito bites on my back and, oh, how they are itchy and horrible looking.

Fast forward to the next morning. I figure I'll head up to the tire joint and get it replaced for free. Not Free! Costs me almost thirty five dollars to reinsure the new tire and purchase new lugnuts, which are apparently stripped. So I wait from 8:30 to 9:15 for them to take care of it when one employee calls me over. He knows why I got the flat in the first place. The heavy-duty spring near the strut snapped and its jagged edge was pointing directly at the tire. So he offers me a place he "recommends" down the street. I say to put on the spare and get me out of there. So he does. Minutes later, I'm headed down the fifteen mile ride to my mechanic. Takes me forty minutes. Flashers on, idiots honking at me, and plenty of fingers to go around. Luckily my cousin was near my shop at the time so I got a ride out to work later.

Work went fine, and I'm alive so I cannot complain that much. Hope to get the shitmobile back tomorrow though. Just a long line of bull I've had to put up with for the past week. Feel my pain?

-Ryan-

Time Flies..

Excellent album by the Subhumans (UK). Half live, half studio, quite the ripper. Bought a copy of it at the local record shop and was shocked that it still had the original insert plus a smaller insert including the list of demos one could send for with 50p along with a blank cassette tape! What some would pay for those demos nowadays, I'll tell ya. Anyhow, a complete reassurance that they were doing everything right as a group, and the lyrics to People Are Scared resonate with me a lot. Also picked up a terrible skippy version of a Rezillos live show, I feel cheated by that, but Time Flies completely made up for it. Hope you enjoy the tracks on this as much as I did. Till next time//

me as a cartoon

more to come, maybe.

Good lansing band from the old time

Awesome band. I can't believe I hadn't listened to these boys from my home state's LP in such a long time. The Crucifucks. Deranged lyrical style, interesting guitar/bass/drum killing, and some of the best (and still relevant) lyrical content one little punk could hope to find. Look them up for yourself if you don't believe me, but "Can you believe we're being plagued by religion still? These Christians aren't about to give up!" is a sample of what's in store for them virgin ears out there. A sweet bonus are the actual police recordings related to the band inserted in the space between their songs. The one line to the cop by Doc gets me every time! Just further proof that punk was extremely misunderstood by the cops and "society" in the 80s. Guaranteed enjoyment by all punks who haven't checked them out- and that enjoy the Feederz and Dead Kennedys. Oh just look it up already, it's the internet!

Crucial Youth and Grudge

Which is better at making fun of the reaction of the supposed straight edge mentality? Well Crucial Youth were the first and from what I gather had the most obnoxious lyrics. The bashing of cursing, masturbating, dirty teeth, littering..etc...are the most hilarious things I have ever heard. I believe that they are really not too opposed to the SXE style of living, yet are making fun of everyone that thinks Ian and the rest were preaching Nazis. In my opinion, not drinking is alright, it keeps you focused. Not that I don't drink, (love the drink) but staying focused on the problems in society is something everyone should aspire to. Giving your full attention to various societal/governmental problems is something everyone can agree upon. Ok? Remember "You call it religion, you're full of shit. You picked up a bible, and now you're gone."

Then there's Grudge. They compose their songs of mass thrash in a remarkably straight edge-ish style, with lyrics that are completely anti SXE. I think it is also hilarious when they say Drinking's Great, and that "when we see you pissed at us it really makes us smile." Apart from that, they seem to be more anti straight edge and furious at the entire movement, and are doing it to get a reaction. That's how I feel anyway.

Do you have a humble opinion about such things? Let me know what is the better FAKE STRAIGHT EDGE BAND? And if you hate SXE, give me a reason please. Once again, I'm not an x-er. At the same time, I don't hate on their feelings of focusing their energy fully on correcting various problems within the "scene". For example today, using fashion and coolness as an excuse for not showing energy or getting together with other punks. Let me know, I'm dying to hear from the masses on this one.

what does god mean to me?

So it has been a good weekend. I went out to the west side of this state, Michigan, to spend the weekend with my brother and his friend at said friends' apartment. Got a pretty sick sunburn, too. Now, we went out and were at a restaurant and somehow started talking about religion, and how it relates to us. I am an atheist and started to explain how I don't go to church anymore and what I have gotten out of religion. I stated that even though I don't go, and I don't worship and pray, that if I got anything out of my upbringing as a Roman Catholic, it was to be good to other people. This just seems like common sense to me, and I don't believe that one should worship just to be able to carry out their lives in a non-dickish way to other people. I also explained that there are so many things wrong with the church and that if one knows anything about the crusades past and present, and the current pedophelia sweeping the rectories, that there are things wrong with the inherent culture of the modern church. My brother and his friend are both Catholics and go to church regularly. In so many words, they related that they feel they go to actually feel a relationship with god. Through being at a church on a Sunday, they feel more of a connection. And then asked me, "what started the big bang?". To which I replied there are so many millions of galaxies and that we are an accident. Then his friend asked me, "so there's nothing that put it all into motion?" and that "at a certain point one has to believe in some kind of god, right?" And what can I say, other than I don't know. I stated that even though I don't know that (which nobody does), it is not like I am going to ask for confession on my death bed when I know it is not fair if I don't go to church. And as a side note, I got confirmed, and my brother doesn't which he feels is unfair because I no longer believe. Just go do it if you're so jealous! It's really not that difficult, and if someone believes that much, they should at least be allowed into heaven, but only if they take the right classes, right?

Anyway, it goes back to an old philosophical question of religion and what are the benefits of not going vs. the benefits of going to church. On one hand, you don't go. You have saved a lot of time. If god doesn't exist, you spent that time in a better manner than wasting it in church. However, if he does exist, you are going to hell. However, you may go to church. In that case you waste a lot of time going to Church and doing whatever you do as a practicing (add religion here). If your particular god exists, then you go to heaven. If your god does not exist, then you have wasted a great deal of time and effort. The thing I'm saying is that who knows what the right religion is, and if going is necessary. But the thing all religions (I think) can agree on is being good to one another, a thing I brought up to them. I don't feel the need to waste my time to achieve something that comes off as common sense. Besides, I don't agree with every tenet of the church in terms of Abortion, Gay Marriage, Women's Rights, Morality, Drug Use, Sexual Conduct, or Freedom of Expression. All of these things also lead me away from a pew into my own mind, where I can formulate my own opinions. They are also the same beliefs that would place me in direct conflict with the same church I once belonged to, or should still belong to. I'm sure it would not be happy with anyone that did not believe the same things it did. If people want to worship, I'm not going to convert them away, whatever helps them get through the night is fine with me. Everyone has separate experiences when it comes to religion, and through their socialization in terms of religious views. For me, CRASS played a big part. Anyways, religion is mostly okay, however when it is used in terms of politics and through guilt trips, they make me uncomfortable. It is also a thing that can be used to springboard prejudices: see "cheap Jews", "radical Islam", etc. etc. So worship what you want, just don't use it to try to intrude onto the majority of the ideals I have or by supporting causes which try to push a specific religious agenda in my or anyones' government. I can't explain all of this in one column, but you get the gist. God means nothing to me, I'll take my chances on my own. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

Remember, no one rules.

Sob Story

Once again another Exciting work story! yes most of what gets my creative juices flowing are the endless strange people I meet on a day-to-day basis. So, a woman comes in on a wheelchair/scooter hybrid type deal. You know, a Hoverround. Anyhoo, she comes in and I'm takin' care of her, then as soon as she brings up her condition, Lupus, I know I'm in for a sob story. Maybe I'm too used to my fathers' attitude about having a severe case of muscular dystrophy and not really bringing it up at all, but she just had to let everyone know. Yes she has lupus. It's sad. But not sad enough. She then has to go on with how she got into a collison by going through a yellow and getting hit by someone who did not watch her go through the light. Again, sad. No that's not even enough for her, she goes into the gory details, how she was thrown from her seat and laid conscious but in extreme agony on the ground. Extremely sad. Then how she'd not been given help by the man that collided with her, and laid on the ground screaming for help. AWFULLY SAD. So that's the end of the life story, correct? You are mistaken. Said woman goes on to explain to myself and the two other ladies I work beside how she had sued the car company, and the gentleman, and lost. How she had to switch insurance companies as a result of all the previous. It seems the company would not cover her for ADA requirements inside of her house. Even though she had one ramp set up already, mind you. She lost her case because of claimed negligence in responding to GM in the proper time frame for her seatbelt and airbag malfunction. This is unforgivable on the part of GM, but. But, I cannot help but think that some of this is exaggerated.

Now don't tell me I'm being insensitive. How can one not be moved by such claims. But something else has to be said for the readiness with which she was able to share all of her hardships with all of us. Why would she want so much sympathy? Why the constant claim of being boxed in a corner and being maltreated by the system..accompanied in no small part by her own actions? I think that she is in a wheelchair, which is an awful situation I do not wish upon anyone, yet something is wrong. Her own actions caused the accident, and she should know that things can be much worse.

Back to my previous comment, my father. He knows things can be worse, and keeps a positive attitude and talks about it as little as possible.

As far as the worse goes, she could have died in Afghanistan, fighting for imperialism. She could have been killed in that accident. She could have not existed. She could have been shot point blank on the highway. She could have not been an American with the opportunity to afford an automobile.

Things can always be worse, it's a positive outlook that counts. Personal whining about being dealt an unfair hand is so trivial it makes me sad. Try a weekend in Iraq, then get back to me.

Bye Bye Facebook

So I deleted my account off the ever popular site yesterday and I feel good about it. I'm sure many of you techies and social network pimps out there love all the positives you get out of this website. It's been gaining in popularity ever since its inception and now to the point where many are seeing aunts and uncles and even grandparents getting on board. However, what has Facebook really ever done for me is a question I seek to answer.

Maybe it didn't work or help me because I didn't have enough friends. If you want to be specific, I had about seventy five friends when I deleted my account. However, the people I have seen in the past four years that were on my "friend" list number in at less than fifteen. And currently, I haven't seen any of them. This of course excludes my immediate family, and a couple other good people. So why the extension of my social life? I can't quite answer that. Maybe I had some vein hope of seeing if i could find old acquaintances and get reintroduced through a different format. Either way it seemed that every time I had a thought or some kind of random quote, nobody really cared. I'd get maybe one or two return posts from the real friends, and never even so much as a "hello" or "how's it going" from the rest of the crowd. I know I'm not the coolest individual in the world, but come on. So, to me, a facebook friend is about as meaningful as a promise from a President. It's all a lie. The people with five hundred or a thousand friends must have all the time in the world. With that kind of friend support I could organize something positive, say a benefit to stop Country Music Festivals in Downtown Detroit? A support group for recovering reality show addicts?

The other thing that made me stop was the absolute lack of actual contact with any of these people. It seems that a facebook friend would only get to know you so far anyways. And since I'm not a cute lady, I didn't have people lining up around the corner to make an effort to talk to me. Even so, it seemed like the actual getting together would be impossible with any of these acquaintances. When you add someone out of curiosity, it makes you come off as a weirdo or a loser. Whereas, meeting the same person on the street may form into a meaningful friendship. There's a certain dividing line when it comes to the internet, which I cannot explain.

So, I have cast off the spell. And really, it feels good. I no longer have to read people express their ultimate happiness in having the "Best Boyfriend/Girlfriend Ever", a ticket to the local sports venue, or that they're in a bad mood (unhappy face). Most of the time these people have little to discuss anyways, which is fine by me. Until then I can live with isolation until I find someone worth talking to, that doesn't define themselves by their "Status", and can think for themselves.

"It's so easy when your friends are dead, it's so much easier when you don't even care." -Jay Reatard (R.I.P.)

Interesting customer

So I was working on Friday and this beautiful girl and her annoying grandmother come up and need help with the girls' trip out west. The grandmother sticks around and makes snide comments to her about making the wrong choices on the trip such as where to stay and not being completely sure about where she's going to be staying. The funny thing was that the grandma made a joke about some camp in Colorado called Camp Dick. I didn't want to respond, but her saying, "interesting name huh?" had me laughing on the inside.

Anyways, the grandma finally went away and I got some time to chat to the dreamboat in front of me. Now, it was unavoidable that she had an Indian dot on her head, which I don't know the name of, sorry for not doing my research. Third Eye, maybe? Then she mentioned to me the significance of the stops on her way through the left coast. She was going to be doing yoga and meditative study programs for people in various cities. This is obviously related to the third eye, I assume. So I took interest and asked about it, making a comment on how I could never try yoga as I would probably end up a pretzel. Joking aside, Apparently the meditative part is related to vibrations and how we are all essentially a bunch of atomic vibrations on an atomic scale. My hippie detector was blaring like a siren.. one of those British police sirens like at the beginning of "Police Oppression" by Angelic Upstarts. So I said yeah, thats cool and all, but I usually think of things on a more scientific level since I just recently took Anatomy. But she responded to my surprise that she was in preMed at the moment. My first objection took away right there. So we talked a little more and she recommended some yoga shop-or-whatever-you-call-them around me and that I should do it, that it would be all revelation-esque to me, which was nice on her part. Don't expect me to be going though. End of conversation, see you, drive safe.

Now this has been on my mind for a while, the whole vibration thing. Though it seems kinda new age and vague for me to be blown away by, there is some truth to us all being connected on an atomic level stuff. I think that there is something in nature where we cannot help but feel its effects. I mean, rain makes me chill out and beautiful sunny days make me want to run around. Winter makes me angry and generally introspective. So maybe there is something to it. I just don't know if I would want to go to a yoga place, unless she was there, uhm..to show me some moves. An afternoon full of hippies doing monkish chants ain't a good idea in my eyes though.

She seemed pretty relaxed though, so if something unorthodox makes you happy, no skin off my teeth. I just feel like I'm too high strung for that kind of thing. Also anything that comes off as a religious thing usually repels me. Until the day I do seek some kind of organized enlightenment, I'll stick with trying to be good to people, or at least not being too big of a weirdo. I'm sure everyone can agree with that.

memorial day musing

Well it's memorial day in the US of A. The only thoughts circulating through my mind about the rah rah-we're the almighty power-holiday are of my deceased grandfather. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War 2. As far as I'm concerned it was the last war worth getting involved in. Fascism needed to be stopped, and the time was right to send a message to everyone that the horrific slaughter of million upon million of innocents would not be tolerated or acceptable in the modern world. The rest of Europe needed help and it was great to see things turned out in a decent way. France and England were saved and excluding the cold war everything turned out pretty okay.

Back to my grandfather though. He used to speak of his accounts over there as if of a fairytale. He took all the dehumanizing and awful details out as recounting his time overseas to myself and my older brother; and his sons and daughters as well. It may have been to decrease the strain of war and the pity on what he had to go through for the rest of the family, but everybody knew what really went on. It was cold. It was War. It was hell. Yet, through staying positive he was able to take his pain away. It was something he had to do. Fighting for the ultimate cause was legitimate excuse to enlist for him. To this day, I can only imagine seeing through his eyes. What horrors were seen first hand? How did he survive?

The pain of war is something nobody should go through. I remain strictly anti-war on all accounts. The only thing I can ever hope for is that the military will not be deployed to a foreign land to do whatever some Chickenhawk tells it to do. The true meaning of memorial day is to respect those who fought for reasonable causes and to try to ensure that nobody will ever have to suffer like the ones who fought in the first and second world wars. Like it's been written- "Fight war, not wars"

Happy memorial day. Send them home.

Friday night rat hole.

So it's another Friday and what a shocker, I'm not doing anything at all. It must be nice to have friends to rely on or a relationship with someone. It's been weeks since I've been able to get away from most responsibilities in this prison of a house this is. I take care of my sick father most of the time since there's nobody else for him to rely on for the time being. So that explains a lot. Being single sucks quite a bit but sometimes it's better not to have anyone to bog you down with their lies and their constant need for affection and attention. Anyways here's a few meaningful thoughts from the past week.

I went to the record store and found a used copy of a pretty enjoyable record, Share What Ya Got by Defiance, Ohio. Its the reish on NoIdea on oh-so pretty pink marbley vinyl. Anyways it had me thinking of how it ended up being there in the first place. The band has every single song they've done available for free download on their website. How could one not know what they were getting into before purchasing this one? Anyways, the good news is there was not one single scratch on it, which was good to see. Plays well, and is a pretty good album for the most part. It gets kind of gentle on some tracks with some getting too dream like and boring, but the folk punk (if that's a term) sounds of some tracks are unforgettable and "Chad's Favorite Song" is something to behold. Plus the dudes & lady seem like good hearted people based on the liner notes which gives them bonus points, and they seem to have their priorities in order.

Tried listening to the Vivian Girls again and I just can't seem to get into it at all. I mean its been the comparison point for other bands in some arenas, so I decided to check it out again tonight. I just seem to keep trying to find something that will grab me. The whole lo-fi angle is okay but the songs are just not rocking and end up putting me more into a dream like bored mode. Snore. And it's not that all ladies can't rock. But these ones can need a good jolt or something because they're making me fall asleeeeep. I'd rather listen to Tacocat, at least they have a sense of humor.

Started working two weeks back at my temporary summer post. I give people directions. Let me tell you, if you had to see some of the people that I see every day, you'd be just as paranoid on the road as I tend to get. From people with blank stares and no gerbil to crank the gears of their minds to the ones who just flat out can't read a map, it gets pretty scary. Then some people who get confused by road signs and where to turn. The best was today one lady came in and was driving all around the state of Ohio. She didn't want to take the toll road because it was too expensive, yet the Gas prices are once again being hiked to all hell by our government for the summer months, and by the time you meander outside the road you have wasted precious gas mileage by increasing mileage on the trip and through stopping and starting on tiny state roads. The logic is bulletproof, I know.