Oh, what is there to say? Other than I hate my internet at my apartment? Or that I really need to just move out of this hellhole? Or that I should work a lot more on music so I can hopefully tour around the would playing my music? Meh, who knows.
First off, I'm going to kill my internet in my apartment...I really don't know what happened between the past week or so to the internet. It just started SUCKING. A LOT. I keep on meaning to call my landlords about this issue, but my sleep schedule has been very rough lately and I just kind of...procrastinate.
I'll stop procrastinating tomorrow.
Speaking of procrastination....my apartment is a bloody disaster.
UUGGGHHH!!!
I really do need to clean that sucker, but who knows when that will happen. LOL.
So, here I am at work.....blogging. Maybe better it that than video blogging, but who the hell knows. It still feels weird to be paid while I do this...
So, what else is going on? Well, Japanapalooza went...........well, it went. No idea how much money was raised, and I really didn't care for a lot of the music. I really kept on asking myself why I was there the whole time..Saturday was better, but Friday...
Yeah, it's going to be some time before I'm finished about being pissed off about Friday. It really kind of woke me up to a lot and just makes me want to move away from this town faster. I really don't want to discuss much more, so I'll just leave it that I'm still pissed off about it.
I would have snagged some pics of the event if I remembered to bring my camera...HA! I did Rick Roll everyone on Friday...and two people noticed it. TWO. FUCKING. PEOPLE.
My GOD, that is one hell of an old meme and PEOPLE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL A RICK ROLL IS AROUND HERE?! Fail, Johnson City. Fail.
But enough of that. I did see some old friends yesterday when I visited my old alma mater to check out all the new broadcasting equipment. I DID get pictures of that, but my camera is no where REMOTELY close to me right now so I can't upload them.
They'll be in my video blog, though. As well as some video I shot there with my POS camera. ^_^
I seriously need an HD cam. I would love a prosumer cam...with FCP. *sigh* fantasies.
But, I think I'm going to move in with my parents at the end of my lease so I'll buy one then. Seriously, though, I'm barely making rent now and it would just be better for everything. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad I got an apartment, but economically it might be better to move back in with my parents.
More on that as the days go by.
Uhm, I'll post something here later about my thoughts about Game of Thrones. But for now, this will do it.
SHOWS I NEED TO WATCH!
-Stargate
-Camelot
-Big Bang Theory
-Community
So yeah, moving out was a good/bad decision now. HAHAHAHA!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Internet tubes are clogged
SOMEBODY GET MARIO!
Seriously, though, a huge storm came through the area last Saturday and did a lot of damage to the JC area. And, what only I can assume, did some damage to the internet as well.
Because mine has gone to complete and utter shit. Maybe someone else is just completely abusing the bandwidth, but my internet has been so slow...thus, why I have not been uploading recently.
I HAVE HAD NO INTERNET!!!!!!
Seriously, though, a huge storm came through the area last Saturday and did a lot of damage to the JC area. And, what only I can assume, did some damage to the internet as well.
Because mine has gone to complete and utter shit. Maybe someone else is just completely abusing the bandwidth, but my internet has been so slow...thus, why I have not been uploading recently.
I HAVE HAD NO INTERNET!!!!!!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
rainy day = thinking day.....
So, I feel kinda like I'm provoking everyone on facebook. For the past couple of days, I have been tormenting them all with spam on their feed....well, not SPAM spam, but constantly promoting my song/vlog so I can get more hits and more comments and more views and such.
Well, I've run out of ideas. I'm kinda tired of spamming their feed because I'm pretty sure that I've lost friends over it. Not to mention that they're not promoting it to their friends and their friends aren't promoting it to their friends, so it seems like a lost cause to do.
And that really annoys me. How I can do ANYTHING in this town when friends aren't going to help? How can I improve on what I do without hearing comments from outside sources?
Ugh........
Well, I've run out of ideas. I'm kinda tired of spamming their feed because I'm pretty sure that I've lost friends over it. Not to mention that they're not promoting it to their friends and their friends aren't promoting it to their friends, so it seems like a lost cause to do.
And that really annoys me. How I can do ANYTHING in this town when friends aren't going to help? How can I improve on what I do without hearing comments from outside sources?
Ugh........
Friday, April 8, 2011
BLAWWWRG!!
Ya know, back when I was on Xanga, I posted on a daily basis. Maybe I had a better life than I do now then, but I made it a duty to post at least once everyday on that, and I feel like I'm really dropping the ball on this thing...
I told myself to continue this rather than talk about my real life on my Vlog, but I don't know....life just seems to kind of drag right now..same old same old.
And I'm sure you all don't want to see a blog post that's almost an exact copy of the previous one. Plus, I do more on my Facebook status updates and twitter account now than here....Though it seems like no one checks those out either.
I really am trying to post more here....but I go to bed much earlier and the majority of the time I just sit on Facebook hoping someone will message me and/or reply to something that I thought of as creative.
I really feel like I'm in a wrong generation or just in a town that doesn't understand me.......
And that's something I really want to blog about, but I know what's going to happen when I do....same thing that always happens - I say something that someone puts out of proportion and I get a lot of flack because of it. Well, I've come to realize that some people just simply don't comprehend or have the lack of intelligence to understand, so they fill in unwanted gaps and put innuendos in where they see fit and make an educated guess to make something sarcastic become serious.
And we're all victim of it. I'm not singling anyone out of that because I do the same thing. That's simply humanity.
And then I get labeled as weird, nerdy, dorky, fat, etc etc. Which only furthers my depression and gives fuel to the wilted flower that's covered in snow.
I will say this one thing, assuming I don't jinx myself in the process. In the hopes of asking for help from the outside of this hole I somehow found myself in, there is a girl I have my eyes set on right now and I'm hoping for something to develop rather than just the weak friendship we currently reside in. I'd rather not say who she is, but I have a feeling it's more obvious than I assume, judging from the comments I get.
Which makes me bewildered about a lot of things....Hopefully later on I can actually discuss that and find a hand to pull me out of this hole...
...well, ok, it's a ditch. ^_^ the hole has been a lot deeper, but I'm almost at the top. Now, I just need a hand to grab onto.
I told myself to continue this rather than talk about my real life on my Vlog, but I don't know....life just seems to kind of drag right now..same old same old.
And I'm sure you all don't want to see a blog post that's almost an exact copy of the previous one. Plus, I do more on my Facebook status updates and twitter account now than here....Though it seems like no one checks those out either.
I really am trying to post more here....but I go to bed much earlier and the majority of the time I just sit on Facebook hoping someone will message me and/or reply to something that I thought of as creative.
I really feel like I'm in a wrong generation or just in a town that doesn't understand me.......
And that's something I really want to blog about, but I know what's going to happen when I do....same thing that always happens - I say something that someone puts out of proportion and I get a lot of flack because of it. Well, I've come to realize that some people just simply don't comprehend or have the lack of intelligence to understand, so they fill in unwanted gaps and put innuendos in where they see fit and make an educated guess to make something sarcastic become serious.
And we're all victim of it. I'm not singling anyone out of that because I do the same thing. That's simply humanity.
And then I get labeled as weird, nerdy, dorky, fat, etc etc. Which only furthers my depression and gives fuel to the wilted flower that's covered in snow.
I will say this one thing, assuming I don't jinx myself in the process. In the hopes of asking for help from the outside of this hole I somehow found myself in, there is a girl I have my eyes set on right now and I'm hoping for something to develop rather than just the weak friendship we currently reside in. I'd rather not say who she is, but I have a feeling it's more obvious than I assume, judging from the comments I get.
Which makes me bewildered about a lot of things....Hopefully later on I can actually discuss that and find a hand to pull me out of this hole...
...well, ok, it's a ditch. ^_^ the hole has been a lot deeper, but I'm almost at the top. Now, I just need a hand to grab onto.
Time....a paradox...
So, can time travel be possible? Yes and no. It's basically a theory of relativity and a basis of a big ball of wibbly wimey timey wimey stuff that puts the "impossible" to "improbable" or even a huge anomaly when considering how it fits to those not aware of how it can be contained.
First off, we do know that there is almost a linear projectivery to life..right? There's a point A and a point αΎ¨, correct? That we're born, we live, and we die? Sorry to be narcissistic about that, but it really is the case...story of everyone's life as a whole. At this juncture in our civilization we have not crafted the art known as immortality (nor should we, but I digress), so we all simply become part of the world, survive in it, and perish six feet in it.
So, we all can basically say that's 100 percent accurate, at least right now.
But couldn't the same thing be said over 100 years ago before TV, internet, so many cures to disease, world wars, technology as a whole, etc etc? Wouldn't you LOVE to tell those people what to look forward too? How their children are going to live? Or maybe it gave you a chance to say goodbye to someone you loved? Hell, I know I would cherish that moment if I had the ability too...
BUT...At what cost? Or would there EVEN BE a cost? CONSIDER THIS:
Every time story has basically said that if you change the past, you alter the present. Well, not all, but you get the point. Many state that with the concept of "If you kill a butterfly in the past, blah blah blah will happen in the future" (I totally forget where that quote came from now and I'm seriously annoyed about it), but I don't think that's the case.
If we did travel back in the past, wouldn't we already have changed the past? Meaning that our life was already down that path and wouldn't have changed anything at all? We wouldn't create any type of parallel universe because we were already in that universe to begin with - it's almost like we created an interstellar circle in our universe and could have ended up being our own father.
Reference: Futurama.
But really, think about it. We wouldn't be changing history at all...if anything, we'd know more about it. There are so many mysteries in this world left unsolved, and I would LOVE to have a TARDIS to find out all of them. Sure, Doctor Who has had its own spin on those stories in it's own manor, but I personally would LOVE to know who shot first to start the American Revolution because I would love to know. And hell, I would tell them how much they impacted the future full of mystery.
I would love to know whether it was on accident or purpose on this person starting the revolution.
I think a great example of this would be Doctor Who's episode of "Vincent and the Doctor" from the 5th series of the 2005 sagas. They brought Van Goth to the future from his time to show him how much of an impact he had on the world to uplift his spirits. When they did this, some would claim that they altered life.
How so? The 'line' of this planet and all of it's creatures still worked like clockwork with little to no difference. Van Goth had memories of what his paintings made to him hundreds of years into the future, but no one would take him seriously. And, on top of that, now he had more reason to paint rather than stop and kill himself. And he never took back any paintings of his work, so he couldn't simply copy his own work
.......which would have made ONE HELL of an awesome paradox...
But case in point, that was HIS line of life. inside the Alpha and Omega of his lifestream, he saw the future, literally.
But the question here is this: DOES TIME TRAVEL EXIST?!
Quite possibly no. I don't simply see it existing because the mathematics of breaking time are far too complex for this world to understand. It goes way beyond my realm of comprehension, and I know math majors who couldn't find a way to break time.
The one cool thing about Bill and Ted is that they were aware of that and totally made it killer by letting time go in motion rather than saying "duh, time machine" and using that as a scapegoat so that no one else can know what's going on. Making the time machine put in real time solves a lot of issues, like aging.
That's one thing that really bugs me about Doctor Who, too...
And that's why I think Time travel can't exist....if someone traveled anywhere in time, they would be lost in society, presumed dead, and then considered madmen if/when they came back and said they traveled in time. If someone told you they went in the past/present, would you consider them sane?
I think not.
First off, we do know that there is almost a linear projectivery to life..right? There's a point A and a point αΎ¨, correct? That we're born, we live, and we die? Sorry to be narcissistic about that, but it really is the case...story of everyone's life as a whole. At this juncture in our civilization we have not crafted the art known as immortality (nor should we, but I digress), so we all simply become part of the world, survive in it, and perish six feet in it.
So, we all can basically say that's 100 percent accurate, at least right now.
But couldn't the same thing be said over 100 years ago before TV, internet, so many cures to disease, world wars, technology as a whole, etc etc? Wouldn't you LOVE to tell those people what to look forward too? How their children are going to live? Or maybe it gave you a chance to say goodbye to someone you loved? Hell, I know I would cherish that moment if I had the ability too...
BUT...At what cost? Or would there EVEN BE a cost? CONSIDER THIS:
Every time story has basically said that if you change the past, you alter the present. Well, not all, but you get the point. Many state that with the concept of "If you kill a butterfly in the past, blah blah blah will happen in the future" (I totally forget where that quote came from now and I'm seriously annoyed about it), but I don't think that's the case.
If we did travel back in the past, wouldn't we already have changed the past? Meaning that our life was already down that path and wouldn't have changed anything at all? We wouldn't create any type of parallel universe because we were already in that universe to begin with - it's almost like we created an interstellar circle in our universe and could have ended up being our own father.
Reference: Futurama.
But really, think about it. We wouldn't be changing history at all...if anything, we'd know more about it. There are so many mysteries in this world left unsolved, and I would LOVE to have a TARDIS to find out all of them. Sure, Doctor Who has had its own spin on those stories in it's own manor, but I personally would LOVE to know who shot first to start the American Revolution because I would love to know. And hell, I would tell them how much they impacted the future full of mystery.
I would love to know whether it was on accident or purpose on this person starting the revolution.
I think a great example of this would be Doctor Who's episode of "Vincent and the Doctor" from the 5th series of the 2005 sagas. They brought Van Goth to the future from his time to show him how much of an impact he had on the world to uplift his spirits. When they did this, some would claim that they altered life.
How so? The 'line' of this planet and all of it's creatures still worked like clockwork with little to no difference. Van Goth had memories of what his paintings made to him hundreds of years into the future, but no one would take him seriously. And, on top of that, now he had more reason to paint rather than stop and kill himself. And he never took back any paintings of his work, so he couldn't simply copy his own work
.......which would have made ONE HELL of an awesome paradox...
But case in point, that was HIS line of life. inside the Alpha and Omega of his lifestream, he saw the future, literally.
But the question here is this: DOES TIME TRAVEL EXIST?!
Quite possibly no. I don't simply see it existing because the mathematics of breaking time are far too complex for this world to understand. It goes way beyond my realm of comprehension, and I know math majors who couldn't find a way to break time.
The one cool thing about Bill and Ted is that they were aware of that and totally made it killer by letting time go in motion rather than saying "duh, time machine" and using that as a scapegoat so that no one else can know what's going on. Making the time machine put in real time solves a lot of issues, like aging.
That's one thing that really bugs me about Doctor Who, too...
And that's why I think Time travel can't exist....if someone traveled anywhere in time, they would be lost in society, presumed dead, and then considered madmen if/when they came back and said they traveled in time. If someone told you they went in the past/present, would you consider them sane?
I think not.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
So, uh....
April is creeping up on me. And I'm rather excited because I have a lot planned. Rush, Surviving Johnson City Night, New Doctor Who Series, MTAC, Japanapalooza, and the debut of my first nerdcore/nerd metal song. So I have a lot going for me.
However, I'm seriously thinking about getting rid of one event, and that would be MTAC. Don't get me wrong, I really want to go, but I have no place to stay, no tickets yet, and not the biggest love of anime. I love some of the older stuff and maybe a little of the newer, but after April became a part of my life, I had a vast 360 and changed my life. I was into Anime before her, I was playing DnD, I was doing Halo lan parties, I was being a nerd. Then she became a part of my life and I changed without either of us really knowing.
I'm sure school played a part in that, too, but I'm not really sure at this point.
Needless to say, I feel like I'm going to be...well, alone most of the time in that con. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing (I'm mostly going to scope the music and nerd panels there and the concerts, but I don't know what else I'm going to do), but this does lead me into something that I honestly feel right now.
See, I met a lot of good friends at GMX last year from my friend Alex. We all cosplayed as Doctor Who and Firefly and it was completely awesome...HOWEVER, I didn't know anyone in that group other than Alex. But I quickly gained their friendship and hung out with them a lot.
Yes, I talk to them more, but I still feel out of place among the group. Maybe it's because 1/2 of the male population of that group, or it's something else deep inside...something lurking within that I cannot control. Or it's just that I'm a male stuck in a shitty non-nerdy town that's exactly like a Revenge of the Nerds plot...except I'm not in Lambda Lambda Lambda.
So, I feel almost useless here...But I just digressed from the point.
I have a choice to make now. Alex's friend Mary, who played the TARDIS and Mal(?), has a birthday party this week...Saturday to be exact. I don't know where and I don't know the exact time, but I was invited and I said no. Mostly because I live 4+ hours away and simply cannot afford the gas.
However, I have a Rush show that night, too. It was supposed to be on the 1st, but got delayed until the 2nd (Damn, that's one hell of an April Fool's joke). Needless to say, I don't know what to do...
I can go to Rush, or go to Mary's party...
But this kind of brings an error to me mostly because I don't know how I would honestly feel at Mary's party. I would feel like the [insert outcast fallacy here] or the sad drunk, mostly because that's how I really feel right now. I don't think I would be a good part of that because I just don't see things ending in a good way..
...much like how I kinda feel like when I think about MTAC right now. So now I'm debating about MTAC as well because I feel like a lonely lost soul who's just there because 'some other friends are and I somehow got dragged along'. Granted, I would have fun there, but the downtimes seem to bother me.
See, at GMX, there was a place to game and watch others game...I don't know what MTAC has to offer, and I'm a little iffy about taking the plunge...ESPECIALLY if I don't have a place to stay, other than my car. With it being less than 20 days away, you can probably see my complex issues.
So, I really don't know what I should do at this current moment because I almost would feel like an outcast amongst that group. They all went to college together, they all are besties and talk amongst each other on FB and skype, and I seem to be left amongst the dust.
/forever alone
However, that's how I feel at the current moment...alone. More on that later because it's going to be insanely emo and emotional, and could very well put me into a bad scenario.......if people actually read this shit. Judging by the replies (which there is NONE), I assume no one does.
However, I'm seriously thinking about getting rid of one event, and that would be MTAC. Don't get me wrong, I really want to go, but I have no place to stay, no tickets yet, and not the biggest love of anime. I love some of the older stuff and maybe a little of the newer, but after April became a part of my life, I had a vast 360 and changed my life. I was into Anime before her, I was playing DnD, I was doing Halo lan parties, I was being a nerd. Then she became a part of my life and I changed without either of us really knowing.
I'm sure school played a part in that, too, but I'm not really sure at this point.
Needless to say, I feel like I'm going to be...well, alone most of the time in that con. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing (I'm mostly going to scope the music and nerd panels there and the concerts, but I don't know what else I'm going to do), but this does lead me into something that I honestly feel right now.
See, I met a lot of good friends at GMX last year from my friend Alex. We all cosplayed as Doctor Who and Firefly and it was completely awesome...HOWEVER, I didn't know anyone in that group other than Alex. But I quickly gained their friendship and hung out with them a lot.
Yes, I talk to them more, but I still feel out of place among the group. Maybe it's because 1/2 of the male population of that group, or it's something else deep inside...something lurking within that I cannot control. Or it's just that I'm a male stuck in a shitty non-nerdy town that's exactly like a Revenge of the Nerds plot...except I'm not in Lambda Lambda Lambda.
So, I feel almost useless here...But I just digressed from the point.
I have a choice to make now. Alex's friend Mary, who played the TARDIS and Mal(?), has a birthday party this week...Saturday to be exact. I don't know where and I don't know the exact time, but I was invited and I said no. Mostly because I live 4+ hours away and simply cannot afford the gas.
However, I have a Rush show that night, too. It was supposed to be on the 1st, but got delayed until the 2nd (Damn, that's one hell of an April Fool's joke). Needless to say, I don't know what to do...
I can go to Rush, or go to Mary's party...
But this kind of brings an error to me mostly because I don't know how I would honestly feel at Mary's party. I would feel like the [insert outcast fallacy here] or the sad drunk, mostly because that's how I really feel right now. I don't think I would be a good part of that because I just don't see things ending in a good way..
...much like how I kinda feel like when I think about MTAC right now. So now I'm debating about MTAC as well because I feel like a lonely lost soul who's just there because 'some other friends are and I somehow got dragged along'. Granted, I would have fun there, but the downtimes seem to bother me.
See, at GMX, there was a place to game and watch others game...I don't know what MTAC has to offer, and I'm a little iffy about taking the plunge...ESPECIALLY if I don't have a place to stay, other than my car. With it being less than 20 days away, you can probably see my complex issues.
So, I really don't know what I should do at this current moment because I almost would feel like an outcast amongst that group. They all went to college together, they all are besties and talk amongst each other on FB and skype, and I seem to be left amongst the dust.
/forever alone
However, that's how I feel at the current moment...alone. More on that later because it's going to be insanely emo and emotional, and could very well put me into a bad scenario.......if people actually read this shit. Judging by the replies (which there is NONE), I assume no one does.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
This week...
Has been full of crap and good times. LOL. Sadly, tomorrow is Friday and that means more Rebecca Black...UGH!!!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Money's tight...
All right, so I splurged a bit in the past three weeks....and now I'm regretting it. I'm in a lot of trouble here...
I'm down to about 100 dollars..about 75 of that is going to my Dish network bill this week (automatic charge, so I can't delay it), and maybe 15 of that goes to paying for gas until Friday, when I get paid again..
That leaves...what? 10 dollars for food? And I just ran out of it now. FFFUUUUUU-
I'm down to about 100 dollars..about 75 of that is going to my Dish network bill this week (automatic charge, so I can't delay it), and maybe 15 of that goes to paying for gas until Friday, when I get paid again..
That leaves...what? 10 dollars for food? And I just ran out of it now. FFFUUUUUU-
Friday, March 11, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Well, shucks Bucs.
Yeah, both teams lost today. However, I'm not really complaining. I did accomplish one of the missions of this today, which was to say hi to my friend Liz, who conducts the Jacksonville band. The "meet" of us two was short, and I had wished for more, but I guess that's what you get.
I wasn't expecting the big hug she gave me....or the fact that her way of calling to me was "FOOCH!", which I didn't even know she knew that nickname.
(It's a popular nickname, and I....well, embrace it. Fuck the Urban dictionary meaning of that word.)
But enough of that nonsence because that'll only bring more emotional BS I really don't want to talk about on this blog. Yes, people, I do hide some personal issues on my blog because they are so personal that it takes a lot to discuss.
Getting back to the point, both teams lost with very unexpected losses and very close games. So, I'm rather happy that both teams did lose in a close game, rather than a huge upset. We shouldn't have lost those games, but sometimes you can't predict the future....though we all desire to do so.
In these past couple days, though, I did do some mechanical delusions and discussions with my mind about one thing that has also been divulging in my mind - Pep bands. We totally drive more than just "intermission pieces" because the majority of those playing are students attending that school, and have a lot of "spunk" and "pep" to them; we drive the force of the team.
Just like cheerleaders, the pep band is a vital part of the college basketball experience. We lay our hearts down for the team, and yell so loud we can almost break our vocal chords...
However, the Atlantic Sun almost seems to be lacking in that....well, let me rephrase... LACKING IN EVERYTHING.
Seriously, these pep bands are just so G rated it annoys me. I can understand not yelling a "fuck you!" to the team, but I think we lost creativity somewhere and we just mock the cheerleaders. We're the worst while the majority of the other teams do have some creativity.
And then there's Belmont. They ARE the pep band for this conference. They create innovate chants, rants, new songs, a good song book, and are very much in tune. But they do have the weakness of being complete and utter dicks, and they're so uptight that they lack the "pep" of a pep band. They can play and they can yell, but in the end, they're so tightassed it's almost funny.
ETSU does come to a close second, with a blur for everyone else and Jacksonville coming in near dead last (sorry, Liz! Still luvs your band, though!). But still, there's not creativity in every band. You're lucky if you hear one new song, and then you'll hear it over and over and over again. If you go to all the games during the conference, you can almost generate a setlist by finals, and a decent setlist for the rest of the time they are in the Atlantic Sun.
Also, why the lack of new songs? UNF did a good job of having a list of new songs, and it was nice to hear, but more teams need to do that. I'm getting tired of hearing "Louie louie" every year by ETSU...can we not come up with better songs?
But now I'm ranting because I've got alcohol in me and little food. I should really pack now....
I wasn't expecting the big hug she gave me....or the fact that her way of calling to me was "FOOCH!", which I didn't even know she knew that nickname.
(It's a popular nickname, and I....well, embrace it. Fuck the Urban dictionary meaning of that word.)
But enough of that nonsence because that'll only bring more emotional BS I really don't want to talk about on this blog. Yes, people, I do hide some personal issues on my blog because they are so personal that it takes a lot to discuss.
Getting back to the point, both teams lost with very unexpected losses and very close games. So, I'm rather happy that both teams did lose in a close game, rather than a huge upset. We shouldn't have lost those games, but sometimes you can't predict the future....though we all desire to do so.
In these past couple days, though, I did do some mechanical delusions and discussions with my mind about one thing that has also been divulging in my mind - Pep bands. We totally drive more than just "intermission pieces" because the majority of those playing are students attending that school, and have a lot of "spunk" and "pep" to them; we drive the force of the team.
Just like cheerleaders, the pep band is a vital part of the college basketball experience. We lay our hearts down for the team, and yell so loud we can almost break our vocal chords...
However, the Atlantic Sun almost seems to be lacking in that....well, let me rephrase... LACKING IN EVERYTHING.
Seriously, these pep bands are just so G rated it annoys me. I can understand not yelling a "fuck you!" to the team, but I think we lost creativity somewhere and we just mock the cheerleaders. We're the worst while the majority of the other teams do have some creativity.
And then there's Belmont. They ARE the pep band for this conference. They create innovate chants, rants, new songs, a good song book, and are very much in tune. But they do have the weakness of being complete and utter dicks, and they're so uptight that they lack the "pep" of a pep band. They can play and they can yell, but in the end, they're so tightassed it's almost funny.
ETSU does come to a close second, with a blur for everyone else and Jacksonville coming in near dead last (sorry, Liz! Still luvs your band, though!). But still, there's not creativity in every band. You're lucky if you hear one new song, and then you'll hear it over and over and over again. If you go to all the games during the conference, you can almost generate a setlist by finals, and a decent setlist for the rest of the time they are in the Atlantic Sun.
Also, why the lack of new songs? UNF did a good job of having a list of new songs, and it was nice to hear, but more teams need to do that. I'm getting tired of hearing "Louie louie" every year by ETSU...can we not come up with better songs?
But now I'm ranting because I've got alcohol in me and little food. I should really pack now....
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Quite the...uh..long day.
Wake up 3AM. Yes, 3 in the Fucking morning. Take a shower, eat breakfast, and leave for Macon, GA. Yes, my friends, my much needed vacation is Macon, GA.
And you know what? I'm fucking happy.
I'm not partying like the rest of the band mates, I'm not getting drunk or yelling, or doing stupid shit...did all that in college. Now, I'm being the responsible grown up, lying in the hotel by myself, drinking by myself, and just simply relaxing. And you know what? That alone is worth the trip.
Now, there is a reason for this....Yes, I'm the Buc Brass roadie this year. My main goal is to simply move the gear, make sure we have everything, and help load the drums. Luckily, I've been playing drums in Buc Brass for over five years, so I already know the set up and how things flow.
Point me.
But I digress from the point of this blog post....so, I travel for around 5.5 hours down to Macon, GA. We arrive with only enough time to grab McDees (ugh...and here I am on a diet and trying to lose weight), and drive down to Mercer University to watch the Lady Bucs play against Lipscomb University.
And the refs sucked. Seriously. We pulled the victory, but it shouldn't have been that close. I was a decent camper.
After that (it's around 3PM or so), we finally check into the hotel room where I have a room to myself. *sigh* It's nice to not be surrounded with college kids who solely want to get drunk for once on this trip. As I post this, I'm assuming Beer pong is going on above me, but I couldn't give a flying fuck less. All I care is if I can sleep tonight.
Oh, and my voice was shot during that game as well....so no calling people. Only texting. I unpack, organize my clothing (yes, I actually have it set in order on what to be worn on what day), and just chill.
Now, time to catch up on what I missed last night. I watched Conan, The Daily Show, and an episode of BSG before grabbing dinner at Subway, grabbing a six pack of Yuengling, and get ready for the men's game...
.....which was also crap. Mostly because the men just kinda gave in at the end and it came down to 1 point with .5 seconds left on the clock.
THAT
WAS
IN-
TENSE
I can't kid you all, I was gripping on my toes because I was so pissed....we did win, though. BY ONE FUCKING POINT. It was a 2 seed against a 7 seed......it shouldn't have gone down like that.
Ugh....I hope we do better on Friday.
Yeah, I have nothing to do tomorrow. If I drove down (the original schedule), I was going to go check out the games tomorrow and say hi to my friend Liz, who is conducting the Jacksonville band. We met like 3 years ago when she told me she loved my wig.
That was in Nashville....and I somehow lost her number. Hmm..
OH WELL. I'll get it sometime. I might just grab a taxi or walk...it's like five miles from the hotel, so that's like, an hour walking?
......I'll let you know. I'm tired and I'm going to sleep for 17 hours. Nighty!
And you know what? I'm fucking happy.
I'm not partying like the rest of the band mates, I'm not getting drunk or yelling, or doing stupid shit...did all that in college. Now, I'm being the responsible grown up, lying in the hotel by myself, drinking by myself, and just simply relaxing. And you know what? That alone is worth the trip.
Now, there is a reason for this....Yes, I'm the Buc Brass roadie this year. My main goal is to simply move the gear, make sure we have everything, and help load the drums. Luckily, I've been playing drums in Buc Brass for over five years, so I already know the set up and how things flow.
Point me.
But I digress from the point of this blog post....so, I travel for around 5.5 hours down to Macon, GA. We arrive with only enough time to grab McDees (ugh...and here I am on a diet and trying to lose weight), and drive down to Mercer University to watch the Lady Bucs play against Lipscomb University.
And the refs sucked. Seriously. We pulled the victory, but it shouldn't have been that close. I was a decent camper.
After that (it's around 3PM or so), we finally check into the hotel room where I have a room to myself. *sigh* It's nice to not be surrounded with college kids who solely want to get drunk for once on this trip. As I post this, I'm assuming Beer pong is going on above me, but I couldn't give a flying fuck less. All I care is if I can sleep tonight.
Oh, and my voice was shot during that game as well....so no calling people. Only texting. I unpack, organize my clothing (yes, I actually have it set in order on what to be worn on what day), and just chill.
Now, time to catch up on what I missed last night. I watched Conan, The Daily Show, and an episode of BSG before grabbing dinner at Subway, grabbing a six pack of Yuengling, and get ready for the men's game...
.....which was also crap. Mostly because the men just kinda gave in at the end and it came down to 1 point with .5 seconds left on the clock.
THAT
WAS
IN-
TENSE
I can't kid you all, I was gripping on my toes because I was so pissed....we did win, though. BY ONE FUCKING POINT. It was a 2 seed against a 7 seed......it shouldn't have gone down like that.
Ugh....I hope we do better on Friday.
Yeah, I have nothing to do tomorrow. If I drove down (the original schedule), I was going to go check out the games tomorrow and say hi to my friend Liz, who is conducting the Jacksonville band. We met like 3 years ago when she told me she loved my wig.
That was in Nashville....and I somehow lost her number. Hmm..
OH WELL. I'll get it sometime. I might just grab a taxi or walk...it's like five miles from the hotel, so that's like, an hour walking?
......I'll let you know. I'm tired and I'm going to sleep for 17 hours. Nighty!
Monday, February 28, 2011
ZOMGRAINZ!!
OK, seriously.....it's wet outside. Like, so wet that..
...
......
.....well, nevermind.
So, this could be a VERY interesting week for me. I'm hanging with band buddies and going to Macon, GA for the Atlantic Sun Tournament (GO BUCS!!!!). Knowing this crew, I'm going to be getting drunk.
A. LOT.
So, I'm preparing early? Maybe? LOL. I've lost at least 30-40lbs since the last time I was in an Atlantic Sun Tourney, so the alcohol will PROBABLY go to my head.
In all reality, I won't drink a lot. Just spend time in my hotel room working on music, and driving people to their destination. HAHAHA.
(Let's be real here, I haven't been drunk since Halloween 2009).
So, this is going to be a very interesting week. Roughly a 5.5 hour drive both ways, to hang out with some band buddies, and some old friends I haven't seen in a couple of years. I'll be bringing Lappy (my name for my laptop), so I will try to keep everything update. I look forward to posting lots of pics for everyone. HAH.
GGGGOOOOOO BUCS!
...
......
.....well, nevermind.
So, this could be a VERY interesting week for me. I'm hanging with band buddies and going to Macon, GA for the Atlantic Sun Tournament (GO BUCS!!!!). Knowing this crew, I'm going to be getting drunk.
A. LOT.
So, I'm preparing early? Maybe? LOL. I've lost at least 30-40lbs since the last time I was in an Atlantic Sun Tourney, so the alcohol will PROBABLY go to my head.
In all reality, I won't drink a lot. Just spend time in my hotel room working on music, and driving people to their destination. HAHAHA.
(Let's be real here, I haven't been drunk since Halloween 2009).
So, this is going to be a very interesting week. Roughly a 5.5 hour drive both ways, to hang out with some band buddies, and some old friends I haven't seen in a couple of years. I'll be bringing Lappy (my name for my laptop), so I will try to keep everything update. I look forward to posting lots of pics for everyone. HAH.
GGGGOOOOOO BUCS!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Man, what a week!
Been an intense week, for sure. I got about 35 hours at JC Penny this week, plus about 7 hours at Holston Valley...
I also am dealing with a lot of stupid crap I got myself into, on top of going to Comcast, Not getting Comcast, going BACK to Comcast, going to Best Buy, and back, and back, and back...
And I also am out of food. Plus, I seem like I'm not getting a WHOLE lot of sleep lately, which is...weird....
Oh, and I have a new phone, too. Getting out on my own and off of my parents plan. :-) Which means ANDROID! LOL.
I love it so far. :-)
OH!!
New Video blog. ^_^
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
So, wireless internet...
OK, So, I was going to get Comcast internet today. Woo on that....I thought.
bought the Comcast startup kit and a wireless router, expecting to do everything myself and not have to deal with anymore Comcast BS.
Found out I forgot to get a modem. So, I can loan one through comcast and not worry about anything, right? Right.
Returned the wireless router. My brother had an extra one, so I could just use that one.
Go down to Comcast to grab a modem. Had to sign up there and pay money for someone to come and do their little Comcast BS thing. Grr..
Cut to today. They wake my ass up to tell me their own their way. FFFUUUUUU-
Two minutes later, there's a knock on the apartment door. Yep, Comcast...with TWO people? One must be a trainee. Tell me to go ahead and set things up in the apartment while they check stuff out..Guess it was to grab the modem and such.
WEEELLL, After I open everything up and start hooking up the coaxial cables, they come back. Tell me they CAN'T HOOK UP internet because I'm with Dish Network.
WHAT.
THE.
FUCK?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
*sigh* So, I can't have comcast internet. Oh, and that starter pack I got at Best Buy? Yep, don't think I can return that now. Why? Well, besides it being open now, I LEFT THE RECEIPT AT BEST BUY WHEN I RETURNED THE FRAKKIN' WIRELESS ROUTRER.
Lesson learned. Never leave a receipt.
However, the silver lining here is that I got the internet fixed with my apartment. So, I can use free internet now. It's about T1/DSL speed, so not the best but it'll do.
Hell, I was playing Everquest on a fucking 3G wifi card. I think T1 will be fine. ^_^
bought the Comcast startup kit and a wireless router, expecting to do everything myself and not have to deal with anymore Comcast BS.
Found out I forgot to get a modem. So, I can loan one through comcast and not worry about anything, right? Right.
Returned the wireless router. My brother had an extra one, so I could just use that one.
Go down to Comcast to grab a modem. Had to sign up there and pay money for someone to come and do their little Comcast BS thing. Grr..
Cut to today. They wake my ass up to tell me their own their way. FFFUUUUUU-
Two minutes later, there's a knock on the apartment door. Yep, Comcast...with TWO people? One must be a trainee. Tell me to go ahead and set things up in the apartment while they check stuff out..Guess it was to grab the modem and such.
WEEELLL, After I open everything up and start hooking up the coaxial cables, they come back. Tell me they CAN'T HOOK UP internet because I'm with Dish Network.
WHAT.
THE.
FUCK?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
*sigh* So, I can't have comcast internet. Oh, and that starter pack I got at Best Buy? Yep, don't think I can return that now. Why? Well, besides it being open now, I LEFT THE RECEIPT AT BEST BUY WHEN I RETURNED THE FRAKKIN' WIRELESS ROUTRER.
Lesson learned. Never leave a receipt.
However, the silver lining here is that I got the internet fixed with my apartment. So, I can use free internet now. It's about T1/DSL speed, so not the best but it'll do.
Hell, I was playing Everquest on a fucking 3G wifi card. I think T1 will be fine. ^_^
Saturday, February 19, 2011
WTF?!? Really?
My account on Allgames is still active?! Schwaaaaaaaa???
OK, now I gotta check to see if my G4 account is act-No, wait...bad idea..
OK, now I gotta check to see if my G4 account is act-No, wait...bad idea..
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Battlestar: Galatica season 1 and 2.0 review
Ok, well first off, I do want to say that I watched Caprica first. So, I didn't go into the series all that fresh, but still unknowning of what was going on.
First off, if we go with the cannon of Caprica being cannon and first in the series, how can we NOT mention the fact that people didn't know Cylons could turn into humans? It was a huge project at the end, and even AT the end they made it possible for Zoey to become a human/cylon mix. And that must have been HUNDREDS of years before the Cylons invaded Caprica at the beginning of BSG.
It just bothers me a bit...
However, we're not here to debate whether things are going to be cannon or not. We got one more prequel to BSG coming up, and maybe that will help tie things together.
So, I'm interested in where the series will go in the next couple of seasons for BSG. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews, so I'm interested to see how I'm going to like the direction they are going to take. Sure, I enjoy it so far, but this whole "we're searching for Earth while the Cylons constantly attack me" plot is going to fade really quick, and if they keep it up, I might not finish the series. It's just....blah.
Imagine every chase scene known to mankind, but put it space and the ability to randomly go into hyperspace without being tracked...that's the basic plot of BSG.
However, they are looking at other options. The little sidemission they had on both Caprica and Zeus(?) at the end of season one going into season two was a nice direction change and kept me interested, but I feel that at some point soon that things are going to get old and nothing will save the show from falling into the impending doom of SyFy's science fiction abyss.
And that new ship they made? The stealth ship? I don't understand why they don't modify all of those ships with that. Perfect minute men move and a total mind-fuck for the Cylons. They may not have the material, that's understandable, but I think it would be a HUGE turning point.
I do enjoy the character development, though. Each character adds a new dimension to it, and it feels kind weird when all of them are not completely in the episode. My two favs right now are Starbuck and...uh....the pilot that shot Boomer (I forgot her name). She's adorable, and she got a lot of lines/star time in the second season, and it was a great time to build her character.
Not a big fan of everyone else...they all seem like they have their own agenda to help save "mankind", and it's creating so much turmoil for the ship...but then again, THAT'S LIFE. So, I can't complain because they all have that inevitable feeling of "it should be done this way instead" rather than "Sure, why not. I'm just an extra anyway".
But I'm real interested to see where things are going, epically because of how I left it last time. Just like the ending of Season one, it had an intense season ending, leaving the "OMGWTF" moment that I love in season finales. So, when I get some free time, I'll start watching the next "season".
First off, if we go with the cannon of Caprica being cannon and first in the series, how can we NOT mention the fact that people didn't know Cylons could turn into humans? It was a huge project at the end, and even AT the end they made it possible for Zoey to become a human/cylon mix. And that must have been HUNDREDS of years before the Cylons invaded Caprica at the beginning of BSG.
It just bothers me a bit...
However, we're not here to debate whether things are going to be cannon or not. We got one more prequel to BSG coming up, and maybe that will help tie things together.
So, I'm interested in where the series will go in the next couple of seasons for BSG. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews, so I'm interested to see how I'm going to like the direction they are going to take. Sure, I enjoy it so far, but this whole "we're searching for Earth while the Cylons constantly attack me" plot is going to fade really quick, and if they keep it up, I might not finish the series. It's just....blah.
Imagine every chase scene known to mankind, but put it space and the ability to randomly go into hyperspace without being tracked...that's the basic plot of BSG.
However, they are looking at other options. The little sidemission they had on both Caprica and Zeus(?) at the end of season one going into season two was a nice direction change and kept me interested, but I feel that at some point soon that things are going to get old and nothing will save the show from falling into the impending doom of SyFy's science fiction abyss.
And that new ship they made? The stealth ship? I don't understand why they don't modify all of those ships with that. Perfect minute men move and a total mind-fuck for the Cylons. They may not have the material, that's understandable, but I think it would be a HUGE turning point.
I do enjoy the character development, though. Each character adds a new dimension to it, and it feels kind weird when all of them are not completely in the episode. My two favs right now are Starbuck and...uh....the pilot that shot Boomer (I forgot her name). She's adorable, and she got a lot of lines/star time in the second season, and it was a great time to build her character.
Not a big fan of everyone else...they all seem like they have their own agenda to help save "mankind", and it's creating so much turmoil for the ship...but then again, THAT'S LIFE. So, I can't complain because they all have that inevitable feeling of "it should be done this way instead" rather than "Sure, why not. I'm just an extra anyway".
But I'm real interested to see where things are going, epically because of how I left it last time. Just like the ending of Season one, it had an intense season ending, leaving the "OMGWTF" moment that I love in season finales. So, when I get some free time, I'll start watching the next "season".
I think I killed myself today...
Well, muscle wise. I was sooo sore at work that it took me about ten minutes to get up after my break. All right, so I'm exaggerating that as well. Sue me.
No, please don't. ^_^
But yeah, after biking twice this week, working my butt off, lack of sleep for various reasons, and an annoying back pain from yelling at Everquest II, I'm pretty sure my body is ready to beat the living shit out of me. And I have one more day left of this CRAP. At least it's one day...lol.
But I'm posting my video blog ahead of schedule, so look forward to that today. One of my biggest production ones yet, and it's a little lacking as well (at least, in my opinion). I'll post that later on tonight.
No, please don't. ^_^
But yeah, after biking twice this week, working my butt off, lack of sleep for various reasons, and an annoying back pain from yelling at Everquest II, I'm pretty sure my body is ready to beat the living shit out of me. And I have one more day left of this CRAP. At least it's one day...lol.
But I'm posting my video blog ahead of schedule, so look forward to that today. One of my biggest production ones yet, and it's a little lacking as well (at least, in my opinion). I'll post that later on tonight.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
I HATE THE DENTIST
No, seriously, I do.
I know it's their job, their right, whatever...but does it seriously have to hurt as much as it does? :-/
I know it's their job, their right, whatever...but does it seriously have to hurt as much as it does? :-/
Friday, February 11, 2011
Video Blog episode 6!
All righty! Well, I said I would have a review of Season one of Battlestar Galactia in my video blog....
.....uh....
.....err....
It's coming! Making some final touches. Should be up soon.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
wounded arm??? FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Yeah...I must have pulled a muscle or something in my left arm at work today or last night while sleeping.
...neverthless, IT HURTS LIKE FUCK!
...neverthless, IT HURTS LIKE FUCK!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
MMMMMMMMMMMetal!
So, I'm still Wactching BSG, but in the meantime I'm adding a HELL of a lot of bands to my computer...because, ya know, one can never have too much Metal.
So, in the past couple days, I've got new material from:
Serenity
Iron Mask
Dream Evil
Mob Rules
Voyager
Haken
Labyrinth
and Krypteria.
O.M.G. these bands are soooo awesome. I've added them all to my iPod within minutes of hearing the FIRST song. I usually listen to an entire album through (As I've done with them all), but within minutes they all just scream power and epicness that they HAD to go on my iPod!
But my personal fav from all those would have to be Voyager. The epic space trance mixed with metal combo is something very close to PM5K, but almost better than them. It's that style I've been longing to hear since I first heard Star One way back in the day. It's a style I've been trying so hard to find to open up my mind to sci-fi metal, and I'm so glad I decided to check them out.
Oh, and a lot of those bands are going to be at ProgPower this year, as well. And you know who's going?
THIS GUY!
Sure, it's like 130 dollars, but the setlist is TOTALLY worth it. And (hopefully) I'll be using it as a "write off" for my band and giving out either EPs and/OR CD samples to the attendees in attempt for more fans and gigs.
By September, we should have a lot done....Hopefully? God, I hope so! We got enough licks now, that I think we can totally get at least five songs done by then!
(Personally, I want three and promo pics done by the end of March so we can get some fucking air play and profit from some of the local and regional radio stations).
OOOOOH, And I have solar energy in my apartment too! Whenever I get a better position for the panel, I'll take a pic for you all to see how cool it looks on my ceiling!
But, that's all for now. It's supposed to snow bigtime tonight, so I gotta make sure I'm well rested for going to work tomorrow.....*sigh*
Even during snow storms I have to drive my lazy-ass to work. :-)
So, in the past couple days, I've got new material from:
Serenity
Iron Mask
Dream Evil
Mob Rules
Voyager
Haken
Labyrinth
and Krypteria.
O.M.G. these bands are soooo awesome. I've added them all to my iPod within minutes of hearing the FIRST song. I usually listen to an entire album through (As I've done with them all), but within minutes they all just scream power and epicness that they HAD to go on my iPod!
But my personal fav from all those would have to be Voyager. The epic space trance mixed with metal combo is something very close to PM5K, but almost better than them. It's that style I've been longing to hear since I first heard Star One way back in the day. It's a style I've been trying so hard to find to open up my mind to sci-fi metal, and I'm so glad I decided to check them out.
Oh, and a lot of those bands are going to be at ProgPower this year, as well. And you know who's going?
THIS GUY!
Sure, it's like 130 dollars, but the setlist is TOTALLY worth it. And (hopefully) I'll be using it as a "write off" for my band and giving out either EPs and/OR CD samples to the attendees in attempt for more fans and gigs.
By September, we should have a lot done....Hopefully? God, I hope so! We got enough licks now, that I think we can totally get at least five songs done by then!
(Personally, I want three and promo pics done by the end of March so we can get some fucking air play and profit from some of the local and regional radio stations).
OOOOOH, And I have solar energy in my apartment too! Whenever I get a better position for the panel, I'll take a pic for you all to see how cool it looks on my ceiling!
But, that's all for now. It's supposed to snow bigtime tonight, so I gotta make sure I'm well rested for going to work tomorrow.....*sigh*
Even during snow storms I have to drive my lazy-ass to work. :-)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Ugh...
Today was a HELLA long day...
Work at 5:30 (got up at 4:30)
Intense work out at work
Quickly ran out to buy replacement drumsticks, gas, and a bike pump
Ran home to watch Torchwood and pump bike tires
Bike rode to ETSU
Played lady Bucs game (GO BUCS!)
Bike ride back..
....just in case you don't know, it might be a small bike ride to ETSU from my apartment, but it's so damn hilly that it's a very intense bike ride. So...
I
AM
FRAKING
SORE.
And tired....no sleep...going to watch Conan and sleep. Night 'yall.
Work at 5:30 (got up at 4:30)
Intense work out at work
Quickly ran out to buy replacement drumsticks, gas, and a bike pump
Ran home to watch Torchwood and pump bike tires
Bike rode to ETSU
Played lady Bucs game (GO BUCS!)
Bike ride back..
....just in case you don't know, it might be a small bike ride to ETSU from my apartment, but it's so damn hilly that it's a very intense bike ride. So...
I
AM
FRAKING
SORE.
And tired....no sleep...going to watch Conan and sleep. Night 'yall.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Progress!
Wait, you mean we have progress?!?!
Well, SORT OF. It's still in the early works, but we are working on about five to eight songs. From stuff that I've done in the past (songs like 'Knives of Ivy' and 'Cubed'), and some of the stuff I'm just now writing (song titles yet to be determined...mostly because I haven't written the lyrics) about five to eight licks have been composed and are being worked on to complete the entire song.
I spent some time yesterday working on some Moog riffs that I forgot and I believe I still have them in mind. All sounded rather badass and I can't wait for the rest of the band to hear them so we can work together to come up with those songs!
Perry's working hard as well, spending private time on some original stuff and expanding on the MIDI and samples I've been sending him via e-mail. Currently he is stuck with a lot going on, so I'm letting him work privately while Jonathan and I try to meet up and collab on more symphonic and keyboard patterns.
So, just a head's up. As for a release of those five songs/EP, I would want to push for sometime around May, but that's just me talking about it. We, as a band have yet to discuss that, so it would need to be something discussed with the band before we get anything in stone. Plus, we would need the songs as well.
So, we are making some good progress right now. The machine that makes the concrete is here, now we just got to lay down the cement and watch it turn to concrete. And we all know how long that can take.
- Foochy
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Music...the complex and the KISS method.
Also named: Complexity vs emotion.
This is something that I've been noticing a lot when it comes to a lot of the rock music I've been listening to. For those not aware, I have a wide array of music ranging from Symphony X, Mozart, Chopen, Fisher Tull, Jethro Tull, KT Tunstall, Kamelot, The Beatles, etc. I don't like to keep to one genre in my musical resume, but my main form is hard rock and metal with a concentration in Progressive/Power/Symphonic/Gothic (and not in that order).
But lately, I feel that rock music as a whole is starting to decline when it comes to emotion. We're still stuck in the 80s (can you blame us?) because of how the mainstream took us, and we drastically miss that. But, we still look at "power ballads" as cliche and overdone, when not realizing the full potential it can possess.
Now in the mainstream metal and hard rock of today's standards, the majority have kept to the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) method and follow the simple pattern of pop music: Intro, verse A, pre-chorus, chorus, Verse B, Chorus, Bridge, guitar solo, chorus, end (give or take the guitar solo).
This is a theory that is still very prevalent in almost every genre now because of how mainstream and easy it is for the ears. When looking at that pattern, listen to a lot of the "top 40" songs and tell me I'm wrong (without stating the outliers).
Then there's progressive metal (which is a complete contradiction of the meaning of Progressive) which took that theory and gave it the skullfuck of it's lifetime. To this day, I'm still confused how bands like King Crimson and Frank Zappa came up with the sheer complexity they did that gave progressive metal it's "name".
....OK, aside from LSD. ;-)
But nevertheless, it's taken a turn for the worse lately and it's really starting to bother me. Bands like Dream Theater and the new Redemption seem to alienate most listeners by making the music so complex, that it has become almost inaudible. It's nice to be able to easily move the complex patterns of a 4/4 to a 7/8 to a 15/8 and then to a 7/4 and then back to a 4/4 to complete a phrase, you lose a lot of your audience who are not educated enough to understand how complex that is.
Thus why Rolling Stone and various radio stations have aptly named progressive music as "termally unhip".
It's an issue that you have to face as a rock musician to this day. If you're huge into bands like Dream Theater, you might want to copy them and not realize the fate that has been dealt to you, or you might take it a different direction... as some would call it, "selling out". It's that curse of trying to "sound progressive" as what "they" consider progressive, not taking yourself as a musician and applying that term to the actual dictionary usage.
Don't get me wrong, though. Dream Theater (and others) are a bunch of talented and very good performers, but my personal opinion still thinks that something is missing there.
And that would be emotion. It's something that seems to have faded away just as much as the hair metal days did. When I hear solos and when I hear a lot of newer bands, while I like the sound, it gives me a power of wanting more. I feel like I'm listening to technical musicians, and not those who bleed out the music. Those songs that put chills down your spine and give you tears seem to have faded away.
...Well, not all. Kamelot's Abandoned still puts tears in my eyes at the triumphant return of Khan's vocals and the hammering power chords of the guitar.
But where is that in the progressive movement? It seems to only be about how fast we can play or how slow we can play, rather than how can we show emotion in the song. I don't know if it's laziness or lack of time in the studio, but it just seems to have put a stop in a lot of the music I have on my iPod.
By the way, personal note, when writing a ballad to show pain and anguish or hurt and putting a guitar solo in, starting out slow and then building to insane licks doesn't make you a BETTER musician. It's just building to crap.
I think there is hope that's out there, though. Gothic and Symphonic metal seem to be doing a good job of bringing emotion back into metal. It's not always about how fast they can play or how many notes they can fit into one beat, it's about the band as a WHOLE and getting a message across both physically and mentally. I listen to bands like Kamelot and Sirenia and others who have got good names in the gothic/symphonic/power catagory, and the strength of emotion is there. The power of music is prevalent and meaningful, and it's not about the speed. It's about the concept and the art behind it, which makes for a much better performance live and in the studio.
This is something that I've been noticing a lot when it comes to a lot of the rock music I've been listening to. For those not aware, I have a wide array of music ranging from Symphony X, Mozart, Chopen, Fisher Tull, Jethro Tull, KT Tunstall, Kamelot, The Beatles, etc. I don't like to keep to one genre in my musical resume, but my main form is hard rock and metal with a concentration in Progressive/Power/Symphonic/Gothic (and not in that order).
But lately, I feel that rock music as a whole is starting to decline when it comes to emotion. We're still stuck in the 80s (can you blame us?) because of how the mainstream took us, and we drastically miss that. But, we still look at "power ballads" as cliche and overdone, when not realizing the full potential it can possess.
Now in the mainstream metal and hard rock of today's standards, the majority have kept to the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) method and follow the simple pattern of pop music: Intro, verse A, pre-chorus, chorus, Verse B, Chorus, Bridge, guitar solo, chorus, end (give or take the guitar solo).
This is a theory that is still very prevalent in almost every genre now because of how mainstream and easy it is for the ears. When looking at that pattern, listen to a lot of the "top 40" songs and tell me I'm wrong (without stating the outliers).
Then there's progressive metal (which is a complete contradiction of the meaning of Progressive) which took that theory and gave it the skullfuck of it's lifetime. To this day, I'm still confused how bands like King Crimson and Frank Zappa came up with the sheer complexity they did that gave progressive metal it's "name".
....OK, aside from LSD. ;-)
But nevertheless, it's taken a turn for the worse lately and it's really starting to bother me. Bands like Dream Theater and the new Redemption seem to alienate most listeners by making the music so complex, that it has become almost inaudible. It's nice to be able to easily move the complex patterns of a 4/4 to a 7/8 to a 15/8 and then to a 7/4 and then back to a 4/4 to complete a phrase, you lose a lot of your audience who are not educated enough to understand how complex that is.
Thus why Rolling Stone and various radio stations have aptly named progressive music as "termally unhip".
It's an issue that you have to face as a rock musician to this day. If you're huge into bands like Dream Theater, you might want to copy them and not realize the fate that has been dealt to you, or you might take it a different direction... as some would call it, "selling out". It's that curse of trying to "sound progressive" as what "they" consider progressive, not taking yourself as a musician and applying that term to the actual dictionary usage.
Don't get me wrong, though. Dream Theater (and others) are a bunch of talented and very good performers, but my personal opinion still thinks that something is missing there.
And that would be emotion. It's something that seems to have faded away just as much as the hair metal days did. When I hear solos and when I hear a lot of newer bands, while I like the sound, it gives me a power of wanting more. I feel like I'm listening to technical musicians, and not those who bleed out the music. Those songs that put chills down your spine and give you tears seem to have faded away.
...Well, not all. Kamelot's Abandoned still puts tears in my eyes at the triumphant return of Khan's vocals and the hammering power chords of the guitar.
But where is that in the progressive movement? It seems to only be about how fast we can play or how slow we can play, rather than how can we show emotion in the song. I don't know if it's laziness or lack of time in the studio, but it just seems to have put a stop in a lot of the music I have on my iPod.
By the way, personal note, when writing a ballad to show pain and anguish or hurt and putting a guitar solo in, starting out slow and then building to insane licks doesn't make you a BETTER musician. It's just building to crap.
I think there is hope that's out there, though. Gothic and Symphonic metal seem to be doing a good job of bringing emotion back into metal. It's not always about how fast they can play or how many notes they can fit into one beat, it's about the band as a WHOLE and getting a message across both physically and mentally. I listen to bands like Kamelot and Sirenia and others who have got good names in the gothic/symphonic/power catagory, and the strength of emotion is there. The power of music is prevalent and meaningful, and it's not about the speed. It's about the concept and the art behind it, which makes for a much better performance live and in the studio.
Monday, January 24, 2011
All work and no play make Homer go something something...
Seriously. It seems that's all that I do now. Not that I should REALLY complain because I actually really enjoy both jobs I have, but I do need a break and to "relight the flame" that I have.
So, I get up at 4:15am four days a week in order to be at work and wide awake to unload boxes and boxes and pallets and pallets of crap. I work maybe 5-8 hours during the time, so that puts me getting out at around 12:30-1:00. Not a bad time to get out of work, but by then I'm BUSHED. I'm so tired that caffeine is the only thing keeping me awake from time to time. Not to mention how sore I am from moving all around the store and up and down stairs for around 4-5 hours at a time.
But, in reality, the work environment is the best I've actually had and it's worth getting up for. And I'm getting great exercise to help get my body in shape, so I'm glad. And I have my afternoons free to basically chill and watch a bunch of nerd stuff.
...But my nights are for my night stuff, working at [local radio station], which is what I went to college for. And yes, I'm uberly obsessed with that job. Sure, I live about 30-40 minutes away from it (and driving home late at night sucks when you have to get up only hours later for work the next day), but it's something I wouldn't give up at all.
Oh, and having the extra cash is nice for a geek like myself.
Nevertheless, it just doesn't seem like I have as much free time as I should to have "me" time. And yeah, that can have some issues with you mentally, but a vacation would be nice. Some time away from work and stress and this shit-hole of a town would be nice....rather than spending every night (that I'm not working) drinking and watching sometime monotonous on TV.
But I got some due, which is nice. MTAC will be a nice break from some of this, but the A-sun touney would be a GREAT getaway from a lot of this stuff, and it's soon...
Oh, college basketball....How I miss thee SO much. :-)
More on those two LATER!
So, I get up at 4:15am four days a week in order to be at work and wide awake to unload boxes and boxes and pallets and pallets of crap. I work maybe 5-8 hours during the time, so that puts me getting out at around 12:30-1:00. Not a bad time to get out of work, but by then I'm BUSHED. I'm so tired that caffeine is the only thing keeping me awake from time to time. Not to mention how sore I am from moving all around the store and up and down stairs for around 4-5 hours at a time.
But, in reality, the work environment is the best I've actually had and it's worth getting up for. And I'm getting great exercise to help get my body in shape, so I'm glad. And I have my afternoons free to basically chill and watch a bunch of nerd stuff.
...But my nights are for my night stuff, working at [local radio station], which is what I went to college for. And yes, I'm uberly obsessed with that job. Sure, I live about 30-40 minutes away from it (and driving home late at night sucks when you have to get up only hours later for work the next day), but it's something I wouldn't give up at all.
Oh, and having the extra cash is nice for a geek like myself.
Nevertheless, it just doesn't seem like I have as much free time as I should to have "me" time. And yeah, that can have some issues with you mentally, but a vacation would be nice. Some time away from work and stress and this shit-hole of a town would be nice....rather than spending every night (that I'm not working) drinking and watching sometime monotonous on TV.
But I got some due, which is nice. MTAC will be a nice break from some of this, but the A-sun touney would be a GREAT getaway from a lot of this stuff, and it's soon...
Oh, college basketball....How I miss thee SO much. :-)
More on those two LATER!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Dear January, please end.
So, 2010 ended with an awesome bang. Doctor Who Christmas ON Christmas, Blu-ray player (finally), and a lot of extra work to help pay bills and such.
However, it seemed that 2011 just let me dark cloud shimmer to this level five planet and gave me quite the clusterfuck that I did not need. Without any notice, it seems that my life turned on it's own head and went from joyous celebration to cataclysmic chaos. Some things I simply cannot go into detail about. I don't know who reads this, so certain nouns and palces will be omitted for the safety of myself and everyone else. With that being stated, I will simply write this to the best of my ability and reword and/or change those things to help show confidentiality.
So, take everything as you will.
First off would be all he hellacious snow that we've had. Now, I know that places up north got WAY more than I did, but I'm sure a lot of them didn't have to travel in it at 5AM. And slide everywhere. Almost dying. On more than one occasion. But I need that money to pay for rent and bills and my extreme nerdom. :-)
Next on my list would probably be the amount of crap I have to put up with. Like I said above, I leave my apartment at 5AM to get to work; and trust me, it's a strenuous job. I work my ass off (with very little regard for it if I personally say so) and I'm basically sore and tired by the time everyone gets up. I don't want to do anything for the rest of the day. However, I force myself too, and it adds a lot of stress when I have to travel to things like band practice only to find out it's been cancelled. I understand things happen, but I would love notice from time to time....
Plus, that puts me in a "not so Foochy mood" which can add on to...
Losing friends. That would be third. Sure, it's for a short time, but it still pisses me off so much when someone doesn't text me back or doesn't want to talk to me for whatever reason. I'm the type of guy who thinks that I did something wrong with myself and I will never figure out if it was me or something else entirely. That bothers me. I would like to know what caused the delay and/or abandonment of the friendship so that I could not let that happen again. And this happened in a very powerful way at the beginning of this month...almost a foreshadow to look out for the rest of the events. Needless to say, I didn't pay attention to it. That event, though, has traumatized me and I really feel like something like that will never happen again.
Even if I dream about it all the time.
In the same realm as the above motion, the death of yet another band has me really looking outside of my body and trying to figure out what the next step should be. More on that later, but it's a huge issue I'm dealing with.
And finally (at least, the stuff I'll willingly admit here), the girl I was dating since GMX seems to no longer talk to me. I don't know why, but it's been way over a month now since we last texted (grammatically correct..?) each other, and my friends are hinting that it's over. This really saddens me because I really liked her.
Nerds are rare here. Epically the cute ones. Anyone that was THAT cute and KNEW of Rush and watched Star Wars all the time gave extreme props in my book....
And I'm also down 160 dollars because of that, too. I asked her if she wanted to see Rush live and she agreed, so I went ahead and got the tickets...yeah, roughly 80 a ticket. So, that's 160 basically down the drain now unless she calls me back. It's hair pulling, I'll tell you that.
These are my options for that: A) hope she texts back soon and all will be well
B) Sell the tickets and hope she forgot
C) Lose 160 and call it a day
D) Grab another friend to go with me
E) Give her the tickets so she can see them with a friend
F) Go alone and see if anyone wants the ticket at the show
G) Wait and see if she texts back
So many choices, so little time......
And then, on top of that, I don't know if this thing is done or not. It could be that she's bogged down with school, or lost her phone, or got a new number, etc. etc.
So to me, it's such a hard deal to figure out the right answer to this. I just hope I get a text real soon...
*sigh*
But yeah, I'm just ready for this month to end. It's sucked all month, so I'm ready for February....which will suck as well. EPICALLY the 14th......
However, it seemed that 2011 just let me dark cloud shimmer to this level five planet and gave me quite the clusterfuck that I did not need. Without any notice, it seems that my life turned on it's own head and went from joyous celebration to cataclysmic chaos. Some things I simply cannot go into detail about. I don't know who reads this, so certain nouns and palces will be omitted for the safety of myself and everyone else. With that being stated, I will simply write this to the best of my ability and reword and/or change those things to help show confidentiality.
So, take everything as you will.
First off would be all he hellacious snow that we've had. Now, I know that places up north got WAY more than I did, but I'm sure a lot of them didn't have to travel in it at 5AM. And slide everywhere. Almost dying. On more than one occasion. But I need that money to pay for rent and bills and my extreme nerdom. :-)
Next on my list would probably be the amount of crap I have to put up with. Like I said above, I leave my apartment at 5AM to get to work; and trust me, it's a strenuous job. I work my ass off (with very little regard for it if I personally say so) and I'm basically sore and tired by the time everyone gets up. I don't want to do anything for the rest of the day. However, I force myself too, and it adds a lot of stress when I have to travel to things like band practice only to find out it's been cancelled. I understand things happen, but I would love notice from time to time....
Plus, that puts me in a "not so Foochy mood" which can add on to...
Losing friends. That would be third. Sure, it's for a short time, but it still pisses me off so much when someone doesn't text me back or doesn't want to talk to me for whatever reason. I'm the type of guy who thinks that I did something wrong with myself and I will never figure out if it was me or something else entirely. That bothers me. I would like to know what caused the delay and/or abandonment of the friendship so that I could not let that happen again. And this happened in a very powerful way at the beginning of this month...almost a foreshadow to look out for the rest of the events. Needless to say, I didn't pay attention to it. That event, though, has traumatized me and I really feel like something like that will never happen again.
Even if I dream about it all the time.
In the same realm as the above motion, the death of yet another band has me really looking outside of my body and trying to figure out what the next step should be. More on that later, but it's a huge issue I'm dealing with.
And finally (at least, the stuff I'll willingly admit here), the girl I was dating since GMX seems to no longer talk to me. I don't know why, but it's been way over a month now since we last texted (grammatically correct..?) each other, and my friends are hinting that it's over. This really saddens me because I really liked her.
Nerds are rare here. Epically the cute ones. Anyone that was THAT cute and KNEW of Rush and watched Star Wars all the time gave extreme props in my book....
And I'm also down 160 dollars because of that, too. I asked her if she wanted to see Rush live and she agreed, so I went ahead and got the tickets...yeah, roughly 80 a ticket. So, that's 160 basically down the drain now unless she calls me back. It's hair pulling, I'll tell you that.
These are my options for that: A) hope she texts back soon and all will be well
B) Sell the tickets and hope she forgot
C) Lose 160 and call it a day
D) Grab another friend to go with me
E) Give her the tickets so she can see them with a friend
F) Go alone and see if anyone wants the ticket at the show
G) Wait and see if she texts back
So many choices, so little time......
And then, on top of that, I don't know if this thing is done or not. It could be that she's bogged down with school, or lost her phone, or got a new number, etc. etc.
So to me, it's such a hard deal to figure out the right answer to this. I just hope I get a text real soon...
*sigh*
But yeah, I'm just ready for this month to end. It's sucked all month, so I'm ready for February....which will suck as well. EPICALLY the 14th......
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)