These pictures should need no explaination, however I will give one. There was this guy talking about his brand new camera beside us ALL fucking night at the green room downtown toronto. So I finally got some shots from his camera, and he sent me them, which is very random.
The 30 day challange is still open and what I do will be posted on Friday Sep 1st, leave any ideas in this post.
Here are what we have so far:
Vegetarian for 30 day
Coffee a day for 30 days
Trying a new type of food for 30 days
30 days spending no more then 5 dollars a day on food, hygiene and entertainment (might have to bump it to 10 dollars due to the fact I worked out the math and I don't think I could even eat healthy for under 5 dollars)
30 days no shaving
No music or ipod for 30 days
30 days alcohol free
Eat according to the Canada Food Guide for 30 days straight.
30 days spending no more then 5 dollars a day on food, hygiene and entertainment (might have to bump it to 10 dollars due to the fact I worked out the math and I don't think I could even eat healthy for under 5 dollars)
30 days no shaving
No music or ipod for 30 days
30 days alcohol free
August 29th Original Post Watching this show 30 days has made me wonder... what in my life could I change or do differently?
I've decided to see if I can go the entire month of September without breaking my 30 day rule. Then I will use this blog for not only normal posting but updates on my 30 days of progress. However, I will leave it to people who read this blog, with what would be interesting to see me under take for those 30 days. Anything is open for suggestion, but I will not try and do anything which will harm my performance at school or my well being. Anything else is fair game.
I will update the post with the choices I am up for doing (ordered to which ones I prefer)... Listening To: Chiodos - The Words 'best Friend' Become
EDIT: AUGUST 3oth So far i've really enjoyed the ideas and am looking forward to trying this 30 day thing... I have a feeling this will be something I attempt a few times a year if this proves to be a success. I like the idea of doing and testing something which you'd never really do in life
Keep the ideas coming, only 3 days until I start... I will consider all ideas up until this Thursday night.
I got an email giving a few ideas which I will post soon, however they all seem a bit bigger then I can handle for my first time. Also the final one I am doing will be picked by me and posted on Sep 1st. As of right now it is a toss up between not eating meat, or starting to drink coffee... with spending 5-10 dollars a day in a close third.
Listening To: Moneen - Bleed And Blister (Version 3)
I was out tonight at a little get together thrown down at the beach with some girls I knew from Laurier. They were in town and wanted to see the beach so I said sure no problem and took them around. There were 4 people all of which were going for various degrees. I was asked my degree after we started talking about teachers at our school and I told everyone I was in economics.
It is very funny when you tell someone that you are an economics student... They always give you a "no shit" face, followed by a reason that they really hate economics. But today one girl I was walking with just said "what makes you enjoy taking economics". And until then I never really had to tell someone why I enjoyed it, I usually just defended my choice of degree.
It got me thinking why I am in economics.
I came to the conclusion I like it because it is something that you see everyday but know very little about. The more I learn the more I can apply to life. You hear economic terms everyday, but really how much do you know about them? For example, people hear the term interest rates everyday. Yet, they know very little about the variables would influence change, or how banks use them to their advantage for not only personal use but what people term 'border use'. I could never learn something I couldn't use in everyday life.
I have a few people who read this blog who are in economics, here is my class list so we can be in the same classes. (I left out the bullshit courses)
Fall 33 - Adv. Public Spending 63- Game Theory & Application To Globalization 31 - Econometrics Research and Seminar
I made a list of the best songs which are not from LP's... this is a collection of songs from EP's, collections or limited edition cds. I tried to create a list which didn't feature a band more then once and had many different types of music. Enjoy.
gatsbys american dream – just like heaven
city and colour – missing
armor for sleep – very invisible
alexisonfire - thrones
brand new – untitled 2
the early november – never coming back
a thorn for every heart - worthless
matthew good – in it for the money
paramore – this circle
recover – disappear
thrice – flags of dawn
meriwether – girl in mexico
the starting line – lasting impression
motion city soundtrack – 1000 paper cranes
june – our escape
dead poetic – take this breath
emery – ann marie
thursday – signals over the air (acoustic)
letter kills – the village anthem
underoath – i’ve got ten friends and a crowbar that says you ain’t gonna do shit
means – my everything
from first to last - failure by designer jeans
the kinison – no talk
chasing victory – how would it phase you
a change of pace – black truth
matchbook romance – in transit
waking ashland - tortoise and the hare
name taken – life goes by
helicon blue – my last breath
i can make a mess like nobodies business – salvy
the arrival – close your eyes
saves the day – sonic reducer
self against city – always
small towns burn a little slower - wait for me abby bernstein
Today the International Astronomical Union voted to refine Pluto and strip it of it's existing plant status. It has been determined to be a 'drawf planet' and no longer considered a planet in our solar system. Now they will be changing the literature to say that the galaxy only have 8 planets.
Goodbye good friend
Did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, for you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I've got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it. I would be nothing without you.
Driving home from Alison’s house today the only thing I could think of was will that email I’ve been waiting for be in my mailbox…
When I woke up this morning first thing I did was turn on the computer to see what was on msn…
Over the past few days I’ve come to the realization I’ve become a slave to all the technology around me. And I also notice this in other people as well. From computers to cell phones everyone has their addictions when it comes to technology.
When we venture to far from the internet or our cell phones, we start to feel out of place. Like we are no longer connected to what is happening around us, no longer a participant just an observer. Whenever you take a trip, first thing you do when you get home is check your emails, to reconnect with life.
A lot of times the only time people can truly rest is when they are taken away from there computers, in a position where they can no longer reach them. Once being at home was the rescue from work and stress. But with computers now everywhere home has a lot of stress associated with it, especially being a university student.
This rant wasn’t meant to be anti technology, because truthfully I could never give up my computer… however it is just a little reminder that every once in a while we have to put ourselves in positions distancing ourselves from technology… even if just for a moment.
Listening To: Alexisonfire - My God Is A Reasonable Man
"I feel like i'm standing on a cliff, and I know I have to fall and will, and the ride will either be life changing and amazing, or just so painful." - JP
This blog has been open for 30 days now, so for this occassion i've decided to post one of my favorite shows... The entire season of 30 days.
30 days is a show created by Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock. In the show both him and people he knows have to attack an large issue effecting the U.S. by doing something for 30 days. The episode are spit into 5 sections and to watch them in full screen hit that small button on the bottom right hand corner of the window. If you want any of the other episodes just leave a comment and I will post the links.
This morning I woke up and turned on my computer like usual to see how much spam I acquired over the night. However, I wasn’t greated by the usual welcome screen, instead by a blue screen telling me it’s dumping all the physical memory. After that moment I no longer owned a computer, just a huge paper weight. Everything was still working ecept for the harddrive which was fried.
However, out with the old in with the new… I got a brand new computer and I thought if I’m going, might as well go all the way. So the new computer does everying in excess…
-250 gig hard drive -2 DVD drives, one burner one light scribe -2 processors or better referred to as dual core -19 inch widescreen LCD flat screen monitor -1.5 gigs of ram
I know its more then I’ll ever need, but fuck why not.
Also going to take apart the old computer and scrape out the goods. If you’re interested in anything from my old computer, there is no guarantee it even works but I’ll trade it for some beer.
It was weird when she first ended up on my door that morning. Out of everyone in the world she decided I was the best to visit, I really never understood that. She was a lot like her father, he was a successful banker. A man who grew up with nothing, but once he had a taste of the world he wanted more. It's funny how people who have everything always want more. She grew up with nothing, well at least not a good family or a stable one. Like her father she wanted the world, but unlike him she would never really know how to achieve it.
She would take a job at the local bakery, not because she liked the food, but because there was a large window out front she could see people passing by. She loved to watch people walk by listening to music, with their families, or on their way home. That symbolized her entire life, being somewhere she didn’t like so she could view the world in a better way. Maybe that’s why she showed up to my house, because I lived so close to her work. And she was lazy. That day she didn’t say anything just watched my television, while I did my homework on the kitchen table.
We were friends in a weird sense of the word, more then just a drug addict and a dealer. Her parents knew what I did, but they didn’t care. I always wondered why they liked me around, and it wasn’t until her death I found out. It was because I always encouraged her to stare out that bakery window, to enjoy what life we all have no matter how short it was, or how much bullshit you had to put up with.
While she was watching my T.V. she stopped on a channel with cartoons and started to laugh. It was so innocent, like I was watching a kid on the first day of a snowfall outside making snow angels. I guess that’s the thought I hold with me, because at that moment nothing really mattered.
Yesturday I had a chance to get to the 2006 Warped Tour, with 51 punk bands spanning over 8 stages. Below I have attached 5 of my 50 pictures I took over the day, there is a comment for each one. At the bottom there is my review of the bands I got to see, this will also be posted on ap.net.
Pictures: -Alexisonfire take the stage with Moneen to sing 3 of the from there switcheroo cd together. Both Alexisonfire and Moneen played 30 min apart as well. -So They Say... The BBQ band of the year, a band asked to come on 10 of the 50 shows and must cook dinner there first night. Them jumping around on stage on the very small smartpunk stage. -Thursday on the mainstage, lead singer Geoff talking about the state of music and how to support the scene. -Alexisonfire singing Mailbox Arson off there new CD Crisis on the side stage Vagrant. Over 10,000 people crammed into a space build for 2,000. -Aiden takes the side Hurley stage almost blowing the amps.
Most years i've attended the warped tour i've stuck to the main stage where many well known bands have played. This year I decided to see many smaller bands I enjoy but also check out bands I might have never seen before. The bands I saw the entire setlists are listed below and are in order of when I saw them:
Instead of posting long reviews for each band which many people who come to this blog will not read, go to ap.net to see the long detailed review, here is a summary of the scores (out of 10).
So They Say -Music: 8 -Entertainment: 5.5 -Overall: 7 +notes+ First time I ever saw this band perform, I was very impressed with there talent playing guitar and vocals. However they rarely moved and didn’t show a lot of enthusiasm.
Hellogoodbye -Music: 5 -Entertainment: 8 -Overall: 6 +notes+ This band wasn’t put on the tour for there musical talent that’s for sure. They are very entertaining with many people on stage with masks and goofing around. However most the music used a poor sounding keyboard and computer made midi loops.
Unknown Band (Ernie Ball Stage) -n/a
The Early November -Music: 9.5 -Entertainment: 9 -Overall: 9 +notes+ The Early November is huge in the states yet they rarly come to Canada and are very unknown up here. They took the stage with few people watching but by the end of the set there were more people around the stage then at the main stage. These guys are very talented musicians and give a rock star like performance.
Thursday -Music: 6.5 -Entertainment: 7 -Overall: 7 +notes+ I expected a lot from Thursday considering they are one of the first scremo bands who have been around for eight years. There music wasn’t good, it was to loud and you couldn’t make out the lyrics… but they are Thursday and if you were watching them you knew the lyrics. They gave a very intense performance but it was hard to get over the musical quality.
Cauterize -Music: 7.5 -Entertainment: 7 -Overall: 7 +notes+ A friend of mine she loves this band, so when I saw them listed for performances the only reason I went was to see what she enjoyed. There entire performance was light rock and acoustic songs, but the guys voice was amazing and lyrics were intense and meaningful. They were a good alternative to many bands attending and it was a shame to see they gathered a very small crowd.
Alexisonfire -Music: 9 -Entertainment: 10 -Overall: 10 +notes+ It’s Alexisonfire… one of my favourite bands. I was completely biased for this review because I really wanted to see them play. They play every show like it’s the best show of their lives. Very intense and gets people going… however for some reason Dallas’s vocals sounded off, probably due to the demanding touring of warped. But as I said it was Alexisonfire, and they got the largest crowd at a side stage I’ve ever seen (they refused to play the main to stay with friends).
Alexisofire & Moneen -Music: 7.5 -Entertainment: 10 -Overall: 9 +notes+ This was the only stop on the tour where both Alexisonfire and Moneen had a chance to play together (because it was in Canada). While watching the performance I couldn’t stop thinking that this may be the only chance I will get to see these two amazing bands play there Switcheroo cd together. The set had a lot of problems (to many people on the stage), and because of this there was a lot of crazy things happening. It was an amazing experience and I was so glad I got to see it.
Moneen -Music: 8.5 -Entertainment: 9 -Overall: 8.5 +notes+ I’ve seen Moneen a lot in my life and they put on an amazing show. The band all took turns jumping off the amps into the crowd and got everyone pumped. The sounded exactly like the cd and played tracks from all three of there LP’s. It was an intense show and after it was over you didn’t realize that you saw an hour show, it went by way to fast.
Silverstein -Music: 6 -Entertainment: 6 -Overall: 6 +notes+ Silverstein used to be my favourite band back in first year university. Over the years they have become more watered down and commercialized. This was shown a lot in there performance on the main stage. They were very slow and tried to imitate bands like AFI and My Chemical Romance. It was a mediocre performance at best.
Bullet For My Valentine -Music: 7 -Entertainment: 5 -Overall: 5 +notes+ I wanted to see Armor For Sleep really badly this meant I had to wait around and see two sets of bands which I didn’t know before. First up was Bullet For My Valentine, I’d heard of them before but never really heard the music. They took the stage and first thing they said was to get the mosh pit going. They were very intense and had some amazing songs, however the promotion of moshing and going crazy really hurt them in my eyes. They created a performance which was really good and ruined it by creating an environment which it was impossible to enjoy it in.
Aiden -Music: 8 -Entertainment: 9 -Overall: 8.5 +notes+ After Bullet For My Valentine another band Aiden took the stage… These guys were all dressed in black and covered in make up so they looked like zombies. I was not looking forward to them playing at all. The lead singer took the microphone and throughout the entire show he gave very positive speeches about not only the scene but the people involved in it and differences. The music was very creative and not metal influenced, all of them were talented musicians and this was shown by the music… the lyrics however were dark and not for me. Overall they turned out to be the best find of the day and I enjoyed the set more then I thought I would.
Armor For Sleep -Music: 8.5 -Entertainment: 5 -Overall: 6.5 +notes+ I waited 2 hours to see Armor For Sleep play, they have 2 cds which I am a huge fan for. When they took the stage they looked tired and made it seem like they didn’t want to be in Canada. They knew nothing of their Canadian fans and didn’t even know if the cd came out up here. They drew a huge crowd and played all the hits off the cds, they sounded spot on and it was enjoyable. There attitude ruined the mood and I lost a lot of respect for the band, in the future I really hope they don’t take their fans for granted.
In the past 7 years i've been to 5 warped tours... tomorrow will add one more to the list. There will be a huge update to the blog when Ii get back because I am bringing my camera (thanks kate... bitch):
I know a lot of people are coming which I know in different cars, below is a list of the bands and the ones I am hitting up for sure (in bold), give me a call on my cell if you're seeing the same ones.
18 Visions Adair Against Me! Aiden Alexisonfire Anti Hero Anti-Flag Armor For Sleep Billy Talent Bouncing Souls Britt Black Bullet for My Valentine Cartel Chiodos Comeback Kid Down to Earth Approach Eight Fingers Down Emanuel Evaline Everytime I Die Ferus Flash Bathory From Autumn to Ashes Fuscia Gatsby's American Dream Gogol Bordello Greeley Estates Gym Class Heroes Halifax He is Legend Hellogoodbye Helmet Horse The Band I Am The Avalanche Ill Scarlett Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Less Than Jake Moneen Motion City Soundtrack Mute Math NOFX Pistolita Princess Riot Protest the Hero Race The Sun Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Rise Against Saves The Day Saves The Day (Acoustic) Scary Kids Scaring Kids Senses Fail Senses Fail (Acoustic) Septic Tank Disasters Shiragirl Side 67 Silverstein So They Say Strap-On Tools Street Drum Corps Stretch Arm strong The Academy Is.. The Bled The Casualties The Early November The Fully Down The Lorrainas The Pink Spiders The Salads The Smashup The Sounds The Sunstreak The Vincent Black Shadow Thursday Valencia Valient Thorr We are the Fury Wheels On The Bus
Today I was talking to a close friend online over msn about a band Thursday. They said that they have never really listened to any “hardcore emo” music. That put me off on a tangent because it still strikes me odd that people are convinced that ‘emo’ is a genre of music.
Emo is a short form for emotional and begun when online groups categorized themselves as ‘emo kids’. Emo is a relatively new thing to most people but has been around for at least 10 years. It has more in common with Straight Edge then with a type of music. Emo kids were mainly social outcasts at the time and found support within there own groups online. They also shared the same tastes in music, which usually had dark lyrics and would put someone in a depressing mood.
Emo was equal to Straight Edge, which is a group of individuals who do not drink, do drugs or are promiscuous. Straight Edge groups mainly listen to metal or hardcore music, and signify by X’s on their hands. However there are no Straight Edge bands there are merely bands which associate with the culture. Over the years as the emo style has become more popular. This meant that bands that have darker lyrics or a lead singer with a quieter voice were assumed to be emo and that was a title given to their music.
The lines between lifestyle and music genres have become intertwined due to mainstream media associating music to a certain type of person. This creates a culture which will not listen to certain types of music because they do not think they are welcome to. I know many people which will not listen to a punk cd just because they don’t think that they look the part. That is actually no joke, it’s sad to think that people would restrict themselves musically because of the types of clothes they wear, or for the lives they lead.
I am not an emo kid nor do I support the culture. This is mainly because they have a lifestyle which is self destructive and anti social. However, I do enjoy many types of music which is now being titled as emo, which to me is a negative extension placed on good music. While people assume I will act a certain way because of the music I listen to… seems a bit ridiculous to me, but it seems to be true these days.
Today I spent the day with my band... doing something different then playing music.
We decided because we were taking a little break from playing shows we should still get together on a regular basis. Someone had the idea of volunteering together one day a week before we go back to school, to help bring us closer as a band and realize how lucky we are. Today was spent reading The Stinky Cheese Man and True Stories Of The Three Little Pigs to kids who were around 4-5 and are currenting fighting cancer at Sick Kids in Toronto. In a personal note I've lost family and friends to cancer. Please don't just give money sometimes that isn't enough, also remember to give your time. After walking through the wards they could really use it, and the kids really love being visited.
If you have free time they are always looking for volunteers here.
hahahahahahaha
