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 |   The catch-all for items related to and/or inspired by the music that shaped me. |
Music has played a role in nearly every situation of my life. This is where I'll be collecting items inspired by those moments- poems, lyrics, blog entries- the soundtrack of me.  I may also contribute blog-style entries here from time to time:
And this month, I've decided to take part in... ![Merit Badge in Quill Award
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Congratulations on winning the 2017 Quill Award for Best Music for [Link To Item #2072393] . *^*Delight*^* See [Link To Item #quills] for more information.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Quill_Award-1375927_6.gif)    Best Blog |
Wow...so, as far as "Invalid Item"  goes I'm like two weeks behind pretty much. That's not to say I won't finish it, but when I started slackin' off I didn't expect the past week to suck balls, and I hadn't yet received my notice for jury duty possibly starting on Tuesday (and since I've always managed to somehow avoid it all these years, I have a strong suspicion I won't be so lucky this time around  ). So between this and a few other things I've got goin' on, I've got a lot to catch up on. Good thing I kinda feel like gettin' some stuff done today. It helped that I woke up not really in a bad mood. Not a great mood, but definitely not dreadful. Opened up iTunes and was greeted by a steady stream of decent music that I didn't hafta click out of, which is always nice. Sometimes iTunes is weird like that when you're set to shuffle...a solid group of songs play and there's like some sorta hidden theme or something. The best way I can address this phenomenon (and I think I've mentioned this before) is by relating this story: I was dating a girl whose parents lived about forty minutes away, deep in a rural community. We drove out to visit, had dinner and drinks by a bonfire, and left around 1am. Dark and creepy as hell in the middle of nowhere...and my iPod kept playing songs that referred to sleep, dark nights, and general creepiness. I think at that point I'd only had about 3,000 songs loaded, but it was still just...random and bizarre. Anyway, Today's Current Playlist consists mostly of late-90's/early-00's pop-punk rock stuff. Energy and good vibes and shit, mostly. Get out, go somewhere, and play this stuff loud. Or shove some buds in your ears, lay down as still as you can, and play this stuff loud. Whatever you do, do it loud. 1) "Anything" by Third Eye Blind: After the week I had, I really needed to hear this, I think. Sometimes the universe tells you things and you need to listen.2) "Hum" by The Sheila Divine: The singer has ties to WNY, their first cd (New Parade ) is amazing from start to finish, and you should all love them. Period. 3) "Get Over It" by OK Go: Before they started making videos on treadmills and stuffed them with optical illusions, there was this. Loud and cranky and badass. 4) "If You C Jordan" by Something Corporate: Ahhh, teenage power-pop high school angsty bubblegum breakup slush. Catchy as hell for its era. 5) "Walla Walla" by The Offspring:  Because why not? Fast, loud, prison. 6) "Oh Be Joyful" by Matthew Good: Pure Canadian awesomeness. "Oh, be joyful...'cuz that shit spreads."...how can you not love that? 7) "We've Had Enough" by Alkaline Trio: Because seriously...I've had enough of everything this week.8) "Congratulations Smack & Katy" by Reggie & The Full Effect: The tangled, star-crossed love story of Peanut Butter and Jelly. A Shakespearean tragedy, almost. 9) "Hash Pipe" by Weezer: A menacing bass groove offset by a garbled falsetto. Acted out by sumo wrestlers. This is the stuff good moods are made of  . 10) "Where'd You Go" by J Mascis And The Fog: Awww yeah, my springtime jam y'all. Make some noise!Bonus track! 11) "Happiness & The Fish" by Our Lady Peace: This came on while I was in CVS...almost like there was a spiritual connection between my laptop and iPod. And damn if this track doesn't seem to always sum up so much and hit the right spots whenever I hear it. Ok...that's that. Time to see if I can keep up this momentum... |
| Ok, I know...I feel behind by over a week here in "Invalid Item" , and I really wish I hadn't done that because it's so easy to give up after missing a day, and I'm not a total giver-upper despite all the things/people I've given up on, and it's not like this is the hardest thing in the world to accomplish, so getting back that time lost should be faily easy. But...I need to get myself ahead this week as well, because I'm supposed to have Jury Duty the following week while I'm running the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 's off-month 5-Day Mini Challenge, and I don't know what kinda time I'm gonna have. So you might get multiple lists a day from me, from here on out, until I hit 30. With quality, of course, because I don't half-ass things and if I'm gonna half-ass something, I may as well drop out so as not to waster your time or mine. Today's list is...the hump I couldn't get over. I've seen a couple "Songs I Don't Like" lists already and thought to myself "That should be easy!"...I've worked in malls and drug stores that pump in the saccharine pop drivel all day long. My problem here, however, is twofold: I must not have paid enough attention, and I don't spend much musical appreciation on songs I don't like. Like, I'm not gonna bother looking up names and matching lyrics and doing work when I could be doing none of that. And that's why, if you know me and/or my musical tastes, some of this list might come as a surprise to you. Also, I'm not even gonna bother x-linking these songs. They don't merit my promotion any bit more than they're getting here  .1) "Blister In The Sun" by Violent Femmes -I. Can't. Take. This. It's so whiny and shittily produced...no matter what system you play it on, it sounds tinny and cheap. And I can deal with cheap, but not tinny. I also dated a girl in the mid-nineties who had this on a soundtrack cd that doesn't seem to come up on Wikipedia or anything, but she loved it, and people tend to get weird when songs they love come on. It's annoying as fuck. There, I said it. [EDIT: I will however dance my pasty ass off to it if I'm drunk. Very drunk.] 2) "Who Let The Dogs Out?" by Baha Men -Who authorized this shit? Who said it'd be ok to release this as a single? And has no one caught this person/persons who let the dogs out? Why is there no resolution to this conundrum? Also, "woof, woof" should not be an acceptable chorus or refrain. 3) "Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin -I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but listen...I love Zep. I celebrate their entire catalog. But I ripped my brother's copy of How The West Was Won awhile back, and a 20 minute live version of "Moby Dick" came on randomly while I was playin' Candy Crush or some shit, and dude...I love drummers. If I wasn't gonna be the lead singer in some sorta alternate universe's greatest rock band, I was gonna drum. When I go to shows, I watch the drummers because they're more interesting to me than dudes strutting with guitars. But twenty fucking minutes of drum soloing? Yes, it's a great feat. But the Jimmy Page riffs are just so much better, and should've had their own song. 4) "Stupid Hoe" by Nicki Minaj I will admit that I've never listened to this entire song...it pops up once in awhile when I'm playing Songpop2, a time-killing Facebook game where you have to pick songs faster than your opponent. So I've heard, like two seconds of this song. And if it can annoy me that quickly, then it belongs on this list. It has probably set the women's movement and hip hop in general back at least twenty years. I hate music that makes me think my laptop and/or tv have shit the bed. 5) Anything by Skrillex -So Sonny (that's his name) was in an emo/screamo band and he wasn't happy; they broke up, he did a lot of drugs, and now he's an EDM wunderkind. Good for him. But gottdamn it's unlistenable. Like, who goes to clubs to hear that? It's not danceable. It's not anything-able. There is so much terrible going on here. He is the Nicki Minaj of music, in that he has set it back at least forty years. 6) "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd -Nope...it's no longer cool to yell "Play 'Free Bird'" at any concert you go to, and if you do you're a douche. All you need to know about "Free Bird" is in Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock's takedown ..."Life is too fucking short to play or hear 'Free Bird'."7) "Proud To Be An American" by Lee Greenwood -No. Not by his standards. He doesn't speak for me. This goes beyond my hatred of country music, and the fact that I was treated to a "private show" of his as a Boy Scout during the '89 Jamboree (where only the best scouts from around the country get to go). Fuck him. I'm proud to be an American until someone gets on the mic and tells me I should be. I'm proud until America decides it wants to try anal on the rest of the world without her consent, like she won't notice. 8) "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd -Again, nope. The south lost the Civil fucking War. Get over it. This would be an enjoyable song if I didn't have to associate it with Confederate flags and people who live as if "The South will rise again!"...which is a really sweet way of saying "We will bring back slavery, eventually, once we get our way". At least Florida and Georgia are kinda decent...if I ever have to go to Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, that whole area, nope. Fuck it...I'm out. If I'm dying of a rare illness and only they have the cure, peace out fam. It's been good knowin' ya. 9) Anything by Elvis -No brainer. I didn't ask him to invent American rock 'n roll. He wasn't my preferred choice of influence over the multitude of society for decades before I was born. If I learned anything from Public Enemy, it's that Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me , and most of my heroes don't appear on no stamp.10) "Better Man" by Pearl Jam -Ok, look...I love Pearl Jam. But I know what this song means and represents, and I always skip over it. Corporate rock radio will have you believing it's the best song in their vast catalog. It's not. But when you're driving around after a breakup and it comes on and you realize maybe she was with you because she couldn't find a better man, and then she did, this song will eat you up from the inside even if you were never nearly as bad as this song's antagonist. You have no idea how long it took me to build this list...I focus on the music I love, not what I hate. Feel free to pump any of these jams if you want me to leave your party without having to physically eject me. As a service to me and me only, I will leave you with a Pearl Jam Elvis Presley cover. Danced to it one night at a Sabres game with then-girlfriend, Cool Shit Nicole, on "Elvis Night" at the arena (before we almost died) and then realized I owned a copy of this. |
| I joke a lot that I've seen maybe four movies from start to finish, because my attention span is so lousy and whatever. And that's partially true; may attention span is...oooh shiny red ball! I try to avoid conversations that revolve around cinematic adventures because it always seems like I've never seen the one people are talking about. I also dislike wasting time, and I hate the idea of devoting ninety minutes or more to something that's gonna end up sucking. I would honestly rather rewatch something I've already taken the time to see than gamble on something that I may or may not enjoy...and therein lies the rub: to have enjoyed it, I would've had to have seen it in the first place. That means I have to trust my gut...it has to look like something I will 100% be on board with after previews and commercials and whatever. Plunk down half a day's wages to sit in a stank-ass movie theater for two hours because maybe? is just not good business to me. That said, in honor of Rex Manning Day , here are ten movies (in no particular order) I could watch from sunrise to sunset, six days a week (on the seventh day, I rest  ): 1) Friday : First one that comes to mind. I've seen this so many times with so many people, and it's hilarious every single time. There really isn't a line in this movie that isn't quotable . 2) Major League : Not joking when I say there was one summer when I'd watch this three times a week before going out and playing baseball. This was years before Charlie Sheen went batshit cray-cray .3) Dumb & Dumber : When you spend almost five years working for a company whose primary objective is to sell home electronics, you tend to see a lot of the same movies over and over. This was one of them, and it's obviously very, very funny. Radio? Who needs a radio? 4) Austin Powers : Another one of those movies that has been seen with multiple groups of people, and is highly quotable. Retro fashion never goes out of style. And honestly, who throws a shoe? 5) I Am Trying To Break Your Heart : A documentary about the making of Wilco's legendary album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The scene toward the beginning where Jeff Tweedy draws a face on his belly and makes it talk, then tries to put a cigarette in its belly button/mouth, and then asks for gum so it'll stick, is worth the price of the dvd alone. I didn't think I'd find it on YouTube, but I looked anyway, and the very beginning of the scene is at the tail end of the opening credits . 6) Tommy Boy : How do you not love Chris Farley? He's a big dumb animal , isn't he, folks? 7) Happy Gilmore : I was gonna try to do this without an Adam Sandler flick, but at one time he was pretty funny...and this was probably the height of his comedic career (why am I talking about him in past tense?). I'd probably call a Bob Barker ass-whoopin' a career highlight too, in all honesty.8) Slap Shot : Why are half of my favorite movies also sports-related? Even if you don't like hockey, it's still funny...there's somethin' for (almost) everyone...even a fashion show . 9) Blazing Saddles : Quite frankly, Hollywood will never make a movie like this again. 10) Empire Records : DAMN THE MAN!! I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting, and there are way better movies and everyone's probably seen all these hundreds of times, but this is my list and I don't care. Today, we will not dwell ... |
| Awww yeah, the TBR pile. We've all got one, whether we know what TBR stands for or not ("To Be Read", for the uninitiated). Another reason I use Goodreads (besides shaming myself into reading more)...it allows me to keep better track of books I think I'll eventually want to read, and when I'm looking for something but not sure what, now I've got a nice list to choose from. Instead of just listing the last ten or first ten or whatever, I'm gonna cherrypick a bunch from my virtual shelf and see what happens. 1) We The Living by Ayn Rand: Sometimes I have lunch at this place that has a little stack of old, donated paperbacks that anyone can take; I've come across a few books I've read or wanted to read in this spot before. I've never read Rand nor thought I had to, but this looks interesting enough even though it's not really my go-to genre. I just grabbed this today, but if I don't start it right away it might get shoved away for some other time. 2) , said the shotgun to the head. by Saul Williams: I have read this bombastic collection of emotional poetry so many times, and yet it never gets old. Honest, powerful, heartbreaking, heartbuilding. A work of graphic design mastery as well...visually as well as spiritually arresting. 3) How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy by Stephen Richard Witt: This was on the "New Arrivals" shelf at the library, and I need to read it soon because it's due back soon. Looks hella interesting, because I definitely remember the near-painless free file-sharing early days. Good times  . 4) Catching Life By The Throat: How to Read Poetry and Why [With CD] by Josephine Hart (Editor): Same thing as #3...gotta get this back to the library soon. Seriously...I saw this by coincidence maybe a few days after Elle - on hiatus  launched "Poetry Readings" . I'm hoping it's got some decent tips. Plus it's got a bonus cd of some semi-famous people reading some classic work, including one of my all-time favs, T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock" (and tell me "Prufrock" wouldn't be a fresh name for an MC  ). 5) The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation by Bill Morgan: I have no clue where I saw this or how it made it on my TBR pile, but I love Beat poets and that whole time. Bonus points to anything I'm remotely interested in that comes advertised with the words "Oral History" on it (which this doesn't, I don't think...just pointing out a random factoid ). 6) Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memior by Jenny Lawson: I read her most newest book recently (see "Lists, Day 6: Books I've Read This Year." ) and like music from artists I've just found, I'm gonna go back into the catalog and read the earlier stuff. 7) Solutions And Other Problems by Allie Brosh: Sorta the same thing as #6 here, but this book hasn't been published yet and won't be out until later this year (hopefully). Which means my library won't get it until probably the following summer (if at all ). 8) Not Dead And Not For Sale by Scott Weiland and David Ritz: I didn't even know this existed until after he died. I hope it's better than Neil Young's last book (what a fucking joke that was...I do not recommend reading Waging Heavy Peace under any circumstances). 9) Home is Fucking Burning by Dan Marshall: Never heard of this guy, but it was also on the "New Arrivals" shelf in the Cortland Library recently and it looks hilarious (for it containing somewhat unfortunate subject material). I probably would've read this the day it arrived had I still worked in a bookstore...I miss those days. 10) Rickshaw by David McGrath: Goodreads sometimes does giveaways, which I think is how I saw this title. I get an email every now and then saying a book I was interested in is back in the sweepstakes or whatever...I wonder if this one is it. Huh. Maybe I shouldn't ignore those emails . 11) The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick: Recommended by a friend who thought maybe I was going through something similar. I actually have not seen the movie, nor am I all that interested in it until I read the book...which I did have out from the library but had to return before I had time to get past the first couple pages unfortunately. 12) Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña by David Hajdu: I'm guessing I saw this in the library too, because I have no clue how this showed up in my pile or from where. Must've been interesting enough at the time. 13) The Bassoon King by Rainn Wilson: Ladies and gentlemen, Dwight Schrute everybody. Sounds like a good enough spot to wrap this up. Good christ, I'd be here all day trying to figure out everything else I wanna read that isn't documented somewhere. I'm that dude who takes his tablet to the library once in awhile, logs into the the public wifi, and starts scanning ISBNs directly into Goodreads because books...why not. |
| Well, I missed yesterday...I wasn't feeling all that great, then I got sidetracked, then I got lazy. Excuses, excuses! Good thing this is an easy activity to catch up on...and today it's even simpler 'cuz I can sorta cheat off my Goodreads bookshelves (seriously, if you don't have that app already, get it). Since I've only used it for about a year, and (I think) my shelves are sorted chronologically, just some simple copy/pasting will do and I'll be off wasting time in other places! (Sure, that's what I always say......) 1) The Dead Emcee Scrolls by Saul Williams: Just finished this up today actually...I read it a few years ago and it's a pretty creative poetic concept. Williams is one of my favorites and even though this isn't my absolute favorite of his other books, it's still an interesting read (especially if you have even the slightest knowledge of "Golden Era" hip hop). 2) Vintage Hughes by Langston Hughes: I meant to read this for "Invalid Item" but I never really followed up on it because I just sorta took a break from stuff again in March. I like to go back every now and then and grab something off the library shelves from old poets just to see how far we've come yet how close we've stayed...Hughes kinda sits in that territory (for me, at least). 3) Unincorporated Persons In The Late Honda Dynasty by Tony Hoagland: A Cinn recommendation, and probably the current "hot" title making its way around WDC because of her and Charlie ~  ...I know they've got me and Choconut ~ House Targaryen  and who knows who else hooked on Hoagland. Everyday randomness and life's situations have never sounded so...amazing. 4) Lost Journal Vol. 1: Confessions Of A Failed Paperboy by Tim Mollen: A collection of short humor essays. Good if you like short; not good if you like humor. Which isn't to say it's not funny, because it has its moments...it's just not...hilarious. 5) Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson: I forget how this caught my eye...I think it showed up in a "If you like this, then you'll like this..." kinda thing somewhere. I know it took awhile for my library to get it in, but I really liked it. Lawson also writes The Bloggess , and it's all just funny takes on mental illness and depression and anxiety and all that. And I like reading things like that because it normalizes it for me. Because, well, ya know...6) Hyperbole And A Half by Allie Brosh: See #5 on this list...but with fun pictures! I highly recommend this book, even if you've never suffered lived with depression or anxiety a day in your awesome life. 7) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: One of those "classics" I never had to read growing up, but other kids did (why did I get stuck reading garbage in my AP English classes?? Fuhrealdoe.  ). I kinda like the whole "dystopian future as a metaphor for society today" thing in general. I thought this was interesting, but not mind-blowing. Also, I have no emotions.  8) Ariel by Sylvia Plath: Another one plucked off the shelf just because. I had recently finished The Bell Jar and it sounded like a nice follow-up. It really was.9) The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance: Not something I'd normally read...I find plays hard to follow for some reason (though in theory they should be easier, right?). And I'm sure I've seen the movie in my youth...I can sorta remember it, actually. But it was a super-quick read. Sad, but entertaining. 10) Tarantula by Bob Dylan: Here's where I'll expect to get flamed...I wasn't crazy about this at all. I barely remember reading it. And I like Dylan as a musician, but am I in awe of his legend, his presence? Or do I truly believe he is one of the greatest artists of the last sixty years? I don't know, to be honest. Maybe this book isn't a testament to his legacy...maybe the albums he's put out in the last twenty years don't hold up as well as the albums of his first decade. Funny how that works.Huh...so I just looked, and I started using Goodreads on July 5th of 2015. That mean that in less than a year, I've read 25 books. Maybe not a lot for some of you, but even when I worked in a bookstore I don't think I read that many over the course of any other 12-month span in my life (not my adult life, at least). Hey, my purpose when I downloaded it was to shame myself into reading more. Looks like it worked! |
| Cool...this should be fairly easy actually. I'm pretty sure I've written more poetry in 2016 than 2015 and 2014 combined. I'm not doin' that math...I've already tracked down ten items I like that I'm at least somewhat fond of; the hard work will be the physical act of copy/pasting the item numbers. I wasn't sure if this subcategory, "Poems you've written (or written this year)" meant "any poems you've ever written", or "any poems you've written within the last year", or "any poems written this year (2016)"...leave it to me to further complicate something so uncomplicated; I know what it says . I decided rather than ask dumb questions I shouldn't be asking in the forum or over IMs or emails I'm just gonna interpret it my own way and use stuff my fantastical little mind has committed to paper/server space in the last calendar year. Fair enough? If you're unsure, don't blame me today. And to further subcategory today's list, I'm adding this caveat: all ten of these are now also my amended I'll Read One Of These (Or More) For "Poetry Readings" Eventually...yikes! I knew Cinn read a bunch of hers already, and I've seen/listened to a couple others in the forum, but I didn't realize so many more people have jumped on this. Or time has gotten away from me, and I've totally swept this under the rug. And yeah, it was featured the other day in "Newsfeed Highlights" but damn...there's one hell of a YouTube Playlist roster of WDC All-Pros there and I told people I was gonna do it and I need to just stop wanting to be fancy and hilarious about it and just do it. One of these days...I'm a busy person some of the time . Anyway, the list, which is what we're all gathered here today to pay our respects to. Numbers 1-6 are taken from an unfinished collection of mostly super-awkward and depressing non-standard poetry-type words in a notebook called "Born Fat, Baby!" ; Nos. 7-10 are part of the perpetually-behind assemblage of non-polished works stemming from near-frustration for a little something known globally as "Give It 100!" , my attempt at "100" poems in 100 days (which is insane and mentally crippling at times). Ok, enough stalling...1) "One Less" -This'll almost definitely be the first thing I read for Elle - on hiatus 's Poetry Reading forum. I uploaded it specifically because after my first failed attempt I wanted something short and easy, and this is. Plus it has absolutely no rhythm for me to get lost in. 2) "Cut Your Teeth" -There was/(will still be, maybe) a lyrics contest being talked about awhile back (and it was part of the reason for branching off into this blog)...this was gonna be my leadoff piece. 3) "Goodnight America" -Inspired by songs from Blur and Simon & Garfunkel one noisy late afternoon spent too much in public.4) "The Broken Code For Remembering" -I, uhhh, really like the title. 5) "Cryptogram" -Not gonna lie...this is directly a result of a conversation involving the six words in quotations at the beginning. I don't write a lot of pieces like that anymore; I'm not really into that and it's not something I wanna pursue, but I'm happy with how it turned out more like an explanation than a diss track.6) "Tired" -Entered in Lyn's a sly fox  's "Love Shouldn't Hurt Short Story Contest" (which has just opened up a new round and is also now accepting short stories), and earned a ribbon in a 2nd Chance contest as well. It's a personal reflection on a terrible relationship that was also inspired in part by a blog prompt. 7) "Good Ideas" -Yup, this is what I first recorded myself reading for Poetry Readings. It turned into hot, wet garbage when I read it out loud in front of my laptop with the webcam rolling. If/when I start reading, I'm gonna hafta get over myself with the quickness. 8) "I machine monster" -There could be some serious snark if decide to fine-tune this and make it readable. 9) "and, again" -Too many in the last year that have left us, but they also left us with amazing bodies of work. 10) "Major Bomb" -Totally didn't see this coming, but I got a supercool MB today from Lostwordsmith because Elle nominated this for "Invalid Item" (thank you both ). It's like a cousin of "Abandoned Ransom" ...sort of a dystopian, this world is fucked vibe that I've been creepin' on lately. But that's just my opinion. 11) And I haven't properly added it to "100" yet, but it was entered yesterday in Sally  's neat little "Invalid Item" contest... In Dreams? Wow, that took longer than I thought it would. But it's not a bad list, I don't think. I hope they're enjoyable, if you like to read that sort of thing...it's not "textbook poetry" and that's something I'll never be, but we can have that conversation somewhere else . |
| Ok...today's lists for "Invalid Item" is "Things you've learned while traveling" and I don't consider myself to be a seasoned traveler by any means, even though it seems like I've been to a lot of places. I kinda haven't...there are some day trips and weekend getaways that are accessible easily by car, bus or train from where I've come from that make up my list, and that can usually make visiting different places more convenient. Usually . 1) Buffalo, New York: It's not cheating if you've lived there most of your life but don't anymore, because I go back to visit my mom and brother a couple times a year now. And you'd think that after living there for like 30-some odd years I'd know all there is to know about what it's like there, but somehow before this past Easter when I went back I didn't like the fact that usually when I go, I have to pack for all four seasons just for a four- to seven-day trip...and it's more of a challenge when going by bus (which is how I've been doing it the last few times). Gotta cram shorts, jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts, t-shirts, and everything else in a backpack...and make sure I've got the right pair of shoes on for all occasions. Like most of the northeastern US, this time of year it can be 65° and sunny on one day, and snowy and rainy the next. The weather struggle is real. 2) Cortland, New York: So this is the small town where I live now, and it counts as travel because I had to get here somehow. The closest sorta major city is Syracuse, and despite what you hear from anyone who asks where it is, it's not all that close if you don't have a car. Or cable TV. Despite this being the Syracuse television market, I can't pull in local channels with a decent antenna...which negates about half the points of me wanting a TV for Christmas. I mean, I have other ways and means and uses...but I can't just flip on the local news for a half hour of entertainment just because I don't subscribe. Screw the digital revolution. 3) Cleveland, Ohio: When you take a "Guys Weekend" trip and one of your friends says he's got a friend out there that knows some ladies we can hang out and party with, don't believe him. He's full of shit. Also, their science museum's auditorium is a great place to take a nap on a Sunday afternoon when you're hungover.  4) Toronto, Ontario: Canadian cigarettes are better than American smokes, for reasons I could never figure out. However, if you're at a gas station trying to buy them in US funds, I'm pretty sure they just make up a price to compensate for the fluctuating exchange rate. And I think they knew I knew I was being ripped off, but nothing says "dumb American tourist" more than not exchanging your currency at the border. 5) Barrie, Ontario: Further north of TO, and since I've been there more than once (twice!) it makes the list. Don't get rushed into mosh pits. And if you do, avoid crowd-surfers. They will murder your face before you can even see it coming. Also, don't expect to find your glasses or your friends when that happens. 6) A Caribbean Cruise: I loved it; it's the best way to vacation. But if you have the choice, get the all-inclusive package. I went with a large group of extended family, and some people didn't want to pay extra because they weren't waking up and heading to the ship's bars after breakfast with the cool uncles. Five days at sea, at least 12 hours a day of some sort of consumption, at at least $6.25 (US funds) a beverage (and this was 10 years ago or so, so it's probably even more now)...you'll have a lot more fun if you're not wondering two days in what your overdraft charges from the bank will look like. 7) Nashville, Tennessee: Possibly the coolest all-day live music bar scene of any city I've been in. Maybe the only one. Because most cities frown upon being able to walk into a bar on a Tuesday morning so you can listen to blues over a 32-oz. mug of Budweiser. 8) Savannah, Georgia: An absolutely gorgeous little place...and it's laid out like a grid, so it's easy to get around. Take an all-day bus tour...it's inexpensive and you stop at all the cool places. Bring a camera, and a girlfriend who doesn't have migraines the whole fucking time. 9) Miami, Florida: There are a couple of Walgreens in the city where the associates hardly speak any English. What was a simple question of where something was turned into a mini-fiasco because of communication issues. Bring someone with you that understands more Spanish than I did, which consists of how to order beer and one semi-obscene sentence that translates to "You have no hair between your legs". Five years of Spanish in high school, and that's all I remember. 10) New York City, New York: Everything is way more expensive there than anywhere else I've been to. If you can get to anywhere that isn't three blocks from where you're staying. 11) Washington, DC: Always follow directions and take no shortcuts, even if you're just participating in an endurance race with your boy scout troop in some remote area just outside the city. We took a wrong turn and had to wade through a sewage pit we thought was just a muddy lake that was deeper than it looks. I've never been so filthy in my life. Also, in general, I'm not the best traveling companion. My sleep schedule is never like everyone else's, I'm never hungry when everyone else wants to eat, and I have to control the radio. I tend to get cranky more easily. As easygoing as I'd like to think I am, I can turn into an obnoxious little bitch. I'm not proud of that, because I wanna have fun and I want everyone else to enjoy their trip too. That's probably part of why I haven't been to as many fun places and done a lot of different things. But I'm trying to be better about it. I really am. We'll see; if I ever make it anywhere else, I'll try to be more behaved. I'll let you know how that works out . |
| It's day number three of "Invalid Item" ...and even though I don't feel like being very interesting at the moment, I know that if I don't start an entry soon-ish, I'll blow it off completely and I feel like doing that even less. So I'm gonna see if I can come up with ten fun little facts about me...most of these I've probably talked about more at-length in previous blog entries, so some of them might sound sorta familiar. If not, then why haven't you been paying attention to me? 1) When I was eight or nine years old (I wanna say eight, but maybe not), I was selected to participate in a local audition for the PBS kids' show Reading Rainbow (but I wasn't picked to go on). Can you imagine me being some kind of child star? 2) At some time in the mid-nineties I had a poem or two published in a large national poetry anthology (which was more like a money-hungry scam than an actual contest, if you ask me). I still have it somewhere, but I haven't looked at it in ages. The poems weren't very good, but I probably thought they were the best I'd written in my life up to that point. 3) I have five visible scars (and one crooked pinkie finger): two from my ankle injury in 2012, one from having a birthmark removed on my back around 2005, the hernia surgery in 2000, and one long one in between my ankle surgery scars going down my left shin from basically having a bookshelf fall on me when I tried moving it, also probably around 2005...it was tall and narrow, and I didn't realize it was a top-half/bottom-half assembly. It took off a piece of skin roughly 6"x3/4". 4) I have two tattoos and wore up to six piercings at one time (I'm down to three, and that's fine for me, but I will probably add to the tattoo count eventually). 5) I am a "3rd"...my father, grandfather and I share the same name. This is one of the last-known pictures of the three of us: "Three Generations" . 6) I was a defenseman on a championship-winning rec-league floor hockey team back in '99...and all I got was a t-shirt that doesn't fit me anymore (but in my own defense, I also only played in one game that season, which happened to be the title game ).7) I was also the MVP of my high school's Modified Wrestling team in my freshman year (my first year going out for it). 8) Halfway through 7th grade I got bumped up into the Honors Math class in school...which was basically just 8th grade math for smart kids. After having poor (but not failing) grades in 8th grade Honors Math the following year, I was dropped from the program...which put me in regular math classes with kids who were a year ahead of me until my senior year. It was often awkward. 9) The first time I ever cut classes in school, I was caught...by my mother. I didn't think that she would be driving past the school on her way to work at the same time we were walking back to class. 10) I cheat at crossword puzzles if I think I'm really, really close on an answer or know that I should know it but can't remember it. Not interesting stuff to me, but it's the best I can do for not feeling very motivated today. I'll try to be more interesting later on this month; no guarantees though. |
Ok...today, a more conventional playlist because I was apparently a distraction yesterday with the whole iPod Shuffle thing. I'm invoking one of Elle - on hiatus 's categorical references, "The playlist for a specific occasion of your choice" (and she even used my entry from "Invalid Item" as an example  ..."This one's about sayin' see ya later." ). Today's specific occasion? When I used to work out and lift weights and run. It'll be a heavy early '90's mix...I made mixtapes for training purposes. Back when I was an upcoming star wrestler/football player/playground hero. Wish I still had those tapes...and that body. If the one I had now was still ok with exercising on a regular basis, I'd probably still pump these into my earholes. And I'd be mega-hot. Instead, I'm just an old, brokendown fat dude who can barely walk and gets out of bed most mornings wondering WTF happened to my joints, back, legs, arms, and head. And I've got sweet music to push along the adrenaline for things I'll probably never do again. 1) Ice Cube, "When Will They Shoot?" : Shooting a takedown is one of the most basic scholastic wrestling maneuvers. Knowing your strategy, knowing when to shoot first and knowing how you'll react if your opponent shoots first is essential. Wrestling is 90% mental and 10% physical. Tell your grandson, Lyn's a sly fox . 2) Public Enemy, "Tie Goes To The Runner" : In 10th grade, I broke my right shoulder screwin' around in the practice room before a JV match...that could've meant going up to Varsity. I broke it again during summer football practice, and that blew up my junior year of wrestling. I was determined to come back my senior year and lead my crew...the rehab sucked. I was on the team, but still couldn't train or drill. My mom wouldn't sign the permission slip. So I could do warmups, and hit the weightroom for my legs, but that was it. So I would run circuits through the basement, up the locker room stairs (boys and girls ends) and over the pool balcony...determined that this conditioning would help me when I was able to come back. I had two tapes in my walkman that I knew where and when to turn them over; this and the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head...when you're runnin' for an hour or two a day, to get back to something you love, it's a great goal-setting track. The politics of it were second-fiddle, but still motivating.3) Soundgarden, "Rusty Cage" : By the time this came out, I was living with my dad and stepmom and had a weight bench in the middle of the bedroom I shared with my little brother. Tight as fuck. Two beds, two dressers, a busted-ass tv, and us...wanna do pushups? That's what the attic off our room was for. And I'd wake up, do a set of pushups and situps, and declare myself driven for whatever the days would bring. 4) Beastie Boys, "Pass The Mic" : Again, another joint I would run to, believing in a better future. It's my jam, still to this day. Like, define me by that shit. I grew up to it, it soundtracked my life. I was figuring out writing in my downtime...just the basics. Just doing it. Figuring out a lot of shit. It's funny how this would show up later in my life too though...it went from "adrenaline jam" to "you got this" jam to "you can help people with this". Life's fuckin' crazy like that. It's an anthem, even if it's loosely specific.5) Soul Coughing, "Super Bon Bon" : I remember laying in bed one morning, clicking on my stereo in the room with the little kid brother, and hearing that Soundgarden had broken up. But the local station kept plugging this band's live performances with little clips of the song. I went out and bought the cd. "Super Bon Bon" is hella high-energy...like, unbeatable motivation. With crass and stomp. "Move aside, and let the man go through"...fuck...who doesn't want to be in the space to say that? The whole "look good" push didn't just happen because the internet blew up. Also, not sure what band could ever lead off a cd with that and then dial it right back down into "Soft Serve" , maybe one of the most chill tracks of all time. The best comedown.6) Stone Temple Pilots, "Sex Type Thing" : Pretty sure this showed up in the weightroom, senior year. Balls-out adrenaline awesomeness. Didn't give a fuck about the lyrics...just knew that the beat, tempo and sound made me wanna do more reps.7) Metallica, "Seek And Destroy" : I was definitely not a metalhead growing up. My friends were...they were into that. Trying to fit in, when all I listened to was mostly hardcore rap? Awkward scene...being good at something and then getting those people to acquiesce. The older guys on the wrestling team would play this over and over...we had sweatshirts made with "Seek And Destroy" put on the back. I get it bro, but I would've rather came out to "For Whom The Bell Tolls". 8) Ice-T, "Midnight" : Best way to start or end a workout. Punishing Led Zeppelin drums under some kickass samples and your boy Ice-T layin' down gang rhymes, like he wasn't doin' the "Pee Wee Herman" in '86? Make me wanna rep up, Ice. No, really. 9) I know House Of Pain shows up on that mixtape. 10) So does cheap-ass cock-rock from the tail-end of hair-metal days. I had my own inspiration by then. I was nuts-deep into "Straight Outta Compton", and gave less of a shit about WASP or Poison or whatever that meathead coach was into during summer lifting sessions. Uhh, I think I hit all the checkbox requirements here, right? I'm not disrupting anyone's thought process? Make a damn list! That's all you gotta do! Don't overcomplicate shit like I did yesterday...just do your thing. Listy-like . |
| Ok...I'm a sucker for lists. I make them, I forget them, I make more of them, I ignore them. Fran 💜 💜 💜 had what I thought was a wonderful idea-within-an-idea during StoryKids Week with List Mania, and now Elle's taking her list-making to the masses with "Invalid Item" . I can't not be a part of something like this! I'm kinda a closet list nerd anyway...I have notebooks somewhere, I'm sure, full of lists I made for one reason or another. If I'm desperate enough, maybe I'll try to dig them out. But today...one day in already and I'm finding a way to circumvent the status quo. I will feature something called "The iPod Shuffle Quiz"...it came up recently in discussions somewhere, like "The Soundtrack of Your Life" or in Gaby ~ Keeper Of The Realm  's "I Heart WdC Contest" . The thoughts are out there, anyway. I've fucked around and done them before, and it's kinda fun for what it is. With this in mind, I'm challenging friends like Cinn , Charlie ~ , music people. I'm gonna add some of my Soundtracker friends like Kit of House Lannister  and Choconut ~ House Targaryen as well. Elle - on hiatus , Nixie Martell cheerleader  , Dragon is hiding  , pinkbarbie, Lyn's a sly fox , Brother Nature , ~Minja~ , lizco252, In Your Dirtiest Pants , anyone else (if I forgot to tag you, my bad...I can't remember you all). Get in on this! It's easy and fun. The point is to turn on your music, however you listen to it, and set it on shuffle. Copy/Paste the thing into your entry field. The answer to each question is the song that comes up. You're not supposed to cheat and keep hitting  but hey, no one's judging you if you do, and sometimes a song with a really dumb title pops up at the most awkward of times. Do what makes you happy, share a few tunes, have a good laugh, and be fun with it! That's all. The iPod Shuffle Quiz Your favorite thing to say when drunk is... Song: Morphine Artist: Moist Comment: "Yes" is always the best answer when it's offered. Off to a great start. Your biggest fear…. Song: Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness Artist: Smashing Pumpkins Comment: Too close to home, iTunes. Your deepest secret... Song: They're Red Hot Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers Comment: What a let down, I guess...if you were dying to know something. Your innermost desire... Song: Street Carp Artist: Deftones Comment: Truly. The best thing about you is… Song: Again Artist: Alice In Chains Comment: Maybe so. Maybe not. Where would you rather be right now? Song: Never There Artist: Cake Comment: Truth, iTunes. If you found yourself lost on a desert island, you'd yell... Song: Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends Artist: Sammy Davis Jr. Comment: Better off not knowin', I guess. You are happiest when… Song: Puppets Artist: Atmosphere Comment: Dude...Muppets make everything better, right? One of your biggest regrets is…. Song: Sure Shot (European B-boy mix) Artist: Beastie Boys Comment: A blessing and a curse I guess, depending on the situation. What couldn’t you live without? Song: Messiah Ward Artist: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Comment: Gotta end up somewhere, I guess. Right now, your feelings are... Song: Till The Walls Come Tumblin' Down Artist: J. Geils Band Comment: Not accurate, but ok...I can get behind that. You scream during sex... Song: Perfect Disguise (BBC Radio Sessions) Artist: Modest Mouse Comment: Never have I ever.... What best describes your personality? Song: Yesterday's Hero Artist: Bay City Rollers Comment: I guess, maybe. I suppose. What will be a big challenge in life for you? Song: Everything To Nothing Artist: Manchester Orchestra Comment: Kinda surreal. The best advice you’ve ever gotten is… Song: Slow Ride Artist: Beastie Boys Comment: "I got the trees on my mirror so my car won't smell." Live it, love it, be it. What do you say when life gets tough? Song: The Night Is Young And You're So Beautiful Artist: Frank Sinatra Comment: The easy way out. What do you avoid if possible? Song: The Trial Artist: Pink Floyd Comment: Don't ask the questions you don't wanna hear the answers to. Will you ever become manically depressed in your life? Song: Choking The Cherry Artist: Poe Comment: Had this song stuck in my head for no reason recently. If I wonder about the relevance, I'll hamstring myself. Your life's soundtrack should be…. Song: Twice As Hard Artist: The Black Crowes Comment: Somewhat fitting. Where will you be in 25 years? Song: Don't Fade On Me Artist: Tom Petty Comment: I guess it's not really about me then, is it? Your farewell message to the readers of this: Song: Footsteps Artist: Pearl Jam Comment: It was you! It was you. Well, that was fun, and kinda cathartic. I did minimal shuffling...I'm kinda proud of myself for that, instead of just filling out responses to my tastes. Wonder how my iPod Classic would've responded...there's different music on that because I can't figure out how to cross-sync them. Oh well...one day down, 29 more to go. Bring it on! Share your music player's interests! Let's get some love up in here for the technology that kinda defines and owns us. My lists, continuing on, won't be so long or subjective, I promise. They'll just be...lists. |
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Still remember your address on Penora.
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But, with extreme shit hitting me I bury under ground and neither internet nor real life can find me then.
