Things that amaze me about Columbia, TN...

1.) How, at 2pm on a Sunday, the Cracker Barrel (barell, barrell???) in the middle of nowhere between Columbia and I-65 can be so packed that people are parking in the overflow lot with the truckers.

2.) How people continue to call the county "Murry" when it is spelled "Maury"...surely there are other educated people in Columbia that this pisses off also.

3.) The library is closed on Sunday. Not that I would go, but I remember the SA library being open all week. Seems logical, right?

4.) They have Sun-Drop flavored Icee's at the movie theater. Personally, I think that is awesome.

5.) The mullets are beyond compare. It's not even ironic anymore.

-ed

Sometimes I think "Liberals" don't really think out their arguments...

And of course the same can be said for conservatives. But anyways, take the case of an article written by Mike Greenberg on the SA Express News, the arts and entertainment editor. Here are some excerpts from his writing, and my take on it.

The consistent message of exit polls last Tuesday was that Bush voters, the conservatives, were heavily motivated by fear — specifically, fear of terrorism and of same sex marriage, but more generally fear of ambiguity, the unknown and change.

Ok, this is partially true. But after his first two valid points Greenberg then proceeds to give a dictionary definition of conservatives...afraid of change. Personally, I don't think it's fear of change in it's basic terminology that drive conservative voters. It's more fear of things that they believe are morally wrong. Change is all fine and well if it benefits society in some way. Allowing gays to marry, which the majority of America believes is wrong, despite what hollywood would have you believe, is just a "change" that has really no benefit to society besides allowing gays to feel "accepted" even though they do everything else they can to show that they are "different."

By contrast, Kerry’s voters were motivated by opportunity — hope for economic opportunity and equality of opportunity in particular, but more generally the opportunities for experience and growth that are associated with ambiguity, the unknown and change.

Opportunity? Are you serious? The many Kerry voters I have spoken to haven't a clue what Kerry's agenda was, beside the sole fact "He's not Bush." Liberals aren't striving for "opportunity," liberals are motivated by hate, to be really honest. The hatred they had for Bush was more driving than "opportunity." And seriously, what opportunity was John Kerry going to bring to them? A hope for higher taxes and an ineffective social security reform? Perhaps.

The conservative attitude is insular and closed. The liberal attitude is cosmopolitan and open.

Man, don't even get me started, Mike.

The arts thrive in such cities — and most artists are politically liberal — because the rapid, broad and fearless exchange of ideas is crucial to the arts.

Mike, you want to know why most artists are liberal? Because it's trendy. No shit. The only coherent artist I've ever heard speak on behalf of liberals is Moby. That's it. Everyone else is dumped into "Bush bad" camp. Artists latch onto liberalism because it is ingrained in them to be nearly mindless in their political policies. "Fearless exchange of ideas"...Mike, I do believe you are dramatizing things a bit too much. It's one thing to keep an open mind. It's another to be "fearless" and seriously Mike, have you ever noticed the widening gap between "art" and real "society?" How what is cutting edge on the theaters on NY would never run on a stage to more than 20 people in any other city? Is it because you are so open, or the fact they have lost touch with society. There used to be a time when art did not exist to needlessly "challenge" us and instead existed to inspire us. Do you remember? As a musician who does not buy into the wholesale liberal agenda, this distresses me.

enough.

-ed

..Oh Man, Oh Man...

So there's this "Dance Party" in the basement of Heron Hall on Saturday night. I asked Kibbe if I could be a guest DJ and of course she said yes. There's nothing better than subjecting people to your bad music, and thus I will be Saturday night. Here's the track listing, heavy on the remixes:

1. Doing the Stand Still - The Dismemberment Plan
2. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - The Arcade Fire
3. Y Control (Faint Remix) - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. Wonderful People - Q & Not U
5. I Need Your Love (Ewan's Stay in School Remix) - The Rapture
6. Breathe In - Frou Frou
7. Take Me Out(Morgan Geist Remix) - Franz Ferdinand
8. Deceptacon - Le Tigre
9. Me and Guiliani Down by the School Yard - !!!
10. Glass Danse - The Faint
11. Such Great Heights (Remix) - The Postal Service
12. The City - The Dismemberment Plan
13. Still In Love Song (Extended 12" Remix) - The Stills
14. Everything is Everything - Phoenix
15. Hardcore Days and Softcore Nights - Aqueduct
16. Jenny Was A Friend of Mine - The Killers
17. One With the Freaks - The Notwist
18. Crumble - The Russian Futurists
19. Evil - Interpol

And there you have it...my dance mix.

-ed

So what ever happened to...

The Old Testament God who smited everyone? This benevolant God just isn't striking fear into anyone's hearts. Maybe he should, you know, smite someone in a high profile position in full public view, I'm not saying who or how, but maybe a spontaneous combustion, just to get everyone's attention. Not trying to tell you how to run the world Lord, but what's a combustion here and there? As long as it's not me, ok?

-ed

Rushmore...

That was an absolutely amazing film. In some ways it reminded me of SMH (you know, with girls added, of course) with the people throwing money at stupid crap just to get their names on a building. And of course, the stupid clubs...robotics club anyone? Oh, the hillarity ensues. I was just glad to finally see a film that showed a school that resembled the one I went to, quasi-religious (chapel?) but firmly secular in its actions. Man, I'm gonna send my kids to public school I think, just so I don't get sucked into any of that. Kudos to my parents for staying out of the inner workings of SMH.

-ed

Ok, seriously...

The Texas Department of Transportation offices are total shit. I just got my new Tennessee drivers license and the building in Columbia is freaking amazing. All the Texas ones are these pint-sized boxes where everyone is pissed off and nothing ever works or something is always wrong. The one in Columbia had windows and natural light, a courteous secretary, and an actual waiting room and nice people to get me my license. And they joked with me, and I made up stories of my Polish grandmother who came over on Elis Island and narrowly avoided the holocaust. And the woman believed me, which was even more amazing. Gotta love TN education.

-ed

To Everyone Who is Voting For Bush and Kerry...

Are you serious? How the hell can you justify your vote? These are both HORRIBLE candidates. How can Republicans back a president who has sunk us into even more debt and got us into an unwinnable war? It sickens me when I see kids my age with stupid "W" things in their AIM profiles...they don't get it. They are most likely doing that because their parents are doing it. And then if not, they try to pull a "Christian" slant. Utter crap. There is nothing remotely "Christian" about anything Bush has done this year. Go to war? Kill innoncent people? Weapons of Mass what? Bush is a bad president. He needs to go.

HOWEVER

As I've writen before, John Kerry is a douchebag. Of the highest caliber. There is no way I can vote for him because he is a political oportunist with no real plan for anything but to throw more money and soliders at it. What a shitty strategy. I will spend no more time on him.

So who am I voting for? Ladies and Gentlemen, I am voting for the Libertarian candidate, Michael Badnarik, because they have more common sense than anything the other two parties throw out there. I mean, there's no chance in hell that they will win. But any party that advocates free immigration, totally free press, free international trade, repealing totally useless drug laws, and the disbanding of Social Security, people, I can put my stamp of approval on that. Now, I now that my voting for Badnarik could lead to Kerry winning, such as how Nader destroyed Al "I invented the internet" Gore's hopes and let Bush in. But, hey, one of those two are going to win, I might as well be able to say I didn't back either of them.

-ed

Reflections on the camping excursion...

So, that was awesome. Nothing like freezing for the love of nature. It just reaffirms my belief that TN is so much more beautifual than TX. TX...the ugly girl at the prom. No idea what that means...shut up.

Anyways, things I learned on this trip:

Things that are so much better when you are intoxicated:

1. Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights.
2. Scattergories (in where for the letter "G" everything I put had the pre-fix of "Giant")
3. Playing Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" on a guitar in a cave.
4. Warming your feet by the fire...you don't realize the rubber on your soles are melting.
5. Hot Dogs that are cold in the middle.
6. Walking down a trail where you can't see, only to find out in the morning that there was a 50 foot drop right next to you.
7. Burnt Marshmellows
8. Peeing in the middle of the woods

BTW, I like hiking, as long as it's not up a steep hill with shoes with no traction and in the middle of a hunting club's property.

Nice!

So every once in a while...

I'll be reading the San Antonio Express News website and I'll come across an article relating to the family of a kid I went to school with. Now, I know I went to school with the elite of San Antonio, but it's still surprising to see something like "Businessman blah blah millions of dollars blah blah prostitutes blah blah." and then realize I went to school with his son. Weird.

So, am I just like the Audio 1 Assisting Whore or what?

Seriously, I don't know if it's just luck of the draw or people have actually heard my name, but all these Audio 2 and Production students are calling me asking to assist them. And normally, like the assisting whore I am, I would say yes, but I'm already booked all the time. And in some ways I feel bad for turning them down, but then it's like, LEAVE ME ALONE!!

Seth Strawbridge came back this weekend. Immaculate. I walked out of my room at 5am to use the bathroom and he and Clint were talking in the hallway, just like last year. It nearly brought a tear to my eye because these things just don't happen anymore. Oh Third Floor of last year, why must Kyle and I carry the torch? We were the good kids!!

Whoa!

Michael Moore, Sir, You Are an Idiot.

"It's ironic that Republicans have no problem with allowing assault weapons out on our streets, yet they don't want to put clean underwear in the hands of our slacker youth," Moore said. "The Republicans seem more interested in locking me up for trying to encourage people to participate in our democracy than locking up bin Laden for his attacks on our democracy." -Mike Moore

Um.....are you really that stupid? I mean, I'm giving you props for trying to get people to vote, and I find nothing offensive about your methods, but....

You blame the Republicans for the assualt weapon ban being forgotten about? Do you forget that the entire congress is not Republican, but also composed of your precious Democrats? Are you that dim to realize that what you are implying is absolutly false? Well, wait a min...yes, yes you are. You made Farenheit 9/11.

Is it just me...

Or is Elton John just the biggest badass ever these days? See for yourself

Dumbass things John Kerry said in the debates that people probably won't pick up on...(a work in progress)

"But we didn‘t use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced that job too. That‘s wrong"

Um...uh...so, let me get this straight. Yet again, after you pretend to console the families of those who lost their lives in the war, you call for more American lives to be placed in danger. Listen, you stupid, emotional families who blame Bush for the death of your son (who died doing something he signed up to do anyways, your son knew it was a risk, you did to, the fact that he died shouldn't change the fact that IT WAS HIS JOB.) , John Kerry would have put American soliders in even more risk, and he still wants to do that now by sending more soldiers to Iraq. Why did Bush use Afgans? Because throwing American troops into that terrain would have meant nearly certain death, and why not use the people who know the land? Even if they have no interest in capturing Bin Ladin, at least no American lives were lost trying to accomplish an ultimately fruitless task.

"And so, today, we are 90 percent of the casualties "

Flat out lie. Check the numbers, we are not 90% of the casualties in Iraq. John Kerry is a dumbass.

"The center is Afghanistan, where, incidentally, there were more Americans killed last year than the year before; where the opium production is 75 percent of the world‘s opium production; where 40 to 60 percent of the economy of Afghanistan is based on opium; where the elections have been postponed three times. "

This is the part when those sitting at home should have gone "What the fuck?" Opium? What the hell does that have to do with anything? Um, yes, they grow opium there. You say it's 40-60% of their economy. So, John "douschebag" Kerry, what do you propose we do there? Take away 40-60% of their economic power, throwing them into even more choas? Maybe you can ask Teresa to set up a Heinz plant there. Oh wait, you don't want jobs overseas. YOU FUCKING DUMBASS.

"I‘ve met kids in Ohio, parents in Wisconsin places, Iowa, where they‘re going out on the Internet to get the state-of-the-art body gear to send to their kids. Some of them got them for a birthday present. Humvees -- 10,000 out of 12,000 Humvees that are over there aren‘t armored. And you go visit some of those kids in the hospitals today who were maimed because they don‘t have the armament."

Armored Humvees weigh nearly 14,000lbs. Mr. Kerry, you bitch about the cost of the war, yet you now want to spend even more money on trasnporting these massive things over? Same goes for body armor. You can't complain about spending then ask that we spend more. GAWD.

"My message to the troops is also: Thank you for what they‘re doing, but it‘s also help is on the way. I believe those troops deserve better than what they are getting today."

So...you're going to spend MORE money? After you just railed about how we need to focus on homeland spending, you want to invest even more on the war overseas? WTF???

Are Americans now dying in Iraq for a mistake?
KERRY: No, and they don‘t have to, providing we have the leadership that we put—that I‘m offering.

This said after just saying that is was a mistake to go into Iraq. WHAT THE BOOGADEBOO.

I gtg, I'll finish this later.

NEW MYTUNES!!

College Students Rejoice!

Ode to the guy who still thinks it's 1987...

Oh guy who sits in the smoke pit and has long hair and wears Slayer t-shirts, you amaze me. You willfully scorn the fact that this is 2004 and laugh in the face of convention by still wearing acid-wash jeans and speed-metal shirts. You refuse to cut your hair and wear it proudly split down the middle, falling ever so rock n' roll on your shoulders. While some might realize that speed-metal has fallen out of favor, you spit in their general direction and dial up more Megadeth.

Guy who still thinks it's 1987, you have moxy.

I salute you.

I knew this was going to happen....
refrence: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=536&e=10&u=/ap/20040924/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_4

Seriously, I'm convinced the Kerry campaign really wants me to hate him. There's some guy working at his headquarters that's all like, "Hey, remember how everyone said that we were picking John Edwards to appeal to women voters because he's somewhat attractive, and we were all like 'No way, homes, we chose Edwards for his vast political experience?' Well you know what, we lied!"

And I'm all at home, being like, "Man, I wish that John Kerry would give me a reason to like him. Bush, while incompetent, still is a much better leader than this man. But maybe there's something to him that they haven't revealed yet, something magical."

BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Man, Kerry campaign, this is low. I mean, I knew it was only a matter of time before you told the "political experience" card to go screw itself and reveal your true intentions, but somewhere in me I wanted you to prove me wrong. But you didn't. And I was right. Yet again.

Democrats, can't you see your error? Is it too late to jump off the ship? You might think that a Bushless US is better, but do you realize you're giving us a Kerry US, which is worse? Give me Howard Dean even...at least he showed some moxy. And he wasn't all like "Hey man, I'm a moderate" and then go and vote like fucking Ted Kennedy on pot. Dean was honest. He was like "Hey man, I like the gays...I let them marry. So what." Again, the man had balls.

Bush has balls too. Though often times his ball-reaction is wrong, at least he has them. I bet Kerry's got shot off in 'Nam. Oh wait, did he get a medal for that? Someone look into that.

John Kerry...the eunuch.

Impressionistic Art vs. Renaissance Art

So, I've had the opportunity to see examples of the best of what these genres have to offer, and pretty much, Reniassance kicks Impressionistic art's ass. It's like somone shat on a DaVinci and called it a Monet. I will discuss this in more detail later.

You're That Guy!!

"Yeah, I know that guy. Wait a minute, I was the only kid with a real band in high school, and some people thought I was kind of a rock star, dammit...I hate you guys. I am that kid." - Kyle.

Ok, we all knew this was true in our subconsious, but it came to the startling forefront during dinner tonight. 99% of the male population at Belmont is "that guy." So, what does "that guy" mean? Ok, remember that guy in high school who was just a little left of center? The guy who wore the Modest Mouse t-shirt and had the random emo band patch on their bookbag? The guy who played guitar and was in choir? The guy who dyed his hair and styled it into a faux-hawk? The kid who wore jeans that were just too tight? The guy who watched independant films and swore that documentaries were cool? The kid who was voted in their high school yearbook as "most likely to sit on a street corner in Memphis and play his guitar?"( Um, yeah...fuck you SMH) That one kid from every high school across America? He now goes to Belmont.

We are a collection of band nerds, drama geeks, emo kids, and glam rockers. And we are not ashamed anymore.

The kids who wanted to dress like punk rockers but couldn't cause they would have gotten their asses beat in HS? They're dressed to the nines here. The kid who fronted that shitty band that played that shitty club in your hometown once? Yeah, he's forming a band here...and they still suck.

Because the female population here is so high compared to the guys, the girls who fall into the "that guy" category seem slim, but they're there too. They're just outweighed by the All-region choir girls, and the girls that sang in the church choir who are here as "Classical Voice Majors" or "Commercial Voice Majors" which is just street for "Please Marry Me Cause I Will Never Have A Real Career Major." Or Ebonics for "Housewife."

Yeah...you're that guy.

Great Exchange of the Night:
Eric- man, I think the gay black guy on the real world must be faking it...I bet they're paying him a lot to be a faux-homo
Sara-: haha no way
Eric- way...the dude is too ghetto to like the man
Eric-I can't believe I just admitted I watch the real world
Sara-busted!

Finally! A CD review!

The Black Keys - Rubber Factory

When I was a kid, I fell in love with the blues. Blame it on Stevie Ray Vaughan and his Live at the El Mocambo, but I used him as a springboard into every ancient bluesman ever. I bought the complete Robert Johnson set, worshiped Lightnin' Hopkins, learned a bunch of Albert King riffs, and ventured to Austin to catch B.B. King and Buddy Guy because I was convinced they'd die by now.

Then I fell in love with punk, like all suburban white kids. No need to go into that. But as a budding songwriter, I wanted to combine my two loves, blues and punk. But I didn't know anyone else who was down with that in San Antonio, TX. So I gave up my dream of a punk/blues band and got into indie music and became a much more competent musician. I forgot about my former dream.

Then I heard the Black Keys. These guys are the band I had always wanted to be. And maybe that will cloud my judgement of this disc, but if flat out rocks. A good dose of blues mixed in with a punk attitude and delivery.

The first single, 10 Am Automatic, is amazing. It's one of those 50 plays a day songs on my iTunes player. Brilliant. Grand. I love this cd...go buy it now.

Bryan, you want to know why John Kerry is a douche?
refrence - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1963&e=5&u=/ap/20040914/ap_on_el_pr/heinz_kerry_1

Because his wife is one too...amazingly. There's just something I can't stand about this woman. Is it because she's a rich heiress whose entire family is probably voting republican but she married a liberal douche so she has to espouse values and policies that will harm her business? no, it's more because of this statement:

Fashionwise, Heinz Kerry said she likes Oscar de la Renta, often wears Ralph Lauren and sometimes buys clothes off the rack.

HOLY SHIT!! SHE BUYS CLOTHES OFF THE RACK? Does she realize that fucking 95% of America BUYS CLOTHES OFF THE RACK? Is she trying to make herself look like the hoi poloi by admitting to such horrors? Off the rack? God forbid we don't have dresses and shoes made by the designers themselves? Off the rack? What will the Kennedy's think? She's obviously loosing it. Off the rack??? Only the middle class does that! Oh, I get it. She's trying to get us to think she's one of us! Genius. Now, Teresa, pelase explain the millions of dollars and luxury cars and tell us that you're just like us too. I'm waiting. Did you get those off the rack too?