Independence Day Two-Thousand-and-Five


The fireworks fly.

I hope you all had a happy Fourth of July.

just watch the fireworks

The end of an era.

Today was a sad day indeed. In addition to paying rent (which makes the day sad enough as is is), I put in the official word that we're leaving Funville. I tried to deny, to fight it, but I just couldn't. Nothing could be done. Now I'll be moving back home I guess. May the fun never stop, and the ville never end.

is anyone happy?

A painful Haiku.

There, by the river
a crash, a bruise, a great blight
on Peter's knee. Ouch.

that wound will never heal

Taters, precious.

Now I'm 21. What are you going to do about it?

a normal day?

The pants, the pants, the pants!

I'm back from Jamestown, and the verdict is in: E3 > Jamestown. Now, I'm not saying JT didn't try. They even had some old guys playing metal covers in front of a bar, but unlike JT, E3 managed to keep me entertained for more than 5 minutes at a time. Better luck next year, JT.

i take the blame, you get the shame

Ranch-tastic.

Well, I'm in Jamestown. So far, I think E3 was better, but I've got a couple days here yet. Rock 30 here is dang sweet though, you should check it out sometime. I don't have anything else to say tonight, I'll probably post tomorrow when I'm supposed to be working. Later gators.

i'm quite aware we're dying

Different ratios.

In the morning I'm going to Jamestown. It may or may not be as exciting as E3, but we'll see. If you're in the neighborhood gimme a call. Heck, gimme a call anyway.

i'd make you up

everything is wrong.

It keeps getting stupider.


The big winner.

Yeah, so Andrew is going to be the proud owner of the 9th Xbox 360 in the country. The way this week has been going, I can't imagine the craziness that will go down tomorrow.

Oh, also: We're heading back tomorrow night at midnight, so no more posts until I get back, sorry. Wish me luck.

lately i'm alright

The unexpected.


I actually got to go... to Star Wars, you idiot.

I know it's more than likely pathetic, but I feel like a chapter of life is done now. Oh well. Peace out.

a page of life, torn out

Here's where I am.



the dogs are barkin'

Farewell Old Friends.

In a matter of minutes I'll be on my way to LA (too hot) for E3. I bid you farewell. Hopefully I'll come back a new man.

as for me and my countrymen

Cinco de Mayo is not my day.

Ok, here's a weird thought I had (if this doesn't make sense, ask me in person sometime). How do you undecide something? Say you want to undecide something you've decided, but you can't, because you've already decided. How does that work? Does that even make sense? I'm sorry, Death Cab puts me in a mood. So does an awful day. I hope you had a safe and happy Cinco de Mayo. On a brighter note, I bought three Amp energy drinks that cost me $27 each.

i need you so much closer

Sunset Sailing.

I finished the first season of The OC the other night. It was sad. Anyway, the reason I've called you all here is to tell you something very important. Last night I dreamt that Air John came back and tried to kill me. Air John, please don't kill me. Think of the root beer.

there's no logic to it at all

A Year and the Same.

What's new you ask? Oh you know, the usual. Playing Dynasty Warriors 5, watching The OC, stuff like that. I guess you can make fun of me about The OC if you want, I just seem to enjoy it. Puts me in some kind of mood, almost like the walks. Hmm... The Walks. That could be a good song title, too bad I suck at writing songs. Oh yeah, I wrote a song called Long Walk didn't I? It would be silly to write a song called The Walks then, wouldn't it? I guess you can make fun of me about that too, it's cool. It's late, and I'm tired. Problem is, I don't really care to sleep right now. I had a Red Bull this morning, and it tasted like carbonated piss. I don't really have any experience with that sort of thing, it's just kinda seems like that's what it'd be like. Problem is, I'll probably have another in the morning. Yuck. Sorry, this isn't entertaining at all, much less interesting. I'm going to go, see you.

the unthinkable happened

Ugh.

I'm sick, and I just tried to put the milk in the cupboard where the cereal goes. On the brightside, I have to go to work.

I tried to steal the moon from the sky

Proof, if you need it.


Told you I got a camera.

call me liar

Sunrise, Sunset.

Hey folks. Yesterday I got a digital camera, hooray! We took lots of pictures, but fortunately, none of them were silly at all. Now I'm going to go work at the Smage for seven hours, which I don't really appreciate. When I'm there I'm going to finish book ten, which makes me very sad.

You've lost your socks

Who's space?

I have a My Space page if you care. I don't know if I'll use a lot, but it's over there on the left if you're interested.

childhood fantasy

My favorite time

You know those creepy guys you see walking around town late at night with hoodies on? Yeah, apperently I'm one of them. I came to this realization when I was out walking at ten tonight with my hoodie up. The downside to this is that people are generally bothered by you. The upside is that the other creepy guys don't bother you. Walks are an interesting thing for me. Whenever I go for a walk I either end up in a really good mood, or really, really sad. It seems pretty random too, like sometimes I'll go and expecting to end up sad, but I end up happy, and vice versa. Wow, now that I've bored you all, we'll change the subject.

I got the new Mae cd today "The Everglow". I've listened to it once, and here are my thoughts so far. It's a good cd. There aren't really any tracks on it that I don't like except for Cover Me, which I hate and wish didn't exsist. I think that every aspect of that song sucks. The other songs are good, especially the piano heavy ones (which I'm a sucker for). I think I like their first cd better though (just remember, this is after just one listen, and could change). Allow me to explain: Mae isn't really a rock band. I mean, they can write some sweet rock songs, but their strong point is the ones that aren't completely rockers. Destination: Beautiful was a good mix of soft, mid, and rock songs. The Everglow is almost all solid songs, but some of them can sound the same if you're not paying attention. I don't listen to Mae for their rock songs, I listen to them for the pretty stuff. So there we go. I guess you could call that a review, but not a very good one. Peace out.

was walking with you

Hoppy Easter!

*Happy

Through the Night.

Well, well, well... Here we are again. I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. I heard The Elms on the radio tonight, it was a real treat. Man, I sometimes forget how dang good they are. That's a mistake I'll not make twice. Seriously though, if you have never listened to Truth, Soul, Rock and Roll, you're missing out big time. I guess they... OMG!!!!!!11 Their DVD is out! I gotta go, later!

Three strands of wire

Sparkplug Minuet

It's always been a goal of mine to only blog if it's entertaining in some way or another, but I seem to have gotten away from that. I don't think the people I was trying to entertain read this anymore anyway though, so this will just turn into Normalville or something. Right now I'm listening to The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, and it's a delight. I'm also sitting here in front of my computer doing nothing, like I do with pretty much most of my time when I'm not working. That kinda bums me out, but this music kinda counteracts it. Weird post. If you haven't seen The Royal Tenenbaums, please do both of us a favor and watch it.

I wish you'd have done this for me when I was a kid

Everything you know is wrong.

Well, remember all that talk about U2? Wanna know where those tickets went? Up in smoke, that's where. Turns out I never even had a chance, and the show basically sold out in the pre-sale. It sucks, but I guess I can't say I'm surprised. That's just how I roll.

It's never enough

List of Life.

Well folks, in less than 8 hours, I'll be ordering tickets to see U2. I'm incredibly excited, because one of my life goals is to see U2. I know, that's incredibly sad, but also incredibly true. The really sad part is that list of life goals consists of like, one other thing I can think of. Yup, incredibly sad. I guess it could be worse. One of my life goals could be to see Simple Plan or something.

God bless the broken road

It's on, babies!

Adam has recently stated that "I have to be the boringest person alive." I'm going to have to politely disagree with you there, Adam. See, this is how it is, I am the boringest person alive. Ask anyone, they'll tell you. The rest of this blog will prove it. It's 2:00 in the morning, so I need to go to bed. That was all that I had to say prior to reading Adam's blog. See? The boringest person is me.

Hope.

It's funny when people say "don't get your hopes up"; 'cause it's all about hope.

-Michael J. Fox.

Depressing.

Sometimes I read random blogs, and man are they depressing. Some of them are in spanish though, so I don't know if those are depressing or not. Insightful.

I suppose.

I should let you know, I have internet now. Now I'm going to work, which is my favorite thing ever. See you later.

Truth.

"Thankfully, the Lord still works in our lives in spite of everything we do to prevent it."

- Ronnie Martin

Thirty-something.

So I did that thing Air John has on his blog (but didn't want to post the massive thing here), and the results are in. I'm flaming thirty-three. I'm not sure how surprised I am though.

Refreshing.

Looks like Anberlin has some new songs up. The song "Symphony of Blasse" is what make that worth mentioning though. What's so special about it you ask? It's slow. Yeah, I'm surprised as you are. I kept waiting for the loud guitars and distortion to kick in, but they didn't. Not once. It's a pretty cool song I guess. Nothing amazing, but a good sign at least.

I heart snow.

Still in Moorhead. This time in the computer lab.

Apt. is short for apartment.

What's new you ask? I live in an apt. with Tan. I work frequently. I'm posting this from Adam's dorm at Concordia. Merry Christmas.

QuickTime.

Man, I forgot about the recording journals. I was really missing out. Not only do they have a wealth of information, there are also clips of recording this and that. It's stupendous! Here's the track list:

"Jaws of Life"
1. Skull and Crossbones
2. Rated-R Movie
3. Prosecute Electrocute
4. Moving Up
5. I'm Sorry for the Hating
6. Bivouac
7. My Worst Nightmare
8. The Cells Divide
9. Don't Frown
10. Person of the Month
11. I Can't Fall Asleep
12. Are You on Drugs?
13. Write Down all the Words to Every Song You Know
14. Read Your Rights

Wow.

Physicsy
Bought Half Life 2: Silver last night. So I guess that means CS: Source is being played by Harry right now. Yeah, I know. A game works on my computer, I'm just as amazed as you are. Looks fun, maybe I'll go play too. I hope that will be enough to bring certain folks home next weekend.

Act your age.

Better yet, dress your age. Working at the mall (way too much, I might add), I see all kinds of middle-aged women shopping in Vanity and dressing like their daughters. I mean seriously, who thinks that's a good idea? I could go my whole life without ever seeing a middle-aged women in a belly shirt, and be fine. But no, apparently they think I would like to see that. Just c'mon, you don't see old guys wearing baggy pants and crooked hats, yet you see the middle-aged ladies wearing fake thrift store shirts, and short pleated skirts. Why do they feel the need to keep up with the latest fashions in Seventeen? Last I checked it's called Seventeen because that's the age demographic they're shooting for. It's not called Fourty-Something. Stop the madness! Suffice it to say, my goat has been got.

BioShock.
Yes, it's what you think it is.

Made me think.

I just read this, Ronnie Martin wrote it.

Tradition is what gives us a model for how the Christian church should function as a body, which is why we look to the New Testament and that early church model that's been given to us. Non-denominational churches over the last 30 years have had a bent towards being "contemporary", "culturally relevant" with "eyes firmly fixed on the future". Tradtions offer a depth and richness, as well as give us a firm grasp on the essentials; which also don't change with the trends of the times. Of course, people can place too much value on the external aspect of traditions just like they can on being non-traditional. The odd thing is that most of us place a great amount of importance on tradition, so why wouldn't we do the same within our church? The importance of traditions in families and relationships are literally the glue that holds together and preserves them. There's a reverance and respect that comes with holding to traditions, so if I'm that intent on preserving them within my family, why should I do any less within a church family?

Interesting...

Not cool.
Wow. Looks like somebody can't get something to flippin' work.

Silly smile.

Despite being busier than I would ever want to be, life still manages to put a silly smile on my face! Hooray!

!
Demos!

Cool.
Wow. Looks like somebody gets to beta test something!

You can run...

Lookie what I found! After much wild speculation and worry (on my part at least), Fine China is still alive! Can I get a booyah?

I'm seeing a trend here.

Apperently every time I say I'm going to talk about something on here, I immediatly lose all aspiration to talk about it.

Turkey. It's right for the times.

Hey everybody. I am once again back. I went to the Bleach farewell tour this weekend. I'll try to fill you in later. I mainly just posted this so I could use that title you see above here. A billboard actually said that. Believe it... or not.

Just so you know...
 
I'm back, babies.

Only one hand...

Tomorrow will be the worst day ever. Please pray.

Update.

Yup. Leg's bleeding alright. Not as bad as some people, whom I brutally maimed. Sorry Corey.

He stole from the rich and the poor and the not very rich and the very poor.

I think my leg is probably bleeding. Maybe I'll look down and check...

Don't fear the reaper.

"I get up in the morning with nothing to do, and go to bed at night with it half-done." That's a quote from an old retired guy, yet somehow it pretty much covers my life too. Strange.

Cheers to your mustaches!

I just got to get a Gmail account. I guess it's an email account that has a gig of storage. Neato! Last I heard only certain people got invites for 'em too. I feel special. The trick is I actually have to use the thing...

I enabled comments on here... I didn't even know you could do that. Must be new. What does that mean for you, the consumer? It means this will be less like me standing on my soapbox shouting from the rooftops (the rooftops!), and more like a town hall meeting where even creepy Bob gets a say in where the new grain elevator goes! Oh yeah, that and you won't have to talk to me through your blog either...

What could be greater?

Hey whoever reads this,
Rock 30 Games (my place of employment) is having a FREE (!) BBQ this Saturday from 11 am - 2 pm. It's at 115 S. Bell St. which is off of Memorial Highway. If you're heading toward the bridge from Washington, it'll be at the bottom of the hill there on Bell. There's really no reason to pass up free food and some video game playing time too, so I hope you all come.

*Begin unrelated rant*
Why is it that when something bad happens that no one can do anything about, they always say stuff like "I guess all we can do now is pray...", like it's some sort of crappy last resort? I mean, it's not always meant that way, but it seems like a lot of the time it is. Praying isn't some last resort to fall back on when your human answers fail, it should be the basis of everything you do! Prayer should be the first resort, not the last. Praying isn't the least you can do, it's the most you can do!
*End unrelated rant*

Come to the BBQ!

Adam Risch is a nice guy.

Wow. This is a good example of some of the great things blogs can be used for. You never know when someting you say is exactly what someone else needs to hear.

Adam Risch is a big jerk.

Ok, now I might be setting my self up here (when I say that, I of course mean I'm completely setting myself up) but I think I know what the enemies in Resident Evil 4 are going to be. They're not any kind of zombies, we know this much for sure, but I have a pretty good guess as to what they are. People with Mad Cow disease. No kidding. I'm completely serious here. Wait and see, I'll be right, so back up off me, fool.

"How does it feel to be twenty?"

I think you should know the answer to that by now.

Neato bandito!

Ok. I just saw the first picture of the DS! That said, I think it looks pretty darn cool.

Computers always work perfectly.

So, random sites on my computer have freakin' big fonts!

I demand a cease fire!*

*The proceeding blog is in no way intended to be a work of anger, bitterness, sarcasm, or any other type of madness. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to characters living, or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Ok, I know (at least I think) I've said this before, but a if you have a problem with someone, Talk to them about it. I'm of the opinion that a blog isn't the best place to bring it up. Let's not have Blog War 3 or anything here.

On Distant Shores

"I have been scarred so deep by life and cold despair, and brittle bones were broken far beyond repair. I have leveled lies so deep, the truth may never find. And inside my faithless heart, I stole things never mine.

If mercy falls upon the broken and the poor, Dear Father, I will see you, there on distant shores.

I have toiled for countless years and ever felt the cost, and I've been burned by this world's cold, like leaves beneath the frost. On my knees I've crawled to You, bleeding myself dry. But the price of life is more, than I could ever buy.

And off of the blocks, I was headstrong and proud, at the front of the line for the card-carrying, highbrowed. With both eyes fastened tight, yet unscarred from the fight. Running at full tilt, my sword pulled from its hilt. It's funny how these things can slip away, our frail deeds, the last will wave good-bye. It's funny how the hope will bleed away, the citadels we build and fortify. Good-Bye.

Night came and I broke my stride, I swallowed hard, but never cried. When grace was easy to forget, I'd denounce the hypocrites, casting first stones, killing my own. You would unscale my blind eyes, and I stood battered, but more wise, fighting to accelerate, shaking free from crippling weight. With resilience unsurpassed, I clawed my way to You at last. And on my knees, I wept at Your feet, I finally believed, that You still loved me.

Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again. Jesus Christ, Light of the World, burning bright within our hearts forever. Freedom means love without condition, without beginning or an end. Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours, only You can make every new day seem so new."

I'm not one to post song lyrics much, but these words are too amazing not to share. It's the song "On Distant Shores" by Five Iron Frenzy. I forgot how Reese Roper is one of, if not my favorite songwriter of all time. I won't go into it much, just let you take it for what you will. I wish you could hear it. If you're interested, it's from the CD "The End Is Here", which has both Five Iron's last CD "The End Is Near", and a live CD of their last show. It's only 14 bucks at Rainbow, but only until the end of the month.

Now, for a change of subject!

There are some people in this world who change your life, simply by coming into contact with you. I've had the pleasure to meet one of these people recently. Rudy Kempf is one of these people. I bought my car from him a few weeks ago, and I've seen him a few times since then. It really hit home tonight though. I had to go with my mom to pick him up from the airport tonight. The thing is, he'd been waiting there for over an hour! I kid you not, the man was as gleeful as a kid getting candy. So we drove him to his home, the whole way he talked happily with my mom. The part that really got me though, was when we got out and he skipped up the curb (really, I'm not making this up) to the door! On the way up to his apartment, he talked about how great the place he lived was. There was one point where he nearly fell on the stairs, but he just laughed and kept going! I don't know. I guess I can't really describe it to you, but I hope you get what I'm saying. The man is almost 90 years old for goodness sakes! He has a joy about him that can only come from The Lord. I hope that someday I can affect someone the way Rudy affected me.

God Bless you.

Holy moly!

Whoa. Looks like somebody drinks too much!

Words cannot express!

Are you serious?!? TV's Kirk Cameron is actually coming to town?! Wow. I lack the words to properly convey my feelings, so I'll use the words of Chowerhead or one of his bandmates (I don't know which). "Ahhhh yes. TV's Kirk Cameron. It seems that just when things begin to look a little bleak as far as our adventures are concerned, TV's Kirk Cameron arrives with a positive message, a quick flash of a smile (still disarming after all these years...), a twinkle of the eye, and an ever sense of wonder (how is it that he has yet to age?)." Wow. That's truth of Biblical proportions right there.

Oh, and also for those of you who are counting: This is the 2nd blog this week!

Wisdom where you might not expect..

I like to frequent the Joy Electric website for many reasons. The biggest however is to find wisdom and comfort. Ronnie has a personal journal page that he updates fairly often, and it's easily one of my favorite places on the internet. My personal relationship with Ronnie consists of buying a shirt from him at Sonshine one year, and that's about it. Despite the fact that I don't personally know him, I almost feel connected to him. I relate to and understand almost everything he says on there. It kinda seems like I have a lot of thoughts in my head, but I can't find them. Reading the journals helps me find them. Anyway, the main reason I'm posting is the share one of his recent posts.

"The Passion - Ronnie [ 03-31-2004 ]
I finally had a chance to go and see The Passion a few days ago. I don't know what I can possibly say about it that hasn't already been said, but here's a few thoughts at least.

The scenes of Jesus being tortured before the actual crucifixion were shocking, violent and hard to watch at times, but even more than that, they were so incredibly humbling. Seeing just what He went through (or an approximation of it, anyhow), made me realize the unimportance of certain things that I place so much value on in this life. The death and resurrection of Christ is something that should have an impact on the day to day thoughts and actions of our lives. It is the capstone of the Christian faith.

I was talking to someone recently who said they were doubting things concerning faith and Christianity and after a little while, I just simply asked him what he thought the alternative was? If you're going to get down to brass tacks, what exactly does a life without Christ consist of? Doubt, fear, anger, paranoia, sadness, hopelessness....those things come to mind, and they're a reality. Do you ever feel those things as a Christian? Of course, and there are times when everyone doubts and becomes unsure of things. What do you do when you come to a wall of doubt and uncertainty? You open the Bible. You pray. You seek out Godly counseling. You find the answers to your questions. It's in these times that the Lord comes to us and strengthens our faith and gives us the answers and security we're seeking.

What I've seen a lot of people do (especially in the music scene) when they come to a wall, is to try and go around it, but the problem with that is you end up eventually going down the wrong path. It's always easier to just NOT find the answers to all of the nagging doubts and questions we have about the Bible and Christianity, but does that excuse us from finding them? And when doubt settles in and gives way to hopelessness and anger, what then do we do? How do we live?"

Take what you will from that. I know I took plenty. Ronnie Martin is largely responsible for me wanting to be in a band and play music for a living as much as I do. He's almost like a mentor to me, even though we don't know each other. I want to be able to do too. I can't imagine he'd be reading this, but I'll say it anyway: Thanks Ronnie Martin. Heck, maybe I'll even send him some of this in the electronic mail.

Well, I'm sure this was kind of a weird read, but it's what I had to say. That's why you're here, right? At least it was more than a sentance long too!

On a completely unrelated note: The government can't figure out when I was born. That sure instills faith in good old Uncle Sam, eh? Lata!

Wow.

No arguments here.

Told you so.

My point exactly.

Back up off me, fool.

Don't believe anything you read on the internet today.

B-Day shout-outz for my hizzies fo shizzie.

It has come to my attention that I forgot to wish a good friend a happy aniversery commemorating birth yesterday. Sorry for the delay. Happy birthday Corey! On a side note, apperently someone is going to stab me tomorrow. That's ok I guess. That way I'll at least have an excuse for never updating.

So uhh...

I woke up with blood on my face and hand. Is that a bad thing? I must be a vampire or something and not know it. Well, I guess I'll find out as soon as I step outside today. So if you find my ashes, do my a favor and bury them properly.

BLAH! I VANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD!

Look outside.

It's like the world stopped.

And once again

Everything hurts.

Looks like celebrations are in order!

Happy birthday buddy! To commemorate this occasion we'll be having a Rock Service at the church (924 N. 11th St.) at 7:00 pm on Saturday the 28th! Trust me, the two are completely related. There are no plugs here at all. Happy birthday Derek!

My secret's out.

It's true. I'm really a 90-year-old man trapped in a 19-year-old body.

In case you've missed my whining.

I can't do anything that doesn't hurt.

Fear my ferrety might!

Your Superhero Persona by couplandesque
Your Name
Superhero Name	The Ferret
Super Power	Irresistable Sexuality
Enemy	J-Lo
Mode Of Transportation	Cadillac With Rims
Weapon	Scissors
Created with quill18's MemeGen 2.0!

Yes, I know. I got a ticket to ride the band wagon, but if you watched Kim Possible you'd know this one was too good to pass up.

Call me Mr. Forgetful

I forgot about the Most Useful Advice In A Song Award: "Take the time to play each note by metronome" - (Play Each Note) By Metronome - Joy Electric.

Pardon me

I don't mean to butt in on the hate fest, but don't you mean shut out?

It's about that time...

Yes, that's right. Time for the 2nd annual Petey Awards. The awards will commence in a similar fashion to Maddog's (That's right, I'm ripping you off Maddog).

CD That Probably Would've Made These Awards More Differenter If I Had It: Anberlin - Blueprints for the Blackmarket.
Runner up: The White Stripes - Elephant.

CD That I Really Liked, But Probably Not Quite As Much As I Should Have: Starflyer 59 - Old.

CD That Would've Won An Award, But It Came Out Last Year So It Can't: Bon Voyage - The Right Amount.

CD That Took Me Way Too Long To Get: Joy Electric - The Tick-Tock treasury.

Band That Did More Harm Than Good With An eCard: Relient K.
Runner up: Bleach.

CD That Everyone Started Listening To Right After I Got Sick Of It, Therefore Making It Suck To Be Me: The All-American Rejects - Self-Titled.

Best Album Art: Bleach - Astronomy.
Runner up: Mae - Destination: Beautiful.

Worst Album Art: Brave Saint Saturn - The Light of Things Hoped For.

Biggest Disappointment: The Juliana Theory - Love.

Most Surprising: Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar.
Runner up: Relient K - Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do.

Most Worth The Wait: Stainless - Rising Action.

Most Improved: Relient K - Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do.

Band That Made Me Very Proud By Getting Signed To A Major Label: Switchfoot.
Runner Up: The Juliana Theory.

Best Vocals: Adam Culver - Stainless.

Saddest CD: Shepherd - committing to Tape.

Happiest CD: The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages of...

CD of Summer: Mae - Destination: Beautiful.

Song of Summer: Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional.

CD That Everyone Should Have: David Crowder Band - Illuminate.
Runner up: Bleach - Astronomy.

CD That Spoke To Me Most: Bleach - Astronomy.

And the nominees for CD of the Year are:
Bleach - Astronomy
David Crowder Band - Illuminate
Joy Electric - The Tick-Tock Treasury
Mae - Destination: Beautiful
Stainless - Rising Action

and the winner is...

Bleach with Astronomy!

It was a long and bitter battle where many lives were lost, but Bleach came out on top. There's not one song on there that I don't like, and when it came out it was (and still is) exactly what I needed to hear.

So there you have it folks. This concludes the 2nd annual Petey Awards. Thank you and drive safe!

Just so you know

In case anyone was wondering what's going on, it's the "post holiday blog lulls."

Blog War II

Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean all people are that way about sports games. The sad truth is a lot of people will rush out to buy a new game just because it has a new number attached to the end, but not all people. I also never meant to imply that all sports games should be changed drastically with every new one. Take the Tony Hawk games for example: They don't change a whole lot from sequel to sequel (except 2 and 3 which pretty much changed the way you play with the manual and revert), but now with T.H.U.G. it seems like it's not even a skateboarding game anymore. I guess I haven't played it yet though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that there's a different standard. Some (not all) people will go out and buy Madden, or Live, or what have you every year, but then turn around and complain about games like Max Payne or Resident Evil and how don't change enough.

Address Unknown

Hi everyone. My name is Pete, and I love Max Payne 2. People have complained about it because it's not too different from the 1st one (aside from the amazing new physics engine. "Mmm... physicsy"). See the thing is people expect all sequels (except sports games) to either innovate or vastly change what the first had. This is because games don't hardly try to have much of a story, and just build a story around the game instead of the other way around. See, when movies do things like that, bad things happen. So why do games do it? You got me. Max Payne does it as it should be done, game around story, and the results are great. Sure it doesn't do anything thing gameplay wise that rocks any boats, but it sure does story wise. Heck, I think it makes a better movie than most movies do.

Speaking of movies (the segue king strikes again!), the reason I haven't mentioned it yet is because I lack the vocabulary to describe its splendor. Just let me say that it's better than you think it will be, no matter what. Just be sure to let yourself enjoy it even though it's different from the books.

Overdoing it

It's six degrees out right now. I normally wouldn't mind that, but I seem to have a bad case of something. Come on, I don't ask for much. All I want is twenty, maybe thirty more degrees.

Maybe I missed something...
But I don't get it.

I've got no time for shenanegins! No time!

I've been playing quite a bit of Kingdom Hearts lately, but not as much as I'd like. I'd like to be playing it right now for instance, but I have to go to bed soon. Ya know, for a game directed to kids, it sure seems like you'd have to do a lot of drugs to know what's going on. The same holds true for Max Payne 2 though I guess. Well, not the directed to kids part...

In case anyone was wondering... Yes, I do think "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi is the highest song ever, and that's without the key change. I mean really, when they were recording it Jon Bon Jovi must've said something along the lines of "Gee, I don't think this song is inhumanly high enough, maybe we should put a key change in there and make it higher", and then the guy who plays guitar solos with his voice said "Golly, Jon Bon Jovi, I think you're right." Yeah, that must be what happened.

Grace like a river.

Oh, ok then Destroy. All is forgiven.

There's a plane down here.

That's what I thought at about 8:30 this morning. My dad told me someone was coming to clean the furnace this morning, but I guess I didn't quite know that it meant someone was coming to start a jet engine in my basement.

By the way...

Buy a Midnight Sun Express shirt. You'll be cooler for it.

A new power has risen

Looks like Destroyer wants a piece of me in the fabled "Blog Wars". You see, his blog says "Mood: Blah". Thing you you don't see however is that he's got a penguin right before "blah"! What are you saying Destroyer? That penguins are blah?! Well take this! My mood: (pretend like there's an actual picture of Destroyer) blah! Yeah, that's right. Try to recover from that one!

What's the dealio?

Man, what's with people being cryptic all of a sudden?

The truth comes out!

Well, it's been a long time coming, but Harry finally admitted he was stupid. He then proceeded to say that he hopes that I never forget he said it. More proof there really is good in this world.

One Less Car.

Well, I have one less car. So let's see... 1 - 1 = 0. I think that's right... But I was never good at math. Oh well, life goes on! I suppose you'd like to hear the story, eh? Ok, you can.

I was driving, and I hit a van. Both cars smashed bad. It was nuts. I'm ok though, and Jason was riding with me and he's ok. I just hope the other driver is ok. Pray for him, I think his name is Joseph. He had hip surgery recently, so they took him to the hospital to make sure it was ok... I really hope he's ok. Anyway, I'm gonna be screwed for money, but really, how big is money compared to The Almighty God? Exactly. Eat it satan. If Job could lose everything and handle it, I think I can handle losing a measly car. It's crazy too, I had a bunch of people praying for me before they even knew I was in an accident! I mean, my mom was across the street at Wendy's, and Roberta Smith drove by as it happened. They didn't even know it was me, but they were praying! Crazy huh?

So yeah, lost a car. Kinda sucks, but not big in the grand scheme of things. I still have my soul, and hopefully I'll have new Bleach tomorrow. Everything will be just fine.

Check it out!
I'm really cool!

Bleach is good.
They have a new eCard for "Astronomy", and I have to say it freaking rules. Have you seen the album art? Man, it's good. October 21st is going to be a good day for music. We've got "Astronomy" and "Rising Action" all in one day! I couldn't ask for much more than that.

Animal Crackers.
Well today's been one of those days where I listen to lots of music. Let me fill you in. I started things off by finding "Get Ready To Die" by Andrew W.K. It's a pretty humorous song actually. It's got like the happiest chord progression ever, but it's all about killing. I would've bought his first cd if it weren't for the terrible picture on the front. Then I went to mp3.com to find some stuff from his new cd "The Wolf" which is an awesome name for a cd.
On the way I was side-tracked by a song from The Strokes' new cd "Room On Fire" (also rad name). It was a good enough song. It had that nice laid back Strokes feel too it, and also a nice little keyboard part that added a lot. We'll see if their new cd is much different than the first though.
So then I read some reviews of "The Wolf" and I guess the word on the street is it's a little slowed down from his first. I listened to a couple songs and the word on the street seems to be right.
I just listened to The Even Anthem e-card, and they were pretty good I guess, but they sounded like a bunch of other bands.
Now I'm listening to the Mono Vs. Stereo sampler e-card. I'll give you the low down track by track.

1. The Even Anthem - "Good Fight, Good Night": I already told you about these guys. Good song title though.
2. The Uriah Omen - "Maybe The Butler Did It": Hardcore with puke screaming. I don't like it one bit.
3. Andy Zipf - "Running Out": Good times, he sounds kinda like Bono. Sounds good, a little like twothirtyeight (RIP). I really like it.
4. Matt Beckler - "In My Head": This is really kinda spacey, it reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what. It's not too bad though.
5. Boywunder - "Reflections That Pale In Comparison": Terrible Scream-core. I couldn't skip it fast enough.
6 The Back Alley Fights - "The Cellar": Cool band name, kinda nice drive to the song. Nothing too special.
7. Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes - "Poison Ivy": Awesome band name. Pretty piano music. I love his song writing.
8. House Of Heroes - "Mercedes Baby": These guys rule, I would've picked up their cd at Sunshine, but I'm poor. Check them out. They're good.
9. Embraced - "Saratoga": More screaming hardcore. Don't care. Skip.
10. Showdown - "Vow Of Silence": See previous review.
11. Wellwater - "On Our Way": Not bad. Reminds me of Anberlin a bit, but not as good.
12. Johnny Come Lately - "Carry On": I kinda like it. That's about all I have to say.
13. The Connotations - "We Are Trouble By The Truckloads": A little on the weird side. I can't understand a word the guy is saying. Kinda catchy though. There's a nice piano breakdown.
14. Marcco - "A Beautiful Life": Nice and laid back. Sounds a little like Luna Halo.
15. Colson - "Lately": More screaming, but mixed with singing. It's not bad. Kinda like Blindside.

That's it. My favorites were Andy Zipf, Matt Thiessen & The Earthquakes, and House Of Heroes.

That's all I got. Later.

Something isn't right here...
I just went to Planet GameCube, but before it let me in, I had to watch an ad for Xbox Platinum Hits. Can anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

I want to live on the run.
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that came out to the show last night and listened to us and said we were good, I really appreciate it. I think we'll be playing again on Oct. 24th or 25th (not sure which it is) at the Stainless CD release party, and you can bet we'll have more songs for your listening pleasure. We're hoping to get a website up pretty soon here too, but for now you'll just have to pretend this is our website.
Shock Town baby.

Jeez, it's about time you dirty beggar!
That's what everyone will say now that I'm posting. It's true, it is about time, thanks. What's new you ask?

I just got Starcraft back, and I suck.

I also suck and Dynasty Warriors 4 and can't beat the Nanman campaign.

I saw a Vox Cambridge (2-10 I think) at the Eckroth's for $300 bucks. It sounded amazing clean, but when I turned the gain up it seemed like it sucked all the presence out of the amp.

I'm poor as dirt.

I was going to buy the Line 6 AM4, but due to the previous sentence, I can't.

I got Rooney for $10 at Wal-Mart. This is something everyone should do. They're like Phantom Planet, heck the singer is even related the drummer from PP.

New Dashboard is really, really good. I hope people don't decide to hate it just because it's different. It's on sale for $12 at Target, you should buy it. I'll (probably) post a review later.

The Midnight Sun Express is opening for Crimson and Stainless at The Light Club at 8:00pm Friday the 5th. Please come. We don't suck, I promise.

Buy games from Rock 30 Games. Why? Because I work there. That and we have some of the better prices around.

Right, well I'm going to go and try to not suck at Starcraft now, so I'll talk to you later.

Ok, why is it whenever something bad happens some someone, they feel that you have to experience it too? "Gross, this smells! Here smell this!" or "Yuck, this tastes terrible! Try it!" WHY SHOULD I?!? It's smells like crap and tastes about the same, why do you insist I try it? How about when something annoys them, and they feel the need to replicate it for you. "I heard this horrible noise that drove me nuts, it was so annoying I wanted to die! It went like this..." Well thanks for sharing that misrable noise with me. Now not only have I heard the noise that was so awful I wanted to die, you've heard it TWICE! I guess you had to suffer again for making me suffer. That makes me feel a little better.

A day that will live in infamy.
It's officially been one whole year since Bavis updated his blog.

You asked for it...
I don't have anything to blog about but people keep telling me to update. There, happy?

They just now figured it out? Took long enough. I wonder how long it will be before they realize we play games other than Doom.