I am an Alien Deity

No worries.  I have very little in common with the individuals who count themselves among my varied, serious organism.  There is no life here.  You will die unencumbered, but with out sanity, or joy.  I am sorry, but that is how life occurs sometimes.  i wish, I wish it was different.  Even though this is hardly the end of the world, if it was, you'd all be sad.  And I would not wish that.  Let's change the future

I really, really wish I had better news

Nothing, nothing, shocks the system like an unexpected death.  Those of you who have been around for a while on my blog may remember Back In March when I found out a Residential Adviser I had at college died in the line of duty (he was a police officer).  Well, today I found out another person I went to college with died.  His name was Adam, and he died in a house fire.  He was one of the first friends I made attending college.

Like so many friends I've had over the years, we lost touch.  We lived in the same dorm, on the same floor, for two years.  We'd hang out, eat together, and on a few occasions I saw him perform in plays on campus (he was a Theater major).  He could be sardonic at times (can't we all?), but he was a good person.  I occasionally caught up on his goings on after college: he was a community activist and a substitute teacher.  He organized protests and participated in theater productions.  I lament the losing touch with him.  It's funny; I woke up this morning having no thoughts about him, and now, as I'm getting ready for bed, I can't stop thinking about him.  He died getting his roommates out of the house.

Fuuuuuck.  I can't really think of anything else to say here.  So sudden and abrupt.  I mean, we're the same age.  I've been grasping at straws to try and figure out what I'm doing, and shit, life's fragile.  I hate these thoughts.  I don't like focusing on myself at these times, just honor the memory of the deceased, but goddamn if it doesn't get me thinking.  I could get in my car tomorrow, drive to my shitty job, and get t-boned on the highway and that'd be that.  And what would I have to show for it?  I've seen a multitude of posts on his facebook page from people who knew him, and all the things they are saying about who he was, how great of a person he was, and how hard he was fighting for what he believed in, and trying to make a difference in the world.  Here I sit, haunted by a specter of purpose and drive, wondering what to do.  Shit, I need a drink.

Und Guest Post

So, surprise surprise, I'm drunk again.  St. Patrick's day and all that.  I mentioned guest posts a while ago, and Mark was kind enough to roll one out for me.  To try and stall out my own inability to rock some shit.  So he rocked some shit, in his awesome, British way (btw, Mark, I do not understand Hugh Laurie.  Your British comedy confuses me. I like my comedy like I like my women: black, but like a white black.  Like Donald Glover).  So, I gave him a choice of topics, which included his opinion on the influx of technology and it's impact on the human condition, and whether this access to so much information has positive or negative connotations.  So let's see him rock it.

In the last ten years especially, and for some time before then, the rise of information available to the general public has grown exponentially. What has also grown is how easy this information is to access. Ever since the advent of wireless technology and faster and faster internet speeds and computers the amount of information at our fingertips has become very accessible. We also have so called smart phones and iPods and now even handheld gaming devices have wireless and internet capability. The world is, to a degree, really at our fingertips.

The question we must ask ourselves is this though; Is this a good thing? Like most things it is and it is not. To a degree yes it is. There is some information that we need to know, that we need to be aware of. The rise of the internet group Anonymous has been very useful in this regard. Thanks to the internet they are making things people don't want the public to know general information. They are giving knowledge freely of topics people need to be made aware of. Google and Wikipedia are good for this too, and there are several different “wikis” for several different topics. Such as certain television shows and even for genres of music. Google and Wikipedia offer information free and simply for everyone who has an internet connection. Wikileaks is another good example, they are also providing information we need to be made aware of. The rise of free and readily accessible information can be very useful in the regards that it can keep people in positions of power on their toes. They are less likely to be corrupt if they know that sooner or later, they are going to be caught out. This is only good though of the people are willing to act, but that is another topic entirely. Knowledge is always good, knowledge truly is power, and free and readily accessible knowledge can only be a good thing.

Right?

Wrong.

There is a dark side to all this information. One of the main ones that people are aware of is Wikipedia. Even though is does a lot of good by offering so much information so easily, it is also wrong in places. It is typically good as a source, but there are parts here and there that just aren't true, and you can be lead to believe something that is not true. Google has it's downsides too. It is, in some way or form, censored. This is understandable, but censored information is hardly “free”. Another problem is that with so much readily available to them, people have trouble retaining the information. People are also having difficulty becoming accustomed to large amounts of information, such as books. Reading is a precious gift and so are books. People are also choosing to access the wrong kinds of information. They are far more interested in menial things such as who is having sex with who and what so called “celebrity” is taking cocaine this time.

Really, you get out of the internet and it's free information what you put in to it. Different people are interested in different things. Your mission, whether you choose to accept it or not, is to get informed on the real issues, the real problems, and to act on them, and to not rely on the internet for your information. Learn for yourself, retain the information, keep it handy, and keep it close.

You never know what tomorrow will bring.

Pretty baller, huh?

I got a knife, motherfucker, stick 'em up

So this asshole Mark tagged me in one of those long, tagging things that people get tagged in.  Like that game? Tag?  The one with all the tagging?  Well, he's not really an asshole.  He's a pretty cool guy.  In fact, he will be contributing a special guest post this week.  Barring total renal failure or if he finds a pot of gold and becomes a leprechaun or something.  That turned into a pretty weak metaphor real fast.  I dunno, something about Romney or Obama or something to round that shit out.

So, I've decided to go ahead and do the ten "random" facts thing.  Well, five because I'm lazy.  Not truly random facts because I get to choo-choo choose them.  But semantics I guess.

1. I have a no pants, no problem policy.  Meaning, if I am in my 'bedroom,' there is a ninety percent chance I am sans pants.  I like to lounge and be comfortable, and boxers are the height of comfort.  If I had a choice and the body type to support it, i'd probably just rock boxers in public too.  Fuck pants.

2. I am a music snob.  Never, EVER ask my opinion of music unless you are either a) know we share the same tastes, as I will then politely inform you of new bands or b) can take unrelenting criticism of music you like.  Seriously.  I will can and will rip your tastes apart.  Without remorse.  Also, I am banned from picking music directly at parties by my friends.  When drunk, I will usually pick shit so inappropriate for the audience that it kills the mood.  At bars, they cannot stop me.

3. I like canoeing.  It's fun. I use my dad's fairly often, and I hope to buy one for myself.  In fact, I hopefully will be on a canoe trip during the end of may.

4. I cried during a performance of Les Miserables I saw in London when I was in high school.  When Eponine dies.  Fucking sad as hell.  The only time I've ever cried to a movie, play, or anything like that.

5. I had a pet corn snake in high school name Slinky.  He was my bro.  Super docile, I could pick him up and hold him.  I had him for 5 years, he never bit me.  He did escape on two separate occasions, but I found him both times.  He died because of those escape attempts, indirectly.  The tank I had for him was a piece of shit, so we had to strap the lid down so he wouldn't get out.  One day, i woke up and he had his head up by the top, when i opened the top of the tank, he was dead.  He had wedged his head in and it had gotten crushed or something.  Buried him in a park outside of town, next to the lake.

I will refrain from tagging anyone else, because I'm tired from working.  Fuck work.

A Great Fucking Night is Hard to Come By

Seriously.  It seems like it is.  I;ve had a rough fucking week at that soul-devouring factory, so on Thursday, when I saw a show at a local venue, I jumped at it.  Punk Rock? Check.  Low cost (8 bucks)? Check.  National act? Check.

There were four bands on the docket: Number 9 Hard, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Masked Intruder, from Madison, Wisconsin; the kurt Baker band; and Banner Pilot, from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Banner Pilot was the national act.  A Mainstay in the Fat Wreck family of bands.

I've had a shitty week at work, based on random bullshit,  so this evening was fucking great.  My good friend Nick is back home from the Army, for good, and we drank.  Got fucked up, listened to some music, chatted with the bands, a great fucking night.  A Great fucking night. Needed a good one for sure.