Hysteria

It's snowing like a motherfucker here in Wisconsin.  Called into work because there was no way in hell I was going to risk getting into an accident.  What're they going to do, fire me?  Just spent like a half-hour of backbreaking shoveling clearing a tiny bit of my driveway.  The snow is heavy and wet, and the snowblower my dad hot from his girlfriend is not up and running yet (needs new gas and shit).  What's the point of a snow blower if not for shit like this?  But, I understand.  My relative ineptitude with mechanical devices, coupled with the fact that my dad has been busy as shit recently with work, means that neither of us have been able to get it up and running.  Such is life.  At least we have shovels and they provide us with exercise.

So, I realize my last post was pretty down-in-the-dumps, but no, I'm not dead.  I have no intention of dying in my current condition.  I'm going to go out a champion, even if it's just out of spite of the rest of the world.  The past few months i have experienced a long mix of highs and lows, which has been, well, interesting.  And shitty at points, but I persevere.  Which leads into an announcement.

I put my two weeks notice into my job last friday.  So next friday is my last day at my horrible factory job. I don't currently have anything lined up to follow it at the moment, but I don't care.  I've got a good chunk of money saved up, plus my tax returns next year will be good and heavy from all the fucking overtime.  A buddy of mine is working on getting me setup in his place of employment, which would be part-time, but the pay is actually better than what I make now, so if that pans out I'll be in decent shape.

Hopefully this means I can focus on my own shit for a while.

Here's Ceremony.  I saw them with Titus Andronicus last month and it was fucking awesome.

Temp

Temp jobs are the biggest crock of shit on the planet.  The agencies who hire you only want the money you're worth, and the companies that take you only want cheap labor.  I have been at that god forsaken factory for nearly a year and I have absolutely nothing to show for it, other than 52 pathetic paychecks, a drinking problem, and an increasing amount of useless shit my family will have to sort through when I eventually die of cancer, cirrhosis, or suicide.

Hiatus

It's with a heavy heart and a saddened tone that I issue an official hiatus for this blog.  I don't know when I'll be back and I should at least stay relatively current with the multitude of blogs I follow, but A General Malcontent needs to have some time to lie fallow.  I don't know when I'll be back to it.  I'm not sure what the future holds, but I'm going to focus my energies on my other blog, the one that features my fiction writing.  Time for me to become pro-active.

Garden of Your Mind

I will show you fear in a handful of dust

Last Saturday was my reluctant birthday.  The day commemorating my burst from womb those 26 years ago.  Twas my golden birthday.  I hate my birthdays usually, but the lead up and the fall out of this one has been the worst.  Well, the worst so far.  I have become a hollow shell, not to mention incredibly unhappy over the past few weeks.  God, fuck this shit.

Return to Hell

Diablo II is one of my favorite games of all time.  I have played the shit out of that game over the course of my life.  The first Diablo came about in my formative computer gaming years, and I played it and loved it.  So when Diablo III was officially in development, I was pretty stoked.  I waited.  And it got pushed back.  And I waited some more.  And it got pushed back.  And just when I was about ready to forget about it, it got pushed back one final time.  Then, it came out.  And I bought it, got it shipped the day of, and have subsequently played the shit out of it.  In that idea, I come to my definitive statement regarding the newest installment of one of my favorite franchises of all time: It still feels like Diablo, and I am having a blast playing it.  There are changes, some of which I don't like, but overall, I really like it.  So that's what I've been up to.

Huh.

So, it's no real secret that this dude is a big fan of the punk rock.  Like no secret whatsoever.  I'm punk as shit son.  So I figured I'd share a little news from the Punk world with you guys today.  Because it's inspiring as well.  Tom Gabel, of the band Against Me!, has come out as transgender and is planning on undergoing treatment to live as woman.

If you do not know Against Me!, they came out of the Gainsville in the late nineties and fucking rocked the shit out.  Their most recognized album, Reinventing Axl Rose, has become a modern punk classic.  They were one of the most recognized folk punk bands.  I'm a huge fan or Reinventing Axl Rose, and I will admit, I was one of the people who has seen their recent major label transition (well, like 2005) as disheartening because it seemed to suck all the passion out of their music, catchy though their recent releases have been (you are probably familiar with "Thrash Unreal" if you don't listen to punk).

So, this is pretty big news.  There are not a whole lot of transgender rock stars on the front lines of popular music, let alone one who will be undergoing transition as the public watches.  I'll fucking admit, I know exactly zero transgender individuals, so my pronoun use may be offensive, but I'm not 100% certain of when to start using she instead of he.  I realize the prudent thing to do may be to just refer to the individual in question by their desired gender as soon as they reveal their intent, but it just seems a little strange.  So, regardless, and with apologies in case of offense, good for him.  Take a personal event to begin with and magnify it to the extreme, and that's what Tom Gabel is going through.  I wish him/her the best of luck.

Speaking of, here's some Against Me!