Correcting people?

I've been told it's always been a problem of mine, correcting people when they slip up or are mistaken. I guess being corrected on something can be a little demeaning, especially when it's by someone your junior or someone you're supposed to have authority over. But how bad is it really? I don't recall ever being offended when someone corrected me, and in fact I thank people on the internet when they catch a grammatical or spelling error in stuff I write because I'm happy they share my appreciation for good English. I can't wrap my head around this fram of mind that refuses correction; don't you want to learn from your fellow man?

The thing that stirred this pondering was my stepdad talking about the World Cup today. He kept saying that "Guyana" was through to the next round of play. I misunderstood at first and thought he meant the South American country and told him they weren't through. Then I realized that he meant the African nation of Ghana, and further corrected him. He got angry and said, "What's the fucking point? You know what I meant." I can tell you the point; I don't want someone I know to appear like a fool in conversations when I can correct a simple error, so don't get offended when I'm trying to help you with no hint of condescension. You're welcome.

babbling

Psyched myself up
But she was ready to leave
It's just my luck
Now it's time for me to grieve

Response to AP English essay question

I took the AP English Language exam a few days ago, and I think I did very well. What this blog is about isn't how well I did, but how I feel about the synthesis essay question. The question provided sources for and against the integration of technology into schools as a form of teaching and doing work. I wrote my essay in favor of this, because I've used computers my entire life and think school using just computers would be infinitely more effective. What bothered me is that the only arguments against the integration all say the same thing: computers stunt children's imaginations and make them unable to appreciate things like books and symphonies, that require focus. I think this argument is complete bullshit and demeaning to the human psyche. Computers, especially the internet, have not stunted me in my intellectual growth at ALL, and I've been using one my entire life. The Internet has, in fact, served to expand my horizons and introduce me to new concepts, music, and people that I would never have known otherwise. I'm an atheist because of the internet. I'm better at critical thinking because of the internet. I've learned more from the internet than I have in the past 4 or 5 years of public schooling. I really don't think I'd be any different if the internet didn't exist, merely my means of learning new information and communicating would be.

I understand that old people are generally opposed to change and see the growing use of computers to perform tasks humans do as anathema to what they grew up with. They have to understand that what you grow up with is not always going to be the best method of doing things, as I will have to understand when I am old.

We lost

My band was in a battle of the bands last night at the local Methodist church. There were nine bands, we were fourth to play. I thought perhaps there was one band that could compete with us in the first three, until I got on stage. My band destroyed; the crowd loved us and energy in the room was super-high. We got so many compliments afterward that I was sure we were a shoo-in for first. The seventh band up was quite good, and what they lacked in songwriting they made up for in getting the crowd on their side. With their performance, I would have been happy with second place (as both first and second place got to play at the local teen venue in downtown Nashville, Rocketown). The results came in... and two of the shittiest bands got second and third, and an average band came in first. I was very confused and upset, but I figured out that all three bands had one thing in common: their members all went to that church. Two of the four judges worked at the church, knew the kids, and purposefully gave them higher scores, despite my band receiving the highest marks from the other two judges. So we are left with no gig, no prize or anything. And you know what I think?

This reminds me a whole lot of the trial of Barabbas and Jesus, when the Jews sent Jesus to his death and freed a murderer.

GO WITH ME ON THIS. The Jews are the biased judges that robbed us of our prize. Pontius Pilate stands for the two noble judges who pushed for our victory. Barabbas is the band that won wrongfully. And my band- we are Jesus Christ, sent to die for all of mankind. The common theme: RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

Think about it.

W O L V V E S - eaststrikewest (2009)

This is the debut of a great post-rock band from the United Kingdom. The great thing about them is they won't spend the first 2/3 of a song boring you to tears with their build-ups, as many post-rock bands make the mistake of doing. They have vocals and driving instrumentation to keep you interested. A great album for people trying to get into the genre, I'd say, since it's not so daunting to listen to as, for instance, a GY!BE album.



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The Fall of Troy - Gig Review

Hopefully the first of many gigs at the local hardcore venue, I went with a few friends. I knew I had to see The Fall of Troy on their final tour, or I couldn't live with myself. They are one of my favorite bands, after all. So we arrived at 6 o'clock, and waited about an hour for someone to start playing.

The bill had only listed an opener and The Fall of Troy, but I got more than I bargained for. First up was a local band named Cactus's, and I actually knew the guitarist's brother beforehand. They were pretty phenomenal, and really caught my interest. The lead guitarist/vocalist had a great vocal sound, on clean and guttural vocals. The drummer had one or two songs where he just destroyed his kit, the fills he was playing were insane. The bassist I couldn't hear so well, but that's usually the case in live shows unless you're trying to pick it out. I'd like to say they were a hardcore band trying to invoke the response ska gets - feet tapping and heads bobbing, but not moshing material, which is perfectly fine. I give their performance an 8/10

Next up was a Scottish poppy rock band called Twin Atlantic. They had the best rapport with the crowd, the vocalist often making jokes about Scotland and America, and how fucking hot it was. It wasn't the heat as much as the humidity, there was a lot of bodies packed in this small basement of the venue. They did a good job live, and had a good atmospheric sound, but I have the feeling that if I were to listen to their studio work I'd find them lackluster. And the lead guitarist took himself way too seriously, as if he was shooting a music video or something. In spite of some times where I was bored, I give their performance a solid 6.5/10

After them was the official opener, Envy on the Coast. I'm not sure how famous these guys are in the metal scene right now, but 5-10 people in the audience were big fans. I almost always enjoy bands pushing forward the genre of metal, so the use of vocal synthesizers was pleasant. The vocals were the real stand-out parts; the lead singer claimed he was sick but sounded like a record, and the back-up vocalist pulled some wicked falsetto screams out. They seemed to enjoy themselves and even had some guys moshing with the last song. The best song was by far their cover of The House of the Rising Sun, which in my opinion should have been their closer. Three part vocal harmonies for the win. I give Envy on the Coast live 7.5/10

Finally, the main event. The Fall of Troy busted out with Rockstar Nailbomb and never stopped. The house was rocking with the moshing, and everyone was drenched with sweat by the time it was over. The setlist was fantastic; they didn't play too many songs off the new (kind of bad) record, but the ones they did play off it were the good stuff: Single, the one truly good pop song on the record, and Dirty Pillow Talk, with its awe-inspiring riff. But who cares about those when they played the one song I dared to hope would come: The Circus That Has Brought Us Back To These Nights (Yo Chocola), my favorite song by them. They closed with the killer combination of What Sound Does a Mastodon Make? and Nature vs. Nurture. It must be the Bacardi, but I'm going to give The Fall of Troy a whopping 9/10, a number that I don't think can easily be matched.

Please check out and support all of these bands!

JUST REALIZED SHE'S A BITCH

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

True sadness is in the recognition of futility

Sad little title I came up with. It's so true though, and it makes one wonder: is it better to give up hope on something and feel depressed about it, or maintain an unrealistic hope and keep a modicum of happiness? I've always thought of myself as somewhat of a pessimist, but now I find myself facing a failure and being able to do nothing but think "This will sort itself out somehow". Logically I know nothing's going to happen, whether that's fair or not. But another part of me keeps coming up with scenarios in my head where I meet success. I don't know if this hopefulness will ever go away, what will happen if it does, or if I even want it to. Just an observation of existence.

My mom got an ipod

My mp3 player broke over a year ago, and I've kept this hidden from my mother for all this time because she gets mad at trivial things that are out of my control anyway. Now it's her birthday and she gets an ipod, when all she'll be listening to is Eurythmics, The Beautiful South, Glen Campbell, Susan Boyle, Shania Twain, Fine Young Cannibals, the Lighthouse Family, and THE ROCKY IV SOUNDTRACK. She told me to include some Smiths, but I'm skeptical as to how much airtime they'll recieve.

My taste in music