The Secret of Being Numb

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Music

So I had some spare time today, and decided to catalogue some music. So here's the list of important things in my iTunes. Basically it's either bands/artists that I would actively say I'm a fan of, or bands/artists that I listen to at least somewhat-regularly.
being more specific with a lot of the genres - especially in my very very vague 'Metal/hardcore' catagory.
BORDER=0> Maniacs Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Complex Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Theory (now Mt. Helium) Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative Alternative > art rock Alternative > art rock Alternative > art rock Alternative > art rock Alternative > art rock Alternative > jazz fusion Alternative > new wave Alternative > progressive Alternative > progressive Alternative > psychedelia Alternative > psychedelia Alternative > punk Alternative > ska Alternative, folk Machines (haha) Alternative, hard rock Alternative, hip-hop Alternative, pop Alternative, pop Alternative, pop Alternative, pop Alternative, pop Alternative, pop Alternative, pop rock Alternative, pop rock Alternative, ska Krauss & Union Station Bluegrass, folk Classical, Instrumental Classical, Instrumental Country, pop Electronica Electronica Electronica > drum & bass Experimental rock Folk Folk Folk rock Folk rock (& the Innocent Criminals) Folk, alternative Folk, alternative Folk, jazz (& the Band) Folk, rock Folk, rock Folk, rock Funk Funk Clinton (& the Parliament Funkadelic) Funk Hard rock Hard rock Hard rock Hard rock Hard rock Hard rock Hard rock > industrial Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop > neo-soul Hip-hop > neo-soul Hip-hop > neo-soul Hip-hop > neo-soul Hip-hop > neo-soul Hip-hop, alternative Hip-hop, R&B Hip-hop, R&B Hip-hop, R&B Hip-hop, R&B Hip-hop, R&B Hip-hop, R&B Hip-hop, reggae Indie Indie Indie Indie of the Acoustic Revolution Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie Indie > electronica Indie > folk punk Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Indie > pop Influence of Giants Indie > pop Indie > post-rock Indie > post-rock You Black Emperor! Indie > post-rock Indie > post-rock Indie > post-rock Indie > psychedelia Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, alternative Indie, electronica Indie, post-hardcore Jazz Jazz Jazz Metal > black, celtic Metal > power Metal > power, japanese Metal > power, japanese Metal > power, progressive Metal > progressive Metal > progressive Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows) Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore & the Sons of Disaster Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore 12 Looks Like You Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore Metal/hardcore (later alternative) Metal/hardcore (later alternative) Metal/hardcore > emo (original usage) Metal/hardcore > hardcore punk Metal/hardcore > industrial Metal/hardcore > post-hardcore Metal/hardcore > post-hardcore Metal/hardcore > post-hardcore Indie > post-rock Metal/hardcore > post-hardcore Metal/hardcore > post-punk Metal/hardcore > rap-metal Musical comedy Musical comedy Musical comedy Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop > electronica Pop rock Pop, alternative Pop, alternative Pop, alternative Pop, alternative Pop, punk Pop, punk Punk Punk Punk R&B R&B R&B (& the Wailers) Reggae Reggae Rock Clearwater Revival Rock Rock Airplane/Starship Rock (Experience) Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock & the Heartbreakers Rock Rock > progressive Rock > progressive Rock > progressive Rock > progressive Rock, electronica (& the Attractions) Rock, punk, indie Soul Soul, alternative Soul, funk Soul, R&B *********************************************** -->

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Truth

I used to have things to say. I used to write; blogs, poetry, letters, words. I'm out of words. Literally. Everything is just empty. And as much as I'd love to say it's because this happened or that happened or because my childhood had this or that... there isn't a reason. It's just the overbearing realization that everything is meaningless. Maybe there is substance to be had out there for the lucky few, but for most of us we're just floating in a stream of nothingness. Brief moments of amusement aside, there is neither any sense of happiness that I've experienced nor anything to lead me to believe that any such sensation truly exists. And at the end of it all, I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that ten years ago I was touched by something larger than myself and that now I can not deny the existence of the God of the Bible because that means that my only true means of escape has effectively been stolen from me. Not looking for sympathy, not looking for anything. I don't expect there to be substance, but I guess there's still a tiny part of me that foolishly hopes that in writing this I'll at least feel some sense of relief or lessening of my burden. I guess I haven't completely learned better yet. I'll have to work on that.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

We're having our first "real" snow of the season right now.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Children.

I think that if you have more than three children, you are being a irresponsible human being, and potentially a liability to the world. The obvious exception here of course being multiple children births (such as quintuplets and whatnot) - excluding the women/couples who supposedly take treatment to increase their chances of multiple children births. Related note, I think all of the various hundred TV shows about people with tons of kids are equally disgusting and irresponsible. I'd say I'm sorry about feeling that way, but I'm not. It really is irresponsible, and really exemplifies the selfish attitude of today.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Famous People Who Play(ed) D&D.

I didn't write this list up, but I've heard most of the names thrown around in D&D circles, so I have no trouble believing that it's accurate.

1. Stephen Colbert (also went to Gen Con (a dnd/comic/roleplaying convention))
2. Vin Diesel (Wrote the introduction to a book about DnD)
3. Mike Myers
4. Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock
5. Matt Groening
6. Dame Judy Dench (Introduced to the game by Vin Diesal)
7. Jenny McCarthy
8. Glenn Danzig
9. Edwin McCain (Not sure if he still does but did when he was a kid)
10. Wil Wheaton (played on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Still plays to this day)
11. Daryl Hannah
12. Robin Williams (Plays both the Online DnD Game and the Tabletop one)
13. Lexa Doig AKA Rommie and the computer AI from Andromeda
14. Ben Aflac (Forced to play by Kevin Smith on a set once and fell in love. Prefers to play Wizards over fighters.)
15. Matt Damon (Forced to play by Kevin Smith on a set once and fell in love. Prefers to play Fighters over Wizards.)
16. Matthew Lillard (Said so on G4's attack of the show then stole all of thier D&D Minatures Models)
17. Jon Stewart (He also sneaks sutile D&D jokes into his show that only us D&D nerds get to laugh at.)
18. Jim Breuer
19. Brian Warner AKA Marilyn Manson
20. John Carmack and a good portion of the original id Software crew (Some of the characters and story elements in Quake were based off of D&D session iirc)
21. Sebastian Bengtsson
22. Joakim Bengtsson
23. Robert P. Olsson
24. Björn-Erik Karlsson
25. Daniel Antonsson
26. Tommy Karlsson
27. Kevin Smith
28. Eddie Izzard
29. Johnny Vaughn
30. Michael Greco
31. Dave Gorman
32. Charles Manson (He actually ran a game in prision! That is to say until California banned the running of Tabletop RPGs in prison.(This might actually be just a rumor but I don't mind))
33. Scott Edgar (Found the actual quotes! "I also play Dungeons and Dragons with my mates, which everyone reckons is tragic, but I reckon is heaps of fun.")
34. Jon Favreau (Another one with a quote! "I'm a very lazy person by nature. I have to be really engaged, and then I go straight from lazy to obsessive. I couldn't study chemistry, but I could memorize all the books for Dungeons and Dragons. It was ridiculous.")
35. Curt Schilling from, I think, the Red Sox or at least use to be.
36. Todd Pratt from, I think, the Braves or at least use to be.
37. Jimmy Wales (One of the starters of Wikipedia)
38. Jacques Villeneuve (Use to drive race cars. Ironicly he prefers to play Monks in D&D which move faster then all other characters)
39. Rivers Cuomo from Weezer and, it is rumored at least, the rest of the band.
40. Everyone in Marcy's Playground (They even wrote a song called "A Cloak of Elvenkind" Which is a Major Magical Item in Dungeons and Dragons)
41. Everyone in Flashlight Brown (They even wrote a song called "Ready to Roll" which references 20-Sided Dice and A LOT of other D&D related things)
42. Gary Gygax (He was famous enough to play a character on Futurama(himself) so I put him on the list)
43. Seth Greene (Even made a Robot Chicken episode that refenerced THAC0 which was part of the Advance DND (or 2nd Edition) rule set)
44. Trey Parker
45. Matt Stone
46. Patton Oswalt (even talked the Reno 911 guys into doing a DnD part on the show. It was very funny)
47. Stephen King (And certain things from dnd are referenced in The Dark Tower series)
48. Steve Rune Lundin AKA Steven Erikson
49. Joss Whedon (Director of Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
50. Jack Black (He also references DND in the song "Wonderboy")
The following people stole DnD stuff from the teen choice awards. I included pictures when I could find them:
51. Ryan Cabrera
52. Nick Cannon
53. Jon Heder
54. Jesse McCartney (http://i5.tinypic.com/477z19v.jpg)
55. David Boreanaz
56. Lauren Graham (http://i4.tinypic.com/2uhq1dk.jpg)
57. Hulk Hogan (http://i7.tinypic.com/2mzlevt.jpg)
58. Metallica (At least they played Call of Cthulhu and Dungeon and Dragons before Hetfield went into rehab)
59. Conan O'Brian (Use to play at least. He has mentioned it on his show)
60. Darby Conley (though he is C-List at best)
61. Andrew W.K.
62. The band Amon Amarth (Can I get a Wha wha from all my metalheads?)
63. My Chemical Romance (They played with Thrice during the Vans Warp Tour. My Chemical Romance's lead singer Gerard Way plays a Half-Elf Ranger)
64. Thrice (Played with My Chemical Romance during the Vans Warp Tour.)
65. Alice Cooper Played D&D (And even replayed the events of a game on an episode of That 70's Show)
66. Some/All of Barenaked Ladies
67. Raymond E Feist (He Actually uses a self created world in his books that was originally created for his Dungeons and Dragons game back home)
68. Kari Byron (Played DnD and has thought about getting Adam and Jaime to play with her.)
69. Brian Posehn
70. Jason Mewes (Though when asked about it he says "DND IS FOR FAGGOTS" then turns to Kevin Smith and starts laughing)
71. Robert Jordan (And his sons which he taught how to play)
72. Weird Al Yankovic
73. Mastodon's Drum Brann Dailor
74. Neil Fallon and MAYBE the other members of Clutch (They even wrote an unreleased song called 24 Earth Years which mentioned playing AD&D back in the day)
75. David X. Cohen (In David's piece in the 30 year D&D hardback book, he says he never had time to play during Futurama, but most the writers did, and they kept D&D books in the office as "referrence" material.(He did get to play while working on The Simpsons though))
76. Alexis Cruz (He also LARPs. HAHAHA Nerd)
77. David Cross (He also mentions a group of comedians he plays with but wouldnt name them.)
78. Billy Crystal (He also plays 40K With Robin Williams)
79. R.A. Salvatore (Though I guess he would have too)
80. Some of the members of Dragonforce (And DND themes have worked their way into Dragonforce songs over and over)
81. David Duchovney (actually mentioned it on Conan O'Brien not too long ago)
82. The band Dayglo Abortions (Even wrote a song about it called Dragons)
83. Donald Faison (He plays Monks)
84. Insane Clown Posse
85. Emilio Estévez

Monday, March 8, 2010

I woke up a couple days ago. Things were different. Maybe better.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Oui, j'ai le grand poulet de un cheval.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Storyteller.

I write songs. Frequently in fact. Many of them are actually good - quite good to be honest. But you see, the problem is that I do not actually write them. The most common place I put these songs together is in the shower. Typically they start as a sort of stream-of-consciousness bit of nonsense thought I engage in while waking up, but eventually a thought here or a line there will stick out and I'll spend the rest of the shower refining, polishing, and eventually singing that little piece into a full song (or at least the majority of one). It's a fun mindless activity that helps me keep my mind stimulated and off of the various other pressures and disappointments that could otherwise occupy my thoughts. Unfortunately though, I almost never actually write the lyrics down or otherwise record them, so an hour or two later I find myself humming an otherwise unfamiliar tune with only broken fragments in place where lyrics once fit. Yesterday morning I wrote a song in the shower that wasn't just good, it was utterly epic. I had the lyrics, the vocal arrangement, even the vast majority of the instrumentation down perfectly... but as I write this today, all that remains is a couple of lines (and only estimations of what they once were) and the general melody of the chorus. It's very, very frustrating.

....maybe if I can ever learn to stand the sound of my own voice, I'll pick up one of those portable voice recorders to remedy the situation.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Culinary Discovery

So inspired by Alton Brown and his some-what scary weight loss, I decided to try some canned sardines. Turns out, sardines are pretty damn tasty. They're basically like really good canned tuna. Boring post, I know. But still.