"Music. Reality. Sometime's It's Hard to Tell the Difference; But as Entertainers, We Have a Responsibility...to These Kids...it's Like..."

I think music is something near and dear to most hearts, so I figured it’d be cool for you people to read this and share your thoughts and personal experiences about how music has made a difference in your life. That is, after all, half the purpose of this blog.

Lukas' Post

A respectably significant percent of my free time I spend listening to music and thinking. 75% of that time is spent thinking about my past and future, and while I value present-mindedness, I think it's important to reflect on where you’ve been and how you got to where you are. Music has been a significant resource for me in my 10 years of battling (and losing to, more often than not) mental illness. The latest diagnosis I’ve gotten is Cyclothymic Disorder - for those unfamiliar, it's like Diet, Zero-calorie Bipolar II. In my in-person, off-the internet life, I don't talk about it regularly with my friends and family. A lot of the time I just don't know how to describe it or find it beneficial to talk about, and to that end, music’s been my emotional siphon for 10+ years. I find it empowering. It’s also been key to some pretty wonderful moments in my life, so I figured I’d share a couple of those.

The year was 2009, and I was a few months out of a car accident that left me in the hospital for a week and almost prevented me from walking at my high school graduation. Andrew (of this blog) and our boy Josh and some other friends from high school had planned to do First Week at Myrtle Beach that year, but I couldn't go because at the time I had other things on my plate - primarily physical therapy and figuring out how to poop without the aid of 2 different laxatives. So Andrew, Josh, and I went to Warped Tour in Atlanta at the end of the summer to compensate. There's a lot to this story, involving Andrew’s car getting towed and us having to stay the night in a motel, but the parts that stick out were at the concert. We saw Andrew’s then-favorite band, Senses Fail, and I had them sign my back brace (in the aforementioned accident I broke my back). That was cool. The lead singer Buddy laughed while signing it and said, “you should probably put this back on now.” We saw my then-favorite band, Saosin, and met the members in the signing line (sadly this was in the many in-between years where Anthony Green wasn't with them). Other notable acts were Chiodos and Underoath, and even though it was hot as balls that day, it's still one of my fondest memories with my friends.

Another good one involves some relationships I’ve made through music - well, music, and a shitty job I worked in Asheville. At said job, I met Daniel “Qwyk” DiSalvo. He and I have remained friends since those days. Through Qwyk, I met the other half of his hip hop duo Pragmaddix, John “Artemis Diesel” Harper (check them out if you haven't *cough* Andrew *cough*). They’ve been homies since high school, and Diesel came to visit Qwyk in Asheville one weekend and we all hung out. I listened to them practice their raps for hours, and for about a year after that, I didn't miss a single show they played in Asheville and Charlotte. A few months before their first album Solar Panels dropped last year, Qwyk hit me up asking for my e-mail and told me to check it in about an hour. He sent me what I believe ended up being the final cut of my then-favorite of their jams, “Just Breathe,” and asked me my opinion on it and for suggestions on how to improve it - all solely because he knew how much I loved that jam. To this day, that's tied for first (with Andrew asking me to be his best man) with the coolest thing a friend has ever done to show their love and appreciation. Through Pragmaddix I’ve met a shit ton of awesome artists who also happen to be very nice and interesting people: Chris Shreve, a former wide receiver for Virginia Tech and current professor at App State; his hip hop partner Mike L!ve and their DJ, Jetty (together the 3 of them make up Free the Optimus, or FTO, who’ve won the Carolina Music Award for Best Hip Hop Artist two years back to back (‘15 and ‘16)); Walt B III and the rest of Gifted Musik; Day Brown, who I know better as a person than artist, but whose album MidnightBlue you should definitely give a listen; and so many others. Going to any of their shows feels like a fun family reunion. Jetty and his lady Tanya have welcomed all of us in to their home after shows, and some of my warmest memories are late-night talks with these guys about music, politics, and that one night in Boone when every single one of us who was single at the time got laid after a Pragmaddix show. Being with these guys is like being with family, and I wouldn't have that with them if it wasn't for music.

I have countless other memories worth sharing, but I don't want to bogart all of your attention span, so here I’ll let Andrew take it away. And thanks, all of you musicians both mentioned and otherwise, both friends and strangers, who have brightened my life with your music. Now I'm off to see my favorite metal band, Norma Jean, so - take it away Awatt.

*** A little post-Norma Jean reflection: so I got hit in the face in the pit at the show and I went down faster than an engaged couple who’ve been saving themselves til their wedding night. And homeboy next to me picked me up, patted me on the back, and made sure I was ok. That whole experience reflects part of why I love metal shows. Everyone in the pit is a brother - the decent people look out for each other. All those people there, going nuts over the same song for a million different reasons - that's what a community is about. Coming together despite differences to enjoy the same shit and help each other out. Sure my contact got knocked out and the left side of my face will be bruised as hell. But I’ll wear those bruises proudly because it means being part of a community that goes all out for the music they love, same as I do. Much love for The Almighty Norma Jean.

Andrew’s Post

Prayers going up for Lukas’ face! Nah, although I’m not a personal fan of Norma Jean myself, I do understand the feeling of community Lukas is talking about at a show or in a mosh pit. Music is definitely one of those beautiful things we get to experience in this world and it all means a hell-of-a lot to just about every person I know. I had honestly totally forgotten about that Senses Fail experience until Lukas brought it up again, but it always gives me a good laugh to reflect on that day at Warped Tour. Senses Fail was a band I stumbled upon randomly (quite literally, I just picked out their CD at random at Best Buy one day) and got me through those emotionally driven times in high school I thought would never end. Although I haven’t listened to any of their new stuff in recent years, they always bring back memories anytime they come up on my playlist in my car on the way home from work.

It’s funny how we can still remember simple songs that we used to sing as children no matter how old we get. My fiance and I have begun singing these songs to our daughter and it always brightens our day when a big smile comes across her face from us singing “Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star” or “Are You Sleeping Brother John?” I can still remember my dad listening to his Billy Joel or Jim Croce albums too, many of which I can still recite to this day. Music certainly has a strange way of connecting us to others and bringing up memories from a certain time in our past.  

Although I dabble in many more genres today than I used to, I’ve always had a spot in my heart for hip-hop/rap. I came across it for the first time when I was eight or nine years old and was drawn in by the sound, symmetry of words, and of course the words themselves (many of which I knew were forbidden in my household at the time). Though my love of rap started as a sort of rebellion in my early years, it grew into much more than that as I got older. There was a long period in my life that I didn’t have many friends and didn’t feel very worthy of anything; this feeling returned again in more recent years when I just couldn’t seem to get my shit together. Both times when I felt as though I was completely alone in this world (excuse me for my past selfishness, family and friends who were there for me) rap was there for me to put my energy into and let go of all of the tension I was holding onto. There’s a line in “Sing for the Moment” by Eminem that I’ve heard other people quote as well which I think sums up why hip-hop will always have my heart. In the song Eminem says, “that’s why we sing for these kids that don’t have a thing except for a dream and a fuckin’ rap magazine, who post pin-up pictures on their walls all day long, idolize their favorite rappers and know all their songs, or for anyone who's ever been through shit in their lives, so they sit and cry at night wishin’ they’d die, till they throw on a rap record and they sit and they vibe, we’re nothing to you, but we’re the fuckin’ shit in their eyes!”

I’m so glad I’ve made it past that point in my life and I can see value and worth in myself and others. Listening to those old songs always makes me look back on the past and appreciate where I am now and how much more clearly I’m able to process everything in my life. It also helps me to empathize with others who may not be in the same place I am now by remembering what place I was in not so long ago.

I also love thinking about being able to share music with my daughter and create new memories with both her and my fiance. Obviously I’m not going to introduce my small child to Eminem or most rap with explicit lyrics anytime soon, but when I feel she’s of age I’m definitely going to explain to her how much those artists and their songs mean to me. I’ve already found that she has an affinity for Kid Cudi’s music which always delights me. She can be in the worst mood screaming her little head off and when I put on Solo Dolo she immediately calms down and gets caught in the music. I look forward to the expanding sounds of music and seeing what she decides she’s into as she grows older. I only hope I don’t follow that long tradition of saying I don’t understand her music and talking about how much I miss the good old days, though it may be inevitable. Let us know what music means to you and any special memories you may share in the comments!

*Note to Andrew from Lukas: I can't wait to take Eliza to her first metal show. No one will get hit in the face but me, I swear!

Reflections on 2016 (Without the election as much as humanly possible)

Andrew's Post

“Oh where has the time gone?” “Time flies when you’re having fun!” “Time! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” “Eat my shorts.” All of these cliches are coming to mind as I look at my calendar and realize we’re only a few weeks away from burying the tire fire that has been much of 2016. Though I could spend all of my time in this post ranting and raving about the Presidential Election, a perceived progression of division amongst races/classes/political parties, the continuation of violence in our culture and society, or a motley crew of other disheartening subjects, I have to admit 2016 has been pretty great for me personally so I’m going to spend some time talking about my own personal year in review.

The year of our lord, two-thousand and sixteen started off in a bit of a whirlwind considering that my now fiance and I had just discovered we were pregnant with our now four-month-old baby girl. Though, at this time, we had yet to discover her gender and were totally lost as to what our plan was for the future. Courtney spent some time in South Carolina with relatives for a period right after the new year before ultimately returning for what would be her last couple of weeks there. While she went to clear her head, I spent my time calling and texting friends and family back in Denver, trying to move from denial to whatever stage I was supposed to be in afterwards, even though her departure was temporary.

Looking back to my time in Denver now seems strange, considering it seems like much longer than eight months ago that I left. I have experienced so many life-altering experiences and have done a good bit of growing personally in that time, so it feels as though I left a lifetime ago. Everything for my fiance and I ended up working out thanks to family and friends that supported us; we ended up finding jobs in the Greenville, SC area and welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world on August 14, 2016!

My biggest challenge now is remembering that it’s okay to make mistakes and to learn from them while trying to figure out this whole Dad and future husband thing. Though I’d say I’ve basically jumped in all of it head first; I’ve now got an official Dad-mobile (Hyundai Tucson) and am working on getting my first home (two things I didn’t imagine doing until my 30’s, quite honestly). There are lots of exciting things to come in my life, as well in the year 2017, and I’m looking forward to each and every one of them.

Lukas Post

Man, it seems like the older I get, the shittier the years go as a whole. But I'm learning this year to take what I can from all that and remember that some of the times weren't so shitty. I raised one precocious kitten to near-adulthood and got another one, both of whom bring me much frustration and greater joy. I finished up my first year of grad school, left the program, and started a job doing something I hoped I’d never have to do - customer service. The job’s taught me some stuff though, and I hope that stuff sticks with me. What it feels like when the company you work for makes a crap ton of effort to show they appreciate their employees, for example. I started going to a lot more shows again; I saw my favorite band - Norma Jean - twice, with a lot of other great bands mixed in. I started appreciating hip hop and rap way more, and spent some of the best times of my year with my favorite rappers up in Boone and Asheville. I learned how to stand up for myself. I met some amazing people from all over the world and got to reconnect with a kid I love like she’s my sister. I made friends in Charlotte and finally found a bro beans to hang out with regularly, and it's actually a pretty quality friendship that I’m quite grateful for. Found out I’ve been sleeping on some great media - Kendrick Lamar, The Underachievers, Blue Mountain State, The League, and Game of Thrones. Remembered how nice it is to read a good book and started reading for pleasure again, however sporadically. My pops retired, and my best friend had a kid and asked me to be his best man at his wedding next year. Lots of good shit mixed in with the bad. Here's hoping for more great shit in 2017 and the continued ability to recognize and revel in it.

Election 2016

Thanks for joining us again gang. People get so hot and bothered about talking politics, and I know it's taboo in some families and friend groups to talk about them. But I think they're worth talking about. So here are Andrew's and my thoughts on the 2016 election. The posts before "POST ELECTION" in bold were written election day 2016; post-election were written a few days after. Read what we have to say, share your thoughts as well, and let the discussion begin!

Lukas Post

Those who know me well (and I guess those who read this post will now) know that I’m fairly often depressed, anxious, or in some other capacity emotionally uncomfortable. To put it lightly. But today I feel pretty good. I was super stoked to find out my polling place is a 1 minute walk from my apartment door; as such, I woke up at 6:26 today, fed the cats, and was in line to vote by 6:30 when the polls opened. As tiring as this election season has been, I was in a pretty good mood, standing in the cold waiting to cast my vote. One of life's novelties that I really enjoy witnessing is seeing people rallied for some kind of cause or in some other way inspired. Excited, happy, curious. It's amazing to see people's passion. There were all kinds of people at the polls - a few first time voters, people of all colors and backgrounds and creeds. And everyone seemed to be in just as good a mood. I thought that was cool- a few people socialized, most stood quietly in line on their phones, but I didn't witness a single moment of discord. The respect everyone was exhibiting for the voting process and their countrymen’s right to disagree with them and express their own opinions was pretty inspiring.

I voted for Jill Stein. She was a write-in where I live now in North Carolina. I wrote her name in and just stared at it; JILL STEIN in all caps, just like that. I have to say, it felt pretty amazing to see it and feel good about my vote. People have made jokes all day about how terrible they feel having to vote for Hillary or Donald. I think it's a shame that people are convinced they were the only options. I was talking to my French friend about voting and she offered what I’ve heard from most people I know supporting Hillary - sometimes you have to choose the lesssr of two evils. But I hope you don't think you ever have to choose “evil.” As I was talking with her I realized The Establishment, as it were, got us by the curlies in what I have to admit is a clever ruse. See, people are mostly voting out of fear of who will win, and are voting for the opposition. It's a very short-sighted view. It keeps us from thinking about long term and how to give our solutions to problems some real longevity. And we're stuck in this mindset, as a people, because The Establishment or whatever wants it that way. How did they do it? Allow a man like Donald Trump to run opposite of a woman like Hillary Clinton. I imagine Hillary will win, and she’ll get the the votes because people are afraid of what happens if Trump wins. And so The Establishment will have coerced us in to fear-voting for a candidate who will give us much more of the same, in terms of how our nation is run. Corporations will still reign supreme, politicians will still be able to be bought, people will still be angry and frustrated by many of the same things that they have been for the past 8 years (and for the record, I’ve always been a fan of Obama - I’m not hating on him). Because we allowed ourselves to believe that Hillary was the only way to beat Trump. I find this particularly clever because it plays on survival extinct and coerces us into thinking the choice to vote “evil,” whether lesser or greater, is good for us. We focus on the immediate danger and how to escape it rather than how to prevent the danger from threatening us again in the future. It’s very evolutionary, our political tunnel vision.

But Hillary wasn't the only option or the only way. What if Trump wins, by the way? We’ll have to deal with it the same as if Hillary wins. People are so terrified of what may or may not be that they’re more concerned with fighting against what they don't want than fighting for what they want. All I know is that I want there to be a time where I don't worry about being able to afford rent each month because of my student loan payments. I want there to be beautiful and healthy nature that I can take my one-day family out in for camping weekends and beach trips and sometimes go out in when I just want to be alone. I want prisons reformed, marijuana legalized, education better-funded and more valued. I want people to respect each other, whether they vote for Trump or Hillary or Satan or Spongebob, and I want to be part of a system where government works for people rather than corporations and where mercy and grace are more abundant than fear, vengeance, and so-called justice. And I think Jill Stein is a step towards that. That’s why I’m super proud to have voted for her and for what I want, rather than primarily against what I don't want. Thank you to all who voted. And those who didn't - know your voices were missed and you still have as much a say in how you're governed as the people who did vote. Happy Election Day 2016.

Oh as a note - I was all for Bernie until Steingot some momentum. I mean I still am, a ‘uge fan - the ‘ugest fan there could be. But Stein a bit fit better with me than Bernie. A Stein/Sanders ticket, though - that’s the dream!!

Andrew Pre Election Results

The morning air was as crisp as a freshly minted dollar bill; the line was long, I was tired as hell, and my family and I were in line to cast our votes for the 2016 election. Everyone was in a seemingly cheery mood, even though the weather was a bit chilly and the line to vote at 7 AM was rather long. Other voters commented on how cute our baby was (no surprise there) and made small talk with us on the way to the voting booths. The volunteer that led me to the booth even made a cheesy joke about my daughter “falling asleep to the sweet sounds of democracy.” It was an overwhelmingly positive experience and always has been for me each time I’ve voted. I suppose I’m one of those suckers that falls for the idea that I’m able to express my opinion openly, whether it ultimately makes a difference or not.

I, unlike Lukas, had trouble deciding who I was going to cast my vote for literally up until the night before the election. Let me start by saying that I thoroughly believe that everyone should vote for their preferred candidate, no matter what party they represent; but let me also fart in the metaphorical elevator that Lukas created by telling you that I cast my vote for Hillary Clinton.

I was originally a proud Bernie supporter and even tossed around the idea of writing him in, but decided that would be a waste considering he told voters that he was essentially not interested in that and to cast their votes for Clinton instead. I also looked into Gary Johnson, but decided that even though he’s pro-legalization of marijuana I couldn’t justify voting for the things I didn’t agree with him on. Jill Stein was closely aligned with much of what I believe in as well and was the last candidate I had trouble eliminating, but unfortunately I found it difficult to believe that she would be able to implement the policies that she was promoting. I should also point out that I didn’t agree with several things Stein has said and didn’t agree with some of the ways she had planned to carry out her ideas, whether I agreed with the idea itself or not.

This was also true with a lot of things that Clinton has stood for throughout her campaign. I recognized that she is a career politician who has had a questionable record and voting for her may be, as some pointed out, “more of the same.” Ultimately, I decided to vote for the individual I felt would continue to carry on the legacy of the Obama administration and, more or less, picked the “safe choice.” I have to admit that my life has become increasingly better while Obama has been in office and I have been fully supportive of much of what his administration has done. So, and I mean this quite literally, thanks Obama! I recognize of course that much of what has changed in my life has been through my own efforts, but I still happen to support much of what he has managed to accomplish while holding office. That being said, while there is still much that I would like to see done in this country before I die, I suppose I was content enough to vote for the direction we were headed in rather than vote for anyone that represented an immediate shift in policy and ideology. I’m admittedly not as “extreme” in my views as I once was in college and I can’t say that I’m a fan of pulling a “180” anymore.

I did choose to make the “safe” choice in this election, though I want to make it clear that it wasn’t simply out of fear of a Donald Trump Presidency. Had Bernie Sanders run as an independent on the ticket, I would’ve voted for him without hesitation. My decision was one that took time and wasn’t influenced by the many Americans saying “a vote for a third party is a vote for Hillary/Trump.” I do agree with Lukas on this point; that pushing someone to vote for one of our two major political parties is one of our biggest problems. We should always encourage individuals to express their opinion no matter if it’s through a political party or a write-in vote (as long as that individual happens to be a human and alive to take office, that is). However, many individuals this election cycle saw it as being a “privilege” to be able to vote for a third party candidate. I can respect that belief even though I can’t relate (see our White Privilege blog), but I hope we can change that in future elections for all individuals.

I too dream of a day when I will no longer have student debt, though I knew what I was getting into when I started receiving loans and don’t know if the solution is to pretend it never existed. Anyone who knows me well also knows how important prison reform is to me because of one of my family members being imprisoned. I too dream of a day when marijuana is legalized and the war on drugs has ended, as it is directly related to prison overpopulation. I will continue to vote for candidates that I think closely identify with my beliefs, though occasionally I do negotiate because the majority of them aren’t a total match with my own beliefs.

Unfortunately many of these issues and the trouble we have with getting them accomplished is because of lack of negotiation from both sides and our representatives having such close ties with corporations that wish to have bills passed or killed off in their favor. Ultimately, I believe that is why so many people ended up voting for Donald Trump. Larger than his tone of intolerance and fear was the idea that he was an outsider who would shake up the establishment. I think that this is incorrect on so many levels and that he is no different than any career politician, other than the fact that he’s never held public office. However, the fact remains that we now have Donald Trump as our president-elect; after we have given our friends that need it time to grieve, we need to start moving forward or will find ourselves falling further backwards than we may end up being pushed already.

I’d like to end with a quote I saw on a Facebook friend’s page that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I believe is a good explanation for why so many of us, myself included in this election, vote so short-sightedly:

“I wonder from where so many Americans get the idea that voting is supposed to be some expression of your deepest, most beloved values and virtues rather than a pragmatic, political move meant to shift your country as much closer to your ideal as possible. This strikes me as another example of extreme individualism. Voting isn’t about YOU. It’s about your city, state, and/or country. It doesn’t have to feel transcendently good deep down in your bones. It just has to DO as much good as you can do, in this particular moment in time.” - Miri Mogilevsky

Post-Election

Lukas Post

Basic thoughts post election:

1. Some Hillary supporters are blaming Stein and Johnson supporters for Trump’s electoral win instead of the people and states who actually voted for Trump. That makes it less about the issue of Trump’s morality and more about being pissed that their candidate didn't win. I think this was a grossly disheartening election season and day, and I understand that a lot of the blaming comes from frustration at a very fucked ip system. But it’s coming off - to me, anyway - as more anger that Hillary lost than that Trump won. Example - if all the people who voted for Hillary had voted for Stein instead she would’ve won, just like if the Stein supporters had voted Hillary. I think this blaming of others who think similarly to you for not voting for your candidate isn’t anything more than another way for the Establishment/“political elite” to divide us when, in my opinion, we’re on the same side. The people who wrote in Harambe are little shits though
2. Trump is a fool. The second he starts implementing policies that violate rights, whether it’s in his first year or day or moment in office, We The People break hell loose, even if it means marching on the White House. But starting his first second in office i think he deserves an honest chance to not fuck up, as all humans do, regardless of how flawed. That's our civic duty I think, just as it is to vote and just as it is to protect each other from those who would harm us. I don't support his othering/hateful/racist/sexist/xenophobic/etc rhetoric at all and will fight tooth and nail in support of those he means to oppress, but on the off chance he doesn't start in with that garbage once elected I want to give him a shot not to be a dildo and to be a decent leader and human
3. The feeling of disbelief will eventually lessen I think. Not because it'll be more acceptable but because shit'll happen that makes it less surprising that he got elected and the same shit will be met with enough protest and resistance and courage that the disbelief will give way for hope and unity. This aforementioned shit is already happening - lives threatened, property defaced, fear instilled in the hearts of so many. It's on us to unify. Now is the time to remind those being attacked and abused and intimidated that we love them and that we won't stop fighting for them. It's on us to shout right back at the people yelling “build that wall” that we will tear down their wall and that we won't stop tearing down their physical and metaphorical walls until we are all safe and equal in The Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. Now is the time to step up and band together. Anyway, these are my thoughts.

Andrew Post Election Thoughts

I agree with everything that Lukas has said in the above post, so I’ll try to avoid repeating anything he may have said this time and just jump straight into some of the thoughts I’ve had due to attitudes and actions on both sides after the election. First and foremost, I cannot stress enough that those who are choosing to protest are within their constitutional right to do so; however, I don’t agree with some of the protesting that has led to violence, nor is that technically any longer within those individuals’ constitutional rights. There are some that I’ve heard say things like “these people need to just get over it, they lost” and I believe they are missing the point entirely. When you say this, you’re essentially telling these individuals to sit down and accept anything that happens to them; whether it is the results of this election or anything else imposed in their lives. Basically I’m telling you that YOU need to get over it; just because you don’t personally exercise your constitutional rights doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t be allowed to do so. Furthermore, these students/individuals are not just protesting losing an election; they are protesting the ideas of bigotry, violence, and hate that Trump has delivered in his campaign.

Secondly, the whole “I’m sorry I couldn’t protest, I had to go work for a living” and “these kids are whiny, entitled brats” isn’t going to fly. The last time I decided to take part in a protest I was in school and working forty hours a week. I still found time to stand up for a cause I believed in and heard the same rhetoric that I’m hearing against these individuals. I honestly feel sorry that you cannot fathom a world in which you deserve more than what you’re given, but some of us feel as though we all deserve a better world and are willing to take a few hours out of our daily lives to stand for our beliefs. Another random thought: could we also dispel the rumors that these protesters are being paid off by a billionaire in some shadow government conspiracy against Trump? Yes, for those who haven’t heard, that’s a thing some people with too much time on their hands believe. Please do us a favor and take your conspiracy theories to YouTube where they’ll be appreciated more.

Next up, being brainwashed by the media because my brain just couldn’t handle what Trump was bringing to the table. False. Black Bears. What? Nevermind. It’s interesting that Trump supporters have told both me and people I know that we are weak minded and can’t make our own decisions without the media; it’s especially curious considering I can’t even remember the last time I watched the news or read a paper. I often times read articles online and participate in open discussions with friends and family, but still manage to investigate things for myself and come to my own conclusion. I can also determine a site or article’s credibility by the tone of the article or a quick google search, eliminating the possibility that I would believe an old billionaire is handing out hundred dollar bills to college students to protest.

I’m not sure how many Trump supporters would say they actually believe this, but I have to mention it as well. Someone I know happened to mention that “under Obama, race relations have been pushed back to the 1950’s and under Trump people will stop seeing race and unify.” I’m not really sure how to address this other than pointing out that the guy said he intends to indefinitely ban Muslims from our country.

The fact is, if you are able to separate Trump’s bigotry in his campaign from  the rest of his proposed policies, then you are privileged. Plain and simple. If you truly do not stand for what Trump has stood for in so many people’s minds throughout this campaign, I implore you to do everything you can in these next four years to stand for what is right for our fellow citizens. No matter how you stand on issues economically, please don’t truly send us back to the 1950’s by reinstalling McCarthyism and replacing it with Muslim-Americans rather than Communists or treating other races well, sadly like they were in the 1950’s.

That’s all I have to say for now so let the comments fly! Also, Lukas had a better ending paragraph, so just go back and read his third thought again.

When Getting Turnt Goes Wrong

Ah, Thanksgiving. As everyone’s favorite excuse to eat lots of food guilt free while watching football and gathering with friends and family approaches, I’d like to use this blog as an opportunity to celebrate the unsung hero of many get-togethers. It’s the magical potion that gets your rump off the stump and sends you rolling through the leaves instead; the awesome sauce that will make your granny want to bust a move. I’m talking of course, about alcohol (and occasionally other substances, depending on your preference). While we don’t condone everything that we talk about in this blog, we’d like to take the opportunity to look back and laugh on some of the times “getting turnt went wrong.”

 

Andrew's Post

1) The first funny story I distinctly remember happened right before I graduated high school with two friends of mine we’ll call Ned and J-Man. J-Man is an incredibly mellow guy who is hard to excite, which becomes relevant later in the story. Anyways, one particular weekend night we had been hanging out and participating in some social taboos when we decided to fix our overwhelming hunger with a trip to our local Waffle House. It was a grand time, as all times are at the House of Waffles; music was played, laughs were had, and hash browns were “scattered,” “scrambled,” “covered,” and “chunked” to our liking's.

After some time had passed, Ned started to become very paranoid about our predicament. He gave J-Man and me a look as if all of our collective mothers had walked in the door at once and the jig was up. He then informed us, very sincerely, that he believed the waitress didn’t like our presence there and had said something to another employee about phoning in the policia. If I had been sober, this idea would’ve been brushed aside with ease. However, zombie-brained logic prevailed and I was dead set on doing whatever it took to get out of this situation. Ned then told an unresponsive J-Man and myself that we should immediately leave the cash for our meals and rush out to his car so that we could escape the long arm of the law. I agreed and we threw down our money and rushed out the door to the parking lot where we hopped in his car.

Ready to hightail it out of there, Ned started his engine but we were stopped in our tracks when we realized one fatal error in our plan: J-Man had neglected to follow us to the car and was still slumped in the booth inside! “What the hell is he doing?!” Ned asked frantically.

“I don’t know!” I yelled back. “I’ll call him.”

I sat in the front seat, called J-Man and watched as he picked up his phone only to look at it, ignore the call, and place the phone back in his pocket.

“What the hell?!” Ned yelled. “Call him again!”

We were on edge as a police cruiser was sure to pull into the parking lot at any second and arrest us for...I don’t know...eating breakfast at night? I did as I was instructed and again watched J-Man pull the phone out of his pocket and look at it, only this time he decided to pick it up. Nonchalantly, J-Man said “hello?”

“Dude what the fuck?!” I yelled, “come on and get in the car.”

Calmly as ever, J-Man responded “I can’t. I’ve gotta wait for my to go order first.”

Of course no cruiser ever responded to our tom foolery at the Waffle House and we continued to eat breakfast at ungodly hours well into our college years. J-Man also successfully walked out with his to go order.

2) The next story is both a cautionary tale against partying too hard, too soon and attempting to cut small things with big knives while intoxicated. It was my sophomore year of college and was sometime around Halloween. I know this because I had recently made a large purchase of alcohol in order to “pregame” before attending a party that night and had also made a purchase of a tiny pumpkin from the grocery store. I’m still not quite sure why I chose the tiny pumpkin rather than a regular sized one, but I can only speculate that college-logic told me to spend most of my money on booze and then to get whatever I could with the leftover dough. Now when I say small, I don’t mean I purchased a pie pumpkin. No, I decided the best option to show my Halloween spirit was to get the size that would fit in the size of your hand.

After purchasing all of the ingredients for my Halloween concoction, I returned to my dorm room to mix all of the ingredients together and create a stupid situation for myself. I started taking shots of whatever cheap, disgusting whiskey I had purchased in order to prepare for more drinking later that night (college-logic), and started texted friends about the party that was scheduled to go down that evening. However, as the time grew closer to when I was supposed to go out, I was in no condition to go anywhere and it was still unclear as to whether a party was actually happening. Finally, when 10 PM rolled around, I got a text that whatever was to be a party was busted and nothing else anyone knew of was happening.

It was at that moment that I realized I had two possible decisions: call it a night and sleep off my drunken state or keep my own party going in my dorm because Halloween and college-logic rules everything. I, of course, chose to continue taking shots and eventually gathered the courage to give everyone else in the dorms a taste of Halloween spirit by carving my miniature pumpkin I had acquired from the store earlier. I think I got about two cuts into carving the pumpkin when I lost control of the giant kitchen knife in my hand and sliced my left index finger open.

“Shit!” I yelled as the blood started pouring out of my finger.

The ever calm J-Man emerged from his side of the dorm and responded saying, “what?”

“I fucked it up!” I yelled. “Quick, give me a band-aid!”

“We don’t have any band-aids.”

“Damn. Do you have a shirt or something I can wrap around it?”

“Yeah, let me grab it.” J-Man proceeded to give me one of his bright white undershirts that I covered in blood.

“Thanks man,” I said, “I’ll be sure to wash this for you.”

“Nah you can just have that,” he responded.  

I then spent the remainder of the night babbling on about god knows what and at one point forgot that I had eaten tums earlier in the evening, asking J-Man if I had rabies because it looked like I was foaming at the mouth. The next day I went to health services to ask them if I needed to get stitches, to which they said it would probably be a good idea. After learning of the price though, I decided to let it heal on it’s own, which it did (take that science!) and still have a faint reminder to that stupid, stupid night in the form of a scar.

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                                                               Lukas' Post

Ha! I’d never heard that second story. Hm ok my first one is a story about alcohol being a huge cock block.

For 2 months in the Summer of 2015, I lived in a cabin in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Before I lived there, I used to party there with the people who later became my roommates. I went up one weekend in December for the cabin crew’s Christmas party, and as I expected, it was a fantastic time. Games were played, drinks were drunk, music was blasted, and everyone seemed pretty happy and content. At one point I found myself a little too fucked up, sitting comfortably by myself on the couch watching the fire burn in the fireplace. A very cute girl I’ll call “X” came and sat beside me on the couch and we started talking. I was enjoying my time with her, and I think in the back of my mind I could tell by the way she was leaning in and touching me that she was flirting with me. Really surprised I caught on, I’m normally horrible with nonverbal signals. But right around the time I recall noting to myself that she was awfully pretty and very in to touching, the booze overtook my tired brain and I fell asleep. I'm pretty sure mid-sentence. I woke up the next day hoping she'd slept there so I could apologize and keep talking with her, but she hadn't. The next few times I saw her socially she was polite, but I could tell she’d lost interest and I definitely didn't want to bring the sleeping mishap up. But it all worked out, now we're dating and pregnant. Not really though; actually I ended up hanging out with her and my roommates several months later and I didn't enjoy her at all. So maybe alcohol wasn't a cock block, but instead, the best kind of wingman - the kind that keeps you from doing things (or people) that you’ll probably regret.

Star Wars Episode VIII: Whatever, we'll think of something catchy later...

Andrew’s Post

 I can still remember when I received my first Star Wars trilogy set when I was a kid. I was your basic cool eight-year-old, always playing with lightsabers in my family’s garage and creating my own plays based from Star Wars; when I wasn’t doing this, I was watching a Cartoon Network lineup consisting of Johnny Bravo; Courage the Cowardly Dog; Ed, Edd, and Eddy; Cow and Chicken; and the Power Puff girls. You know, your average cool guy stuff. Anyways, I had had recently seen all of the Star Wars movies at my friend’s house and was all about the new universe I had just discovered. My friends and I were playing the classic “you get to be the Sith this time and the rest of us get to kill you over and over until we switch places” until my mom pulled up in her green Nissan Quest, returning from her nine to five.

My mom got out of the van and said she had a surprise for me, so I rushed over to see whether it was something to create adventures for years to come or an educational dud. It was then I laid my eyes upon the glorious VHS-tape set! It was black around the base with Vader’s face and adorned with gold trim, surely by the gods, around the side with all of the good guys on the front. I was as hyped as a kid on a sugar rush after trick-or-treating for the first time. As I recall I spent the remaining weekend watching all three movies in a row and continued to watch these movies on our VHS player well into my high school years. I traded my love of playing with lightsabers for a love of rap and a bad attitude (not necessarily because of the rap), but my love of Star Wars never died.

Star Wars, to me, is escaping into a familiar yet exciting universe where all are welcome and you never truly have to throw childish things aside. I may sit and watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre without any emotion (a conversation I had with Lukas recently), but every time I hear Darth Vader’s iconic breathing or baritone voice it still sends shivers down my spine. Even though I know what’s about to happen in every movie, it’s still something I never tire of no matter how many times I see it and I don’t think I ever will at this point.

Everyone who is a Star Wars fan to any degree usually has some opinion about the new trilogy and the remastered versions of the original trilogy and I’m no different. While the old trilogy far surpasses any of the new three in my opinion, I still enjoyed getting to go to the theatre and see the new installments from ages 8 to 14 and experience something brand new to the story in my formative years. Going back and watching the new movies now, it’s incredibly hard for me to sit all the way through “Attack of the Clones” as I find it incredibly long and somewhat boring. I get some kicks out of reminiscing with “The Phantom Menace,” but also think it was targeted for a much younger audience; also Jar Jar Binks. My favorite of the three would have to be “Revenge of the Sith,” though unfortunately I still don’t think it lives up to the original three.

As for the remastered versions of these movies, I grew up having only seen the original versions of the first trilogy once until I was in high school and instead grew up watching the 1997 remastered versions; so I had never seen versions without Jabba the Hut in “A New Hope” or that hairy-chested blue alien back up the band in Jabba’s Palace in “Return of the Jedi.” However, as far as I see it, the first remastered versions didn’t change anything vital to the story so I didn’t have a problem with them. It was only when I watched my fiance’s newest editions of the original three movies that I began to get incredibly frustrated with some of the changes that had been made. I didn’t really make a fuss about anything until I watched “Return of the Jedi” and saw that they had replaced the original spirit of Anakin Skywalker with Hayden Christensen and let out a big “what the fuck?!” I was a mess of emotions as I contemplated how George Lucas could just take a big ole dump all over my childhood.

Eventually, however, I came to realize that it didn’t really matter what I thought about the newest editions of the trilogy. Lucas, I believe, is simply trying to create his original vision of the movies using the technology we have available now. While this may be a simple thought to some, it’s really all that matters to me in the long run. I do think that the original versions of the movie should be more widely available to a new audience for nostalgia’s sake, but the older these treasured original versions get the less the new Star Wars audience will actually care how they appeared when they were first released. Maybe I’m biased because I grew up with the first remastered versions in my collection, but I don’t believe George Lucas is personally out to get any of his fans. Lukas Gaines, I’m sure, will have a much more detailed response on this issue than I do considering he grew up with the originals.

All I can say is the first time I watched Star Wars before I had my own collection I had seen the originals, and watching the first remastered versions afterwards didn’t seem to have a long term impact on my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sympathetic to those who do feel some type of way about both the new movies and the remastered versions. I imagine if someone put a bunch of new characters and updates into The Godfather, Goodfellas, or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest I’d be starting a petition to ban said people from any involvement in cinema. I suppose it’s just easier for me to roll with the changes so that I can try to pass on this love of Star Wars to our daughter and a new generation of fans, rather than continuously telling her what she was missing with the original versions. Anyways, may the force be with you all and let us know what your thoughts are on what Star Wars means to you and how you feel about the new versions of the movies.

Lukas Post

Ha Andrew knows I feel some type of way about the remastered versions of the originals, I’ll cover that later. You know, I don't remember the first time I saw Star Wars. I remember when my eldest sister got the VHS set of the original trilogy for Christmas one year. I distinctly remember looking at Vader's helmet on the cover and finding myself entranced. I remember the first Star Wars action figures I got, though. There was this store called Roses in the tiny town in Virginia where my family and I lived until I was 12. I think it was like a franchised branch of KMart or something. Anyway I remember my mom and sisters coming home from Roses with my very first Han Solo, R2D2,  Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader action figures. I remember reading the Star Wars book series when I was a kid about Qui Gon and Obi-Wan’s relationship in the years when Qui Gon first took Obi as his apprentice; I distinctly recall one evening where my dad was grilling dinner on our deck and I sat outside reading Star Wars while my mom and sisters sporadically came out to hang with us. Good times.

Star Wars is so much more than a movie series. I have some pretty significant memories that involved Star Wars. The aforementioned evenings when I was a kid, having a 6-person lightsaber battle at my friend’s birthday party, the first girl I dated who liked Star Wars. After she and I parted ways, I watched the original trilogy (for those unfamiliar, episodes IV, V, and VI) on a loop for two weeks straight. There's a familiarity about these films that never fails to comfort or soothe me. As I grew up, they became more and more a part of me and how I think about life. Yoda, especially, has some lines that stick with me. “Luminous beings we are; not this crude matter.” “This one, a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away. To the future. To the horizon. Never his mind on where he was! What he was doing!” Little snippets of dialogue that I like to reflect on from time to time. Star Wars shaped the hell out of me.

I suppose now I’ll get on with hating on the prequels and remastered editions. The prequels are chock full of shitty performances from every actor involved except Ewan McGregor (who, interesting tidbit, is the nephew of (cousin to? he’s somehow related to) the actor who played Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy). George Lucas traded any notion of decent storytelling for showy effects and a cheesy love story in Attack of the Clones. The parts involving Obi-Wan and/or Jango Fett are pretty cool, as my friend Caleb and I often mention when we talk about the ‘Wars, and the huge battle at the end is cool until the clones come. Yoda’s lightsaber battle, while cool when I first saw it, was decidedly showy and, in my opinion, unnecessary. Revenge of the Sith is decent as far as entertainment value goes and I still enjoy Phantom Menace from time to time.

There's a pretty great documentary that you should check out called “The People vs George Lucas.” It talks about just why die-hard fans of Star Wars love to hate ‘ol George. I'm actually watching the remastered version of Empire right now for the first time in years (I was lucky enough to pick up the versions of the movies that included the theatrical versions as bonus discs back in 2008), and I have to say, it looks much prettier remastered on Blu Ray than it does on regular DVD. My issues with the remasters are minor, compared to a lot of people I know, but I do take issue with a few things. One of them, perhaps surprisingly, is not Greedo shooting at Han and missing (in the theatrical version Han shoots and kills Greedo before the latter fires off a shot); if anything, it makes Han seem cooler in my opinion. The editing was fairly choppy though. No, my issue is with minor changes that don't affect the story greatly but which matter nonetheless. Boba Fett’s voice, for example, was changed after the prequels came out to match Jango’s since he's his clone. I don't like it. I think Boba Fett’s original, gruffer voice was more mysterious and added much more to the character's badassery. Little things like that become big things when you think about growing up associating a different voice with a character and they change it up on you. Same thing applies to Anakin Skywalker’s ghost at the End of Jedi. In the theatrical version, his ghost is in the form of him after he defeats the Emperor  (spoilers!!), now clothed in Jedi robes rather than his black suit. In the remastered, his ghost is switched out with the image of Hayden Christensen (for anyone unfamiliar, the actor who played Anakin in the prequels). Ridiculous. I get what they were doing - it was a fun little continuity Easter egg type deal for kids who saw the prequels first. But it also, in my opinion, affects the message of Vader’s redemption. A friend of mine likes Revenge of the Sith and likes the Skywalker ghost change (I know, gross). To be fair she argues that it's because H. C. is cute. Hard to argue with that. But to me, it signifies that Hayden Christensen’s Skywalker was the best form of Vader; his ghost, through his redemption, becomes good again and takes the form of Skywalker before he fully became Darth Vader. I call bullshit. The whole point of Vader's redemption is that he proves Luke right; he had good in him all along, even through all the heinous things he did. You don't just redeem yourself and then change back in to a purer version of yourself. I think the goodness is there all along, whether you choose to tap in to it or not. And so I think Vader's ghost should have been left as old Skywalker; weathered by a life of passion and rage and hate, redeemed through his son’s faith in him.

Well, that's what I have to say about Star Wars. It's a life-changing universe that I wouldn't be the same without. Thanks for reading. And please - share your memories and stories about Star Wars or comment and tell us what it means to you. Remember - the Force will be with you. Always.