Christmas vs Holidays

As the seasons’ holidays come to an end, I would like to bring up an issue I have noticed that has been more of a focal point in social acceptance as of late:  the difference (or lack thereof) between “Merry/Happy Christmas” and “Happy Holidays”.

Throughout my entire childhood and to this day, I have been under the impression that “Happy Christmas” was socially acceptable in any setting, and that it was a uniformly understood politeness gesture.  Apparently in this new social climate in which we dwell, it is not longer “socially acceptable”, and Happy Holidays has swept the nation as being the means to communicate the Holiday Season’s Greeting/Parting.  I think it outrageous for people to feel as though this is no longer acceptable.

Yes, I understand (and have always, even as a child) that not everyone celebrates Christmas.  I do not however believe that people should feel as though I am judging or assuming that they are of Christian faith because of which words I choose to gesture a holiday greeting.  A prime example of an extremely relevant and similar situation is a “God Bless You” response to a sneeze.  This is the exact same scenario: it is seen as a polite gesture, not an attack or proposal of my religious beliefs.  We need to distinguish the difference between a social attack/push on religious beliefs and polite phrases that have been social norms.

Shifting gears slightly, Kate and I took a stroll down the 3^rd Street Promenade tonight to admire the Christmas-esque feel of the chilled Santa Monica night life.  While walking the Promenade, a Jewish man stopped me to ask me if I was Jewish.  I replied with the obvious “No.” and continued on our way down the street.  About ten seconds later, I had wished my answer had been “No thanks,  I'm Atheist.”  I realize that Religion is a sensitive subject, but I feel it is one that people should not pressure or stop people walking down the road with.  Don’t hand me pamphlets about your beliefs, and I won’t hand you textbooks on Evolution.

With that being said, HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

On Bargains

Yesterday I received my new MP3 player, which I bought off of Newegg last week for $20.  This is the first new one that I’ve had in about 4 years (the last one my ex-girlfriend Jenna purchased for me after losing the one I had let her borrow which my brother had purchased for a birthday present years before that;  a pet peeve of mine is people losing things that are nostalgically important to me).  As I sit on the bus on my way to work this morning, I realized how lucky I am to be such a “bargain” shopper.  When I say bargain, I not only mean that I shop for the best deals only, but I have the uncanny ability to hold off on buying things which most people consider necessities of modern technology.

I have never purchased an IPod, and likely never will.  I believe them to be cheaply made, and though most people say that they take care of theirs and have had a problem, I have witnessed too many cases and heard too many stories of IPods just crapping out after X number of years, or after someone dropped it.  The last MP3 player I’ve had was dropped an uncountable number of times, yet still works fine.  I’ve dropped it on pavement to the point where the outer casing split in half, exposing the inner electronics; a dilemma which was permanently resolved with merely superglue (no trip to the I-store, or frustrating conversation with a foreigner who couldn’t care less about your problem).

What I am getting at is that as surprising as it may seem to most people these days, it is possible to survive without the newest piece of technology that will probably be outdated in a month anyways.  We don’t have a 55-inch flat screen TV - in fact, we don’t have cable TV at all.  We don’t have smart phones, but low and behold, we are still alive.

This is not to say that I have never purchased something luxurious for myself, or that I don’t ever buy a brand new product.  It’s saying that sometimes it’s more beneficial and rewarding to find something that saves you money, time, and allows you to enjoy luxuries more at a less “luxurious” price tag.

The very first items I remember my parents showing me how to bargain shop for was hockey equipment.  I remember going to Pure Hockey in Worcester to shop for goalie leg pads.  There were all sized brand new amazing pads all along the walls and floors in every direction.  I was in HEAVEN.  I started checking out all of the new pads, thinking about which color I would get, which size would be perfect, what my friends would think if I walked onto the ice wearing a pair of pads that looked identical to Marty Brodeur’s!  Though I was clearly in my element, my mother had other plans for me.  We headed to the used gear section, and picked out a pair of affordable, horse-hair filled old-style leg pads that weighed what felt like 20 pounds each.  Nevertheless, I was more excited than I remembered feeling in my life.  I was going to be playing ice hockey.  This was my first realization that even though they weren’t brand new, and they weren’t exactly what I had pictured them to be, I was still going to be able to play hockey regardless of if people thought they were “cool” looking – and that’s the point.  I was still getting what I wanted out of the equipment, but only paid a quarter of what most people would have thought necessary.  Not to mention I got a much better workout than most everyone else, since it was the equivalent of strapping two midgets on my legs…

And so as I push forward in the world of technology with my $20 MP3 player, I ask you to think about how you can build your bargain-shopping habits to balance your financial stresses, yet meet your material needs for your important hobbies and pastimes – you’ll be glad you did!

Degradation of the human race via the rat race (Pt 1)

 I saw today one of the more upsetting acts of civil duty at work.  One particular bus driver for the Santa Monica Blue Bus system which I travel to and from work on occasions is the veriest miserable driver I have experienced, and he happened to be the driver today (word of the day being used for you, Mr. Dave McGrath!).  He clearly lacks any and all motivation to communicate in a polite manner to any persons seeking guidance who are not familiar with the transit system.  I am previously familiar with this driver and his attitude, as I have noticed the sub-par demeanor in the past.  I can easily tell if someone is miserable by simply saying “hello” and “thank you” to the driver when I board.  Today, I received no reply – I was expecting that from my past travels.

An old lady in a motorized scooter got on board a few stops later, to which the driver had to (in a clearly irritated manner) fold the front row of seats on the bus back for her to park.  He stood to my side in the next isle of seats while she tried to finagle her way into the scooter area.  She obviously needed to use the isle area he was now occupying to get her scooter positioned correctly (it sort of was looking as though it were the same process of parallel parking a car).  He mumbled at her in a spiteful tone about moving, and hesitated to move for some time.  She slowly moved into the area he was standing, to which she stated once more that she needed that spot to pull into the station.

At this point he snapped at her with “If you run into me I am going to kick you off of the bus”.

I couldn’t believe what I had heard.  How could he say something like that to her?  I’m sure that everyone on the bus (including he) could see that she needed that space to maneuver the scooter, yet he remained steadfast in the way.  They battled back and forth with some more light arguing, until she was finally at rest in the correct position for take-off.  She told him that she remembered him giving her trouble before.  She stated that he took off while she was clearly going to the bus stop through a crosswalk.  He replied that he saw her in the crosswalk, but “how was (he) supposed to pick (her) up on the bus is (she) was in the crosswalk?”  This means that he saw her, KNEW she was attempting to catch the bus, but took off anyways.  What is that shit?

Seriously, I am dumbfounded that someone could be so terrible to an elder who is clearly not trying to cause problems.  I today have lost a shred of my hope that there is still a chance for the mass majority (everyday people) to prove to their good will.  I can’t understand how someone would be in that terrible of a mood that they could willingly ditch a person to save a half of a minute on their bus route.  Then again, I can’t understand how someone could consciously choose a career path which requires one to voluntarily sit in the worst traffic in the country for an 8 hour shift.

These are the thoughts of a newly visional 26 year old spilled onto his computer hard drive.  Hurray to an increased sense of self, surroundings, and thought!

Top 20 Album Releases of 2011

Music is one of the most important things in my life.  Anyone who knows me is aware that it has had, and will always have, a huge impact on my personal beliefs and lifestyle.  In Sophomore year of high school, I met a kid by the name of Evan at a Hockey Goalie Clinic in Westborough, MA.  He lived in New Jersey, but came up to visit relatives in the area every year.  We became pretty good acquaintences over the course of the 5 days, and exchanged contact information.

The next week, he called me up and said he was heading to the Newbury Comics located 2 minutes from my parents house.  He and his brother picked me up that brisk autumn night, and we scaveneged through the store for close to an hour.  He picked up a Planes Mistaken For Stars CD, I remember, and we headed back to his SUV to wait for his brother to finish his purchase.  We got in the car, and he told me to "give this song a listen, I think you might like it."  He turned on the CD player, and played Posion The Well's track "Nerdy".  The track was the most raw, emotional, powerful, and truthful music I had ever heard before in my life.  The opening 2 seconds hinted to the explosion into an agonizing scream with a melodic lead and dark rhythm guitar that cadenced in my head for the following months. I knew THAT instant that I was a changed person, and it opened my eyes to not only an endless musical endeavour that I continue to follow to this day, but helped me to understand and find my place in an uncertain time of my life: the midst of my teenage years.

Music has since become an important hobby and outlet of mine, both performing and listening to it.  I've played drums for at least a decade now, bass guitar for 6 years, and now I am currently learning acoustic guitar (one of my other goals sparked recently by my birthday).

Throughout the last couple of years, I've found great joy in reading my friend Chris Conroy's list of top 25 albums of the year (he shares a similar honor and feeling towards his hobby of music as well).  Last year, I began my own top 20 list, inspired by Chris'.  This year, with SO many amazing releases, I've matched Conroy by expanding my list to 25.

I think it neccessary to state that ALL of the albums on this list are AMAZING, and choosing them was really painstaking.  I'm sure that many of my future blog posts will have in part some musical references and tangents, but for now, I will leave you with my list of the top 25 albums of 2011.
Honerable Mentions:

Betrayal - Abandonment
August Burns Red - Leveler
Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Vallon - The Rebuilding
Glassjaw - The Coloring Book
Legend - The Pale Horse
Vanna - And They Came Baring Bones
Angels and Airwaves - Love Part 2

25.  Confessions - The Long Way Home

This CD is a great follow up to last years release, and it is catchy as hell.

24.  The Wailin' Jenny's - Bright Morning Stars
OK, it's a folk album, but they really know what they're doing.  I respect these 3 vocalists a great amount.  Also, saw them in Northampton and it was an impressive performance, as they all play multiple instruments.

23.  City and Colour - Little Hell
Big change in sound from his last CD, but his vocals remain at the top of the list of best vocalists ever.  A couple songs on this CD suprised me and bored me, but the CD as a whole grew on me throughout the year.

22.  Oh, Sleeper - Children of Fire
These guys know what they are doing, and what they are doing is making a name for themselves.  This is basically a 3rd continuation of their 2007 release 'When I am God', where they keep picking up right where they left off: making you bang your head.

21.  Bury Your Dead - Mosh and Roll
COMEBACK CD.  They have had a couple of really shitty releases with a really shitty vocalist.  They've got Mat Bruso back at the helm, and he really makes you want to punch someone in the face.

20.  Farewell To Freeway - Filthy Habits
Another strong release from the Canadians.  Vocally, this album is their best to date.

19.  Times of Grace - Hymn of a Broken Man
KSE's ex-vocalist and current guitarist bring an onslaught of KSE-esque melodic grooves that have you hooked from the first listen.

18.  Scale The Summit - The Collective
I really love these guys.  This is a GREAT instrumental release, and does their last release follow-up justice. 
17.  Animals As Leaders - Weightless

Another EPIC instrumental piece.  I award Tosin Abasi as best guitarist on this list.  One good way to know if people are good musicians is to listen to the first minute of a song, and try to replay in your head what you heard. If you can't, chances are the artists really know what they are doing. This is definately the case here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsHHYx2fiv4

16.  Hands - Give Me Rest

Relaxing and soothing progressive rock CD.  Solid from start to finish.  Second best 'christ-core' release of the year.

15.  Texas In July - One Reality

Improvements in every department from their last effort.  I'm excited to hear whats next from these guys.

14.  Periphery - Icarus Lives!
Best drumming of the year, hands down.

13.  For The Fallen Dreams - Back Burner

These folks are really finding their place, and they are able to balance the clean vocals with screaming as good as anyone in the buisness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhtMoVh1tS8&ob=av2e

12.  Emmure - Speaker of the Dead
Holy hell, this CD is heavy.  This release gets my Wheelbarrow Of The Year award (music so heavy you need to carry it around in a wheelbarrow).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn2A_dXoIAA

11.  Moving Mountains - Making Waves
Best alt-rock release this year, by far.  I love their use of orchestral instrumentation, and their vocals are equally as beautiful and fitting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmtDYVqlpFY

10.  Nidus Expire - Many Hands

JAY FORREST sings on 2/5 songs.  The only reason that this isn't at the top of the list is because it's not a full LP.  For those of you who don't know, Hopesfall was the greatest band in the history of music.  Jay Forrest sang for them until their breakup in 2008.  Basically, I've had an erection since hearing this for the first time last week, as it is like hearing some new Hopesfall tracks for the first time in 4 years.

9.  Funeral For A Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon

I have enjoyed the last couple releases from F4AF, but they haven't had a record like their first few releases, where I would find myself blown away by the effort.  This LP is AWESOME, and has all of the energy and emotion that has been feeling a bit lackluster in their last few CDs.  They mean buisness once again, and this was one of 2 releases for them this year, and they are already in the studio recording again.

8.  Volumes - Via

Such memorable melodic cleans and heavies.  Best newly found band of the year for me.

7.  Hundredth - Let Go

Last year, these guys put out an amazing freshman release.  This year, they've upped the game, and it is IMPRESSIVE.  They also released the best music video by far in years.  I have to also give them my Thickest Cords Award (best screaming vocals of the year).

6.  Life In Your Way - Kingdoms

One of my favorite bands of the last decade came out of retirement for an unbelievable self released performance.  They raised over $26,000 to fund their effort, and in return distributed the CD as an online free download.  Not only was this a comeback for the band, but it might just be their greatest music to date.  I was more giddy than a 5 year old getting a Tomas The Tank Engine replica for Christmas when this came out.

TOP 5

5.  It Prevails - Stroma

This CD is one of the most inspiring, lyrically, in quite some time.  It's well thought out, flows well, is produced flawlessly, and has a perfected flow of singing to screaming.  The music is uplifting, and you can tell that the band worked well at the time to get this put together.  The only things holding me back from putting this further up to the front of the line is that the CD booklet has spelling and grammatical errors scattered throughout (definately a pet peeve).  Also, almost simultaneously with the release of the CD, a facebook band member fight broke out, and it was fairly awkward to see.  That has actually turned me off a little bit on the music, sadly.  Besides that though, this is a frabjous listen.

4.  Northcote - Gather No Dust

Matt Goud (formerly of Means) has been putting out acoustic work for a couple of years now, and it is all some of the best in the buisness.  You really get the feeling that you are sitting next to Matt (and co., for some of the songs) while he plucks at his guitar during your own personal household show.  It's all simple music, but it's all catchy and meditative.  If you're driving down the coast, hiking in the woods, or just hanging out with friends, this is the first CD you'll want to put in every time.

http://www.youtube.com/user/northcotemusic#p/u/4/AFLiU0sySYs

3.  Casey Jones - I Hope We're Not The Last

Just as the title states,  I really hope that these guys are not the last.  With their release, they announced that it will in fact be their last record together.  They are passing down the torch, but to who?  Those are some BIG shoes to be trying to fill, so good luck to anyone who is up to the task.  The title is actually directed towards their straight-edge roots / think-for-yourself do-ers attitude (as opposed to followers).  Their message is as clear as it always has been, and I'm 100% invested in what they have to say.  "Pure, clean and free, I'm not these things, they are me".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km-LOCdP7Vk

2.  Heart In Hand - Only Memories

The European powerhouses take second place with their debut LP.  They have changed their sound a lot since the first EP release, and all for the better.  It was good before, but now it is unbelievable.  The melodies spark a number of emotions, and you are able to feel the vibe of the album sway with the in-your-face opening to the soft and contemplative intermissions, and it all fits perfectly together.  The guest vocals on this album all fit in perfectly and don't sound forced (which I feel a lot of songs these days do).  It was a hard decision to put this as the second best release, but it is still my most played CD of the year, and for that I give it my Infinite Loop Award for most plays this calendar year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z293tG4-488

1.  A Hope For Home - In Abstraction

Last year their CD Realis came in at #2 on my list (second to Danza III, which won solely because it tempted me to murder people due to its colossal sound), but this year they take #1!  This was released as a CD/DVD bundle, and the DVD provides interview material scattered between songs with visualizations of concepts.  Their message is clear, and I find that I relate to everything that they talk and write about with this release.  It is a huge change in sound from Realis, but it flows SO well with that release and its basic concept of searching for the meaning in life.  This CD is slower paced, predictable, and perfectly illustrated straightforward (as was Realis, though this time you are able to litterally see the visualizations with some of the songs).  I have not had such a calming yet thought-provoking experience in a good while until this arrived in my mailbox last Tuesday.

In Abstraction gets my Aftershock Award, for best sequential followup album.  GIVE IT A LISTEN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlahiTG8wk8&feature=related

If you read this and are wondering why I would spend a couple of hours writing about all of this and sharing these choices with you, then you don't understand yet.  Music needs to be a part of your life, weather you "listen" to it, or really LISTEN to it.  For people like myself it becomes as a religion, and you can take valuable lessons and life changing experiences not only from the music or messages, but from going to concerts and SHARING those experiences with people you care about and like to spend time with.  If you are lucky enough, you can take those experiences and apply them to everyday life.  The music I listened to throughout high school helped me to form close bonds and share time with some of my best friends that I still have today, and for that alone I am thankful.

Almost EVERY person I meet will say that they "wouldn't expect (me) to listen to that type of music".  To all of those people, I have to tell that it's strange to me too, but the music I listen to is the reason I am the way I am today.  It is the biggest influence on me, aside from my parents, and I would thank Evan for introducing me to something that has shaped so much of my life.

Go listen to your favorite CD right now.  Don't just "listen" to it, but LISTEN to it.

Title-less (or Untitled, if you prefer)

So with the coming of a new year of my life which began on Thursday, I decided to try a few new things. If you are reading this blog, then you are witnessing the one of those things firsthand. My goal for my 26th year is to create an insightful, creative, interesting, fulfulling, inspiring "blog" post on a weekly basis (or more if I am feeling ambitious) for the next 52 weeks. Surely, many of these will stem from my daily experiences, which, if my memory serves me correctly, are not always as inspiring experiences as I expect them to be. SO, I ask you to please bare with me, since this is something new.

I'm going to start off here with a few thoughts about something that I feel everyone can agree that they despise as much as I do: traffic.

Moving to Los Angeles in June has really opened my eyes to the serious problems of fossil fuel consumption and carbon emission.  EVERY day I see countless vehicles traveling in the congested streets as solo riders.  It surprises me when I speak with people at work (for those of you who don’t know, I am currently working at the Center for Health Sciences building at UCLA) about their travels around the city, and I find that I am one of only a tiny parcel of people who live within biking distance of the school.  This includes people who have been working at UCLA for up to a DECADE.  Now, if I were to work at a place for that long, I KNOW that in my head I would acknowledge the fact that I would be saving a substantial amount of money not having to pay for gas, car repairs, and something more important than that to me: TIME.  Why do others not seem to heed the facts as well?  If someone were to reply that they make more money working there than they would somewhere within biking or public transportation distance, I would argue that the difference that they would be saving from the commute would even out the difference more closely than they would be willing to admit.

I got my permit at age 19, license at age 20.  I didn’t have a car with me in college.  I graduated and moved to a small island is Alaska, where I was able to walk 5 minutes to and from work each day.  I now live in LA, and share one car with my girlfriend Kate.  I’ve made my decisions and conscious contributions to environmental awareness, and they are very much a part of my daily thought process.  The big problem that I have with my decisions is that very few people also care about long term environmental sustainability, and it pisses me off to no end to experience people being so careless about seeing past their direct tangible lives.

It also upsets me when I know people that do care, but think that there is nothing they can do to immediately change their impact.  Most of the time, this is a denial to being inconvenienced, which is often blown far out of proportion.  Yes, at times I do wish that I had a car so I could do certain things if Kate needs to get to work.  But you would be surprised to find that the times you are glad to have done something within walking or biking or spitting distance far exceed the times you wish you had the transportation, and to physically work to get to those places is far more gratifying than sitting in traffic wishing you had a helicopter.

I’m not saying that I think people who drive places everywhere are jerks. I am just saying that I think everyone should have a conscious realization that they CAN make a difference; it’s just a matter of putting forth the effort, and having the power to find personal satisfaction in making a difference, even if you don’t get a gold star for doing so.