Return of the Bear

Saturday night was the X-Mas Underground event at the Minicine, and boy howdy was it funnn. Lots of cool things went down, and nudity was pretty much the trend of the night. Most importantly, The .357's played their reunion show, which was pretty much localized chaos. Just as SMM inspired Drew and I to make Unfair, I think it's time to either do a reunion show of our own or start some random project. We're all getting older after all, and who knows how long we have left? I mean, dancing is now a cardio-workout, and everyone seems to either have a career, kids, or a degree. Most of us no longer belong to "a scene," and have become true individuals for once, instead of copying dudes from the early 80s and sticking safety pins on everything. Not that it's fake if you're doing that, but seriously, can you tell me who the first guy was to start putting safety pins and studs on his jacket? I didn't think so. Be yourself.

PS: Beowulf is freaking epic. Literally.

Unchained & Playing Again

I can't sleep. I've been thinking a lot about my life lately and how I feel like such a fake. My life up until this point has essentially been a game of spiritual ping pong, with my soul bouncing recklessly from bumper to bumper. I don't have any apologies, and I'm not trying to get too personal here (this isn't a diary-blog, after all).

I've thought a lot about people like Johnny Cash, Edward Sharpe (Alex Ebert), and Tomas Kanolky (not that the three can even be compared), and I've marveled at their musical genius and read about their personal lives. What has surprised me about them though, is that they all have people who love them and people who hate them. For Sharpe, people complain that he's a fake and point to his older band, Ima Robot, as proof that he just changes styles every time there's a trend shift in the music world. For Kanolky, people say he's a terrible person for the junk that has gone done between him and the old Catch 22. And Cash? Well, he simply claimed to have been at Folsom Prison and people believed him. Each man has fans and haters - each has disingenuous bones in their body and skeletons in their closet. But guess what? I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that they're all human, and humans have flaws. I'm just the same as them, and you are too (even if we don't have amazing instrumental skills... Yet...).

That being said, I accept that I just want to create things and that I'm total fake just like everybody else. I'll do crappy things to you, and I'll steal your music and make it my own because I obsess and fall in love with things (not people) way too easily. I'll be halfway decent on the guitar and have a strange voice that you may or may not like. It's all a luck of the draw. Whether success or failure, the point is that we all should stop caring about each others' opinions and just play. This is what life is about. And yes, I'm playing the guitar again and writing music. I'm ready to get this over with.

I leave you with the man in black with a song that has really captivated me over the weekend. Enjoy:

"Unchained"

Johnny Cash

I have been ungrateful,
I've been unwise.
Restless from the cradle,
Now I realize,
It's so hard to see the rainbow,
Through glasses dark as these.
Maybe I'll be able,
From now on, on my knees.

Oh, I am weak.
Oh, I know I am vain.
Take this weight from me,
Let my spirit be unchained.

Old man swearin' at the sidewalk,
I'm overcome.
Seems that we've both forgotten,
Forgotten to go home.
Have I seen an angel?
Oh, have I seen a ghost?
Where's that rock of ages,
When I need it most?

Oh, I am weak.
Oh, I know I am vain.
Take this weight from me,
Let my spirit be unchained.

Tolkien Thursday: Oliphaunts

So for my first post, I'm going to kick myself into gear with the creation of a random tradition! Yay! Cake for everyone (except the Third Estate, obviously).

Every Thursday, I'll be paying homage to the late & great J.R.R. Tolkien. We owe tons to this man when it comes to games. He essentially created his own genre, or at the very least set the standard. The Lord of Rings and The Hobbit have been read far and wide and have heavily influenced everything from role playing games to video games. In short, Tolkien is legendary. Hence, I shall raise my goblet to him weekly by posting something random about him, and you should too!

This week, I bring to you Legolas icing a Mumakil.

For those of you who don't know what an Oliphaunt/Mumakil is, this is what the LoTR wiki has to say about them:

"From within the jungle of Far Harad, the mumak emerged. To most cultures, the mumakil, or oliphaunts, were creatures of legend, as fabulous and fearsome as dragons, and to them were ascribed all kinds of strange powers. Oliphaunt was another name for them given to them by the Hobbits. Mumak resemble elephants, except they have four tusks, instead of two."

Yep. Oliphaunts are those bad mama-jammas that you remember from LoTR III: Return of the King, and, if you'll remember correctly, Legolas pulled off a crazy stunt and killed one with style. He must have been rolling "nat 20s" like it was nothing. Have another gander to refresh your memory:



There's just something about an elf killing a gigantic elephant that makes your day so much brighter, isn't there?

I hope you enjoyed Tolkien Thursday - feel free to leave comments in the box below.