AFI's Crash Love ~ A Review

I'll pull no punches here. This album is a pretty big disappointment. I've broken it down song by song. But before that, I'd like to talk about a few things first. Oh and please remember, this just one fan's opinion that I am more than entitled to it. If you disagree, do so respectfully.

I in no way want to shout "AFI has changed" and cry. Yes, AFI has changed and I completely expected so. They changed when they went to Sing the Sorrow and they changed when they went to Decemberunderground. I welcome change that I like. I don't welcome change I don't like.

Many people love this album. Many hate it as well. Of course, once the dust settles, and the fanboys and fangirls have their multiple eargasms, they will likely change their opinion of the album. Too many are jumping to "this is waaaaay better than Sing the Sorrow." I'm sure the fans will still love this CD after they get used to it but I doubt they will hold it up so high. Sing the Sorrow will always be AFI's best is my opinion.

One of the smaller problems with this album is it's length. Only 43 minutes long. This is their shortest, not by much, DU was only 44 minutes long, but it seems like very little for such a long wait. The best song on the album in my opinion is 2 minutes 39 seconds long!

One of the more annoying things about this album is it's name and cover art. I won't harp on this but I absolutely hate both. They feel like a pop album; like Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers. When I expected AFI to grow as an artist I didn't expect them to grow into love, hearts, and gold.

It might just be me, but overall, this CD is just too pop. I'm not against anything being mainstream. And even though the lyrics are dark... ish, I really wasn't expecting or wanting such an upbeat and happy album. I don't know why... I should have expected such from the gay ass title and cover. (i mean this in no disrespect to the band or Davey in specific... since I myself am gay, lol).

So here's the track by track review:

1) Torch Song ★★★★½
This CD starts out pretty good. This song really sounds like a mix of all the good from STS and DU. This is definitely a great opener. I love the lyrics, "I'd tear out my eyes for you my dear, oh my dear."

2) Beautiful Thieves ★★★★
This track is not bad. It sounds very DU-ish (which is fine with me). I enjoy this song enough to keep it on my iPod but I certainly wouldn't call it 'single' material. To me the best CDs are ones where each and every track could be a single.

3) End Transmission ★★★★
Now the album starts getting weird. In a good way though. This song sounds very 80s and very Black Audio-ish. I like it. Not quite sure why this girl is grabbing her bag and he's grabbing the gun, but it's pretty cool. By this track I am happy with the album... so far that is...

4) Too Shy To Scream ½
Oh how quickly the mighty fall. I absolutely hate this song. I have to work hard just to finish the not even 3 minute track. It sounds like they went to some 1950's soda stand and started dancing to the jukebox. This is NOT rock. This is where AFI turns to gay ass pop. I have finished the song once... which just sorta ends outta no where. Oh, and I gotta make fun of the first line, "I come quietly." Yeah right, when you should "Oh!" at the beginning of every track.

5) Veronica Sawyer Smokes ★
Suddenly we've slipped and fallen into the CW. I have trouble finishing this track as well. Too pop. Too boring. Just... dare I say, un-AFI.

6) OK, I Feel Better Now ★
Well, I don't. By this point in the CD I am being quite let down. A few really good beginning songs that just slip into total shit. The problem with this song (which is starting to leave the the pop world, but not entirely) is that it just sounds like total filler. Nothing stands out and I just don't care.

7) Medicate ★★★½
I like this song to start but it got old really quick. I can remember how much Miss Murder and Girls Not Grey just made me so excited for the full album. Medicate is good, not great. It had two problems. The first is that it seems to stick out like a sore thumb among the other tracks. The second is that it sounds as if their label said to them, "make a song specifically tailored to Guitar Hero and we'll call that the first single."

8) I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here ★★★★½
This is the best track on the CD in my opinion. It sounds more like Miss Murder than anything else, I think (other probably don't). I think this should have been the first single. Maybe it'll be the second. There are two problems with it I see. The first is that the winners who sing the whole "flash flash car crash" part don't seem nearly as enthusiastic as they could. The second is that this song is only 2 minutes and 39 seconds long. If it were longer, I'd have given it five stars. This song is exactly where I was hoping for AFI to go with the whole album... but they didn't.

9) Sacrilege ★★½
This is the only song that actually does sound like their old stuff. Unfortunately it sounds like a scrapped b-side on Sing the Sorrow. The chorus is kinda boring and the song as a whole sounds like filler. This is one of the tracks that could totally use some angry Davey shouting or screaming but the entire CD lacks that.

10) Darling, I Want To Destroy You ★★★★
With this song we are back into a pop sound. This is the most DU-ish sounding song on the CD in my opinion. I like it... I can't say why, but I do. It sounds very very much like a song that would be heard on the CW as well.

11) Cold Hands ★
Eh. Boring. Filler. Terrible chorus. I just don't care.

12) It Was Mine ★
This was rumored and expected to be their powerful and epic end track ballad like Endlessly, She Said and This Time Imperfect. Those songs have stood the test of time as truly amazing emotion filled tracks of epicness that It Was Mine fails to deliver. This too feels like filler

Overall Score: ★★½

The songs just don't hold together well. I miss lengthy tracks. I miss hidden tracks. I miss shouting and feeling. I miss rock. I know, I know, they change and evolve and that's exactly what they have done. But they didn't evolve in the direction I expected men in their mid-thirties to go.

It seems very clear that they and/or their label is pushing them in the direction of teenagers. That disappoints because I don't feel like they were pointing in that direction in the past.

I have given this my open-est mind. I love a few tracks but nothings seems to have the massive power all of their previous works had. Each CD had on it an epic song (think Kiss and Control, ...But Home Is Nowhere) and an epic ballad (think This Time Imperfect, Endlessly She Said, God Called In Sick Today). This CD has neither.

Some people (mainly young AFI fans who weren't even in high school when Sing the Sorrow was released) will absolutely love this CD and give it a perfect score. I'm willing to bet that Davey and Jade love this CD too and good for them.

Me, personally, just feel so meh about this CD. The powerful response I got from Sing the Sorrow, Decemberunderground, and even Black Audio's CexCells does not happen with Crash Love.

All I can do now is enjoy the few gems that this CD brings and patiently wait for the new Black Audio CD. Davey says that it's already done... but in the last few years I've learned I can only trust less than half of what he says in interviews.

Sigh. Not all is lost this Autumn. I have really enjoyed the new Three Days Grace, Nelly Furtado, and can't wait for the new Breaking Benjamin, Atreyu, and Shakira which all show far more potential.

Watch Alice, Wasted, Wash Her FACE!

Omigod! Been listening to a lot of AFI (hoping to drum up some excitement for Cash Love) and I came accross these videos. The first one Mandar showed me years ago. They're hilarious.

You see, brilliant as Davey can be, he often is hard to understand. These are interpretations of what he's saying in their songs. Hilarious!

Maudie's Here!

History really does repeat itself. This excerpt from an episode of All in the Family (featuring Bea Arthur as Maude) really speaks to today. Hopefully history does repeat itself in the form of televison... I'd kill to have a program today that tackled serious issues today like All in the Family did in the 1970s.

Albums '09: Past & Future

So 2009 so far has been a very good year for music that I like. First I'm gonna talk about CDs that have come out this year already that were good in my opinion. Then I'll movie on to some upcoming albums from some of my favorite artists.

LaFee ~ Ring Frei ★★★½

German "pop" band LaFee released their 4th studio album in January. I say "pop" because they are considered that in Germany however I myself would call them rock (or at the very least soft rock). Ring Frei is just as good as their previous albums and didn't dissapoint. Not stellar. But darn good. The stuff that was good was good but the stuff to skip was easily skipable. Oh and if you haven't heard of Lafee, the lead singer is female and is eighteen, believe it or not.
Download: Scheiß Liebe, Eiskalter Engel, Lieber Gott


Hoobastank ~ For(n)ever ★

I was happy with their first CD. I really liked their second CD. I absolutely fell in love with their third CD. I used to have a huge crush on openly atheist lead singer Doug Robb. What the fuck happened! I hated this CD. It just sounded like a b-side collection. Very unhappy. Boo!


Utada Hikaru ~ This Is The One ★★★★½

Simply one of the best CDs of the year. Her first english CD was amazing and this just blew it out of the water. I haven't fallen in love with an R&B album like this in a long time. I have a Pavlov's dog association with this CD because I was listening to it all the time while reading Carl Sagan's cosmos... but that's just random. So what keeps her from getting a perfect five stars? The last track, Me Muero. Perfect right up 'til the end. Strangely Utada herself says that's her favorite song. Oh well. An amazing R&B album by and amazing Japanese artist.
Download: Taking My Money Back, This One (Cry Like A Child), Poppin'


Marilyn Manson ~ The High End of Low ★★★½

Twiggy is back and it's easy to tell. A lot of people call this album 100x better than his last album Eat Me, Drink Me but I disagree (because I fell in love with Eat Me, Drink Me). Like LaFee's CD this CD has some amazing tracks but it also has some shitty ones. Luckily there are a lot of songs so once you weed out the bad ones you still have a near full album. Is he shocking anymore? No. Is he still a good artist. Absolutely. Manson will always be one of my favorites.
Download: Blank & White, I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell, We're From America


Taking Back Sunday ~ New Again ★★★★★

They kicked out (or he left) their lead guitarist. Did much change...? Nope. Why does this CD get a perfect score? Because I love every single track and don't skip anything. Fantastic album. The best CD that's come out this year.
Download: Swing Swing, Where My Mouth Is, Carpathia

Emir ~ Ben Sen Olamam ★★★★½

A new artist. An amazing artist. A clone of Tarkan (I swear!). Not only is he just like Tarkan, he was produced and written by Tarkan. If this doesn't get your seat wet nothing will (unless your a heterosexual male, lol). This CD just screams tarkan and I can listen to it all the way through. Not a perfect score because there are some 'ok' tracks. But overall, fantastic. I want more Emir!
Download: Ben Sen Olamam, Tornistan, Şeklim Başka

Cobra Starship ~ Hot Mess ★★★★½

Another near perfect CD. This one has one not-so-great track but the rest is pure gold. Be prepared to go feel like you're in a warp-zone between 1988 and 2009 with this gem. The best thing Cobra has going for them is a really unique sound. I highly suggest this CD even if you don't like thier first single "Good Girls Go Bad" as I would call that their second to worst song on the album. Perhaps a guilty pleasure, but hey, if it's good, it's good.
Download: You're Not In On The Joke, Hot Mess, Living In The Sky With Diamonds

~ So that brings us up to date. There is still a lot of new shit to come, see below. ~

Shakira ~ She Wolf
First Single - She Wolf
Release Date: Oct 5, 2009
Confidence - ★★★★★

First things first, I have always loved everything that has come out of Shakira. She is absolutely my favorite female performer of all time. Her new track, She Wolf (which is nothing like anything she's done before) is amazing. I cannot stop listening to it (and the Spanish version, "Loba" is just as good). I have complete confidence that I will love this entire album. Oh, and if you're a straight male and this video doesn't make you cream your pants... check your dick!!!


Sarbel ~ Untitled
First Single - Mou Paei
Release Date: Late Fall
Confidence - ★★★★

I have pretty high confidence in this CD because Sarbel's albums have gotten progressively better over time. This next CD will be his fourth... and yes, he is a bit of a guilty please. I'm still listening to his last CD, Kati San Esena, like it was brand new. Oh and yes, the video is cheesy. But he looks pretty in it and I love the song.


t.A.T.u. ~ Happy Smiles (English Edition)
First Single - Snowfalls
Release Date: Late Fall
Confidence - ★★

The confidence in this is low for two reasons. First of all, it's probably just going to be an English version of their last CD. Second, ... that's if we ever actually even get this CD. I've had to put up with a lot of crap from them, saying this, doing that. Oh well. I hope it's good.


AFI ~ Crash Love
First Single - Medicate
Release Date: Sept 29, 2009
Confidence - ★
Oh boy. Here we go. First things first, I love AFI. My absolutely favorite album of all time is their "Sing The Sorrow." Hands down. Send the competition home. But... AFI has been jerking me around a lot for the last two years. They announced an EP that never happened. They announced 2 music videos that never happened. I went to one of their concerts and they played for about 32 minutes while their opener Sick Of It All played for an hour and a half. They released a live DVD without a CD version ... oh wait, no, they released a CD too... a year later. So here we are, about 45 days away from a new CD. I hate the title of the CD. It doesn't sound anything like AFI to me. More like Miley Cyrus. Speaking of that. Check out the album cover here. Fucking ugly and gay and shitty. I hate it. And now I've listened to the first minute and a half of their first single and I am anything but impressed (despite how much Davey keeps shouting to the rooftops about how epic this CD is going to be). Oh and did I mention they had a 'Crash Love' t-shirt out a whole year ago and the CD still isn't out yet. Sounds to me more like Cash Love than Crash Love. Oh and I've seen a track-listing for the album and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not impressed.
What do I hope? I hope I love the CD. I hope Medicate is a bad sheep and the album as a whole is amazing. I hope it's just as epic as Davey is saying it is. I hope I love love love it but I cannot pretend to have any confidence in AFI right now. Prove me wrong boys. Please... prove me wrong.

Rammstein ~ Untitled
First Single - Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da
Release Date: Late Fall
Confidence - ★★★
The first single is really good, not amazing. Their last CD is was pretty good but not amazing. I hope the CD is great. They've been gone for a while so I hope that means they've been working hard!

3 Days Grace ~ Life Starts Now
First Single - Break
Release Date: Sept 22, 2009
Confidence - ★★★★
Their last CD was amazing and I can only hope they do just as good.


Atreyu~ Congregation of the Damned
First Single - Unknown
Release Date - October 27, 2009
Confidence - ★★★★★
I give this five stars because their last CD was perfect. It falls as my second favorite album of all time (a very close second to the aforementioned "Sing The Sorrow" by AFI). I could almost give this confidence four and a half stars because they're heading out on tour with Douchebag Undead this year. Lucky for me, I know that the band themself did not pick them, their record company did. Not to mention, I love the album title and the song titles seem very promising.


Tarkan ~ Gelenek (Rumored)
First Single - Unknown
Release Date - Late Fall (Rumored)
Confidence - ★★★★★
Everything that comes out of Tarkan is pure gold. He shits diamonds. My only hope is that the CD really does come out this year but as of yet we haven't had anything concrete. The only thing that is not going for Tarkan is how amazingly perfect his last CD Metamorfoz was. How do you go up when you've reached perfection?

The 200th Post! Woo! Check Out This Video!

What I wanna see is the bloopers to this video...

I Must Have A Twin...

Mandar and I went into town yesterday (to get Starfy and a milkshake) and I was asked the strangest thing while in the drive-thru at the ... um, drive-thru.

"No cheesy today!?"

I was like... "Um... excuse me?"

Apparently she swore that I came through all the time and got cheese covered fries. I hadn't been to that drive-thru for months. And I've never purchased cheese covered fries.

But this wasn't the first time. About a year ago at the Wal-Mart down the street I was abruptly stopped by some tall black guy who said to me, "Hey! Mark! Long-time no see!"

I was like, "Um... I'm not Mark."

He laughed, "Oh man, you're such a kidder. You and Sabrina still together?"

WHAT THE FUCK!

So I'm convinced I have a twin in town.

...

And what's the point of the titties above? Well, on Penn & Teller's they have tits in every single episode and it works for them... Plus when I typed in 'twins' in google this image came up.

Child For Sale! (Short Rant)

This'll be short. Two months ago before summer quarter began I purchased my textbook for my Child Psychology class. It's my final GEC (general educational class). The textbook was $100.

First day of class I asked my professor, Dr. Kreisher, very sternly, "Are we going to actually use the textbook."

She replied, "Oh yes, absolutely."

So I pulled off the plastic wrap (which meant said textbook could not be returned for full price) and opened to chapter 1.

After two weeks of class, I hadn't used the book even once. Her class was completely lecture based. So I left the book at home as it was weighing down my bookbag. I assumed at some point I would need it.

After the full 8-week class period, I never used the book even ONCE!!!

So I go to the campus bookstore to try to sell it back, hoping for ten of fifteen bucks at the least. Nope. Nothing. They have a new addition.

So I'm fucking stuck with a book that I will never ever ever use.

Grrr.

We'll Drink And Dance And Sweat Right Through Our Pants

So there is this Saloon in town where all the hicks go. I don't know how the subject came up but a friend of Mandar's mentioned that this specific Saloon openly breaks the smoking ban. I confirmed this with several people at my work.

In Ohio smoking inside any public building is illegal. All bars, all restraurants, all saloons must be smoke-free. You're welcome to smoke outside though.

But not at this bar. This bar is defying the government and letting people smoke. Not just letting them smoke, encouraging them to smoke! Why, you ask?

In defiance of Obama. The hicks are breaking a state-wide smoking ban that went into effect during the Bush administration.

::facepalm::

By the way, if you drive by said Saloon today you'll fine a for-sale sign in front.

The Guiltiest Pleasure Of All

I've been kinda absent of blogging but I have several blogs planned to come. Tomorrow is my last day of summer quarter so I'll have some extra time to blog.

So as for my guilty pleasure... I can't even talk about it. It's adorable. Watch below...



I'm going to go buy it after dinner tonight. Yes, I know. Bad. But it's just so god damn cute!!!

Clash of the (FALSE!) Gods

This'll be short. So there's this new show on the History Channel called Clash of the Gods. I've only seen the first episode which is all about Zues.

I really expected them to simply talk about the old pagan religions and never mention modern religion, specifically Christianity.

Oh no. Not only do they mention Christianity. They often treat it as if it's 100% true and accurate. For example, "Zues was seen as the one and only all powerful God... and this was two thousand years before Christ." Pfffst.

However, it's not all bad. They do not shy away from mentioning the connections between pagan myths and Christian and Jewish myths. Like comparing Zues's birth story to Jesus's.

Things like this are mentioned, "Hades is like our hell" or "Their creation myth is what the Greeks had before the availability of the book of Genesis."

Really!?

It's actually quite schizo. I can't figure out from where this show's viewpoint is coming from. It's a pretty good show and is informative... but sometimes it will rub you in the wrong direction in it's clear attempt not to piss of Christians. Funny, I notice that they don't bend over backwards to appease Muslims? Funny...



Oh and I just gotta throw in this quote, "Some believe that this statue [found in Dion, Grece] could be a missing link between Greece's worship of many Gods, and the single-god philosophy of Christians and Jews... Greek's were embracing the idea of one god before the arrival of Christianity."

They seem to be treating all other religions as stepping stones to the truth, Christianity. What the fuck? As if religions have been evolving toward the perfection of the Jesus cults. ::snort::

I myself don't consider Christianity to be a single-god religion but a three god religion (father, son, ghost). I think it's convenient that they don't mention that Islam is a single-god religion... and that's the #1 first tenant of Islam (there is no other God besides Allah and Muhammad was his prophet).

Hey, maybe religions are evolving. Many gods to three gods to one god to no gods!

Weird Ass Music Videos...

'Nuff Said... Just watch...

Stick Figures Are Fun!

Coming Out Of The Swiss Closet

Foward: This post was originally written on July 7th, 2009. I have amended it to be more fitting today.

So this blog is supposed to be amount me. It's about my life, my opinions, and so on. Well, over the time I've had this blog I've left something out of it. I've completely avoided it for the near year I've had this blog now and I really can't hide it anymore. I'm done being neutral. I'm done being Switzerland.

There are these two people in my life right now. One of them is a really good friend and the other is her boyfriend. She reads this blog. This post is going to piss her off. It might make her cry. It might end our friendship (I'm sure it's ended already though now). But I can't pretend any longer. I can't dodge issues any longer. As much as it hurts to tell her this point blank... I have to. I hate her boyfriend (this should be no shock to her).

They've been together for over two years. It all started when he started working for the same place as she was (and so was I at the time). From the very start I didn't like him. I wasn't scared to say anything then because they were just friends. She pursued him as a friend at first. I didn't really care much because I never expected it to lead to what it has. He was living with his girlfriend at the time. Eventually they started hanging out together and to nobody's surprise his girlfriend didn't like this. They broke up and within a short period of time my friend was dating him. He certainly didn't have any trouble breaking it off with the old girl when he found a new one. (I have found that he's never been without a girlfriend)

When things started it was innocent enough. I didn't like him but I didn't dislike him. I didn't know him. After a while he ended up moving in with her and her parents. Things were still relatively innocent.

During the first year I only got to know him a little bit. I can remember the time we went to the zoo with him. He really pissed me off because all he did was text on his fucking phone the entire time we were there. I even took them both to BD's Mongolian Grill, my treat, to get to know him better. I realized that I didn't like him but I didn't say anything.

Last year my boyfriend and I had to stay with my parents for two months. They live very close to my friend and her boyfriend so we spent a lot (i mean a LOT) of time there. This is truly when I really got to know this guy.

During this time all he did was text. Text text text text text. He was secretive about it too. And when she told him that it made her unhappy all he did was turn it around to make her feel bad (i've never seen her cry more often than during those two months). I would have to deal with her sobbing in tears because of the shitty way he treated her at least once a week. Eventually I broke down and told her that there are other fish in the sea. This REALLY pissed her off. She told me she didn't want a close friend of hers to hate her boyfriend. She wanted me to give him a second chance. So I did.

Eventually my boyfriend and I moved back home and I tried to give him his second chance. I was willing to give him a second chance.

The new year came around and she suddenly took an interest in religion (specifically reading the Bible). She is not religious. He is very religious. She's an atheist but she won't admit it. She told him that she knew very little of the Bible and was curious to know more. He, of course, rushed to slam the KJV of the Bible into her hands. They went down to Oklahoma to visit his family who were "so nice" to her (she says). She couldn't believe how nice they were. They took her to church like 5 times that week and even gave her a free bible. They were "so nice." Well, no shit. They were nice because they were trying to convert you to Christianity.

What I love about him is the fact that he doesn't even know about his own religion. Once he told me, "Jesus was not a Jew, he was a Hebrew." Once he had to ask what Good Friday was... you know, the day we celebrate the death of Jesus... you know, a MAJOR Christian holiday. Typical Christian douchebag. But she never saw him that way. She would always say, "Oh that's not him. That's not what he's like." Typical apologist girlfriend who doesn't want to see him for who he is.

He doesn't just treat my friend like shit. He once kicked her dog right in front of her for getting into a two dollar box of chocolates. But that's not him, remember. He's not like that.

But even through all of this, I'm still willing to try and see the good side of him for her. I'm really trying.

I decided one day that I would take her and her boyfriend up to the Natural History Museum. I thought to myself that this was it. This was his second chance to win me over. He failed royally. (Interesting note: My boyfriend and I had four free passes to the museum that we specifically used on his cousin and her boyfriend as well as my parents. We never told them that we had the free passes because they'd bitch that we didn't give the passes to them.)

She has no idea how much he pissed me off and how fucking immature he was at that museum. This boy is supposedly a big fan of science ... but he doesn't accept evolution (which is, of course, the basis of all biology). He described his view of evolution to me as "one little horse giving birth to a retarded big horse baby." When in the human evolution section of the museum he said to my boyfriend, "I'm not no monkey's uncle... I don't know why they try and say that..."

So here was when I was done. They had been together for two years and I had given him chance after chance to redeem himself. I did it for her. I did it because I wanted to make her happy. I can't do that anymore.

I didn't tell her how much that trip pissed me off. I couldn't ever tell her how much I disliked him because she has such a soft skin. She explodes pretty quickly. She can easily dish it out. She can't take it in. But it's not her I dislike. I love her to death (or I did).

So after this little fiasco I cut myself off from her. Ever since then I haven't gone over to her house to hang out because I know that he's there.

Eventually I learned that I wasn't the only one who doesn't like him. Apparently she's the only one who does likes him. (We're talking nearly all of her friends and family)

So over the time after the trip to the museum the subject of cheating has come up quite a lot. Apparently he would come to her and say something to the effect of "if you hear anything about me cheating on you it's not true... okay." Sounds to me like damage control. But this is just speculation. I'm not the only one who thinks he's cheated on her. Friends of hers who I haven't even met think so. And this didn't just happen once, it's happened time and time again. She just blames the "skanks" for spreading "lies." Could he have cheated on her? Easily! He constantly spends the night drinking with "friends" without her and doesn't come home til morning.

If I had to put money on it, I'd put money on him sticking his nastiness in any girl who'd allow it.

She used to talk to me about this kinda stuff but she doesn't anymore. Maybe because I tend to agree with her mother which she hates. Maybe because I'm not telling her what she wants to hear.

Speaking of her mother. Her mother is a saint. Her parents are nicer than I would ever be. One day her mother walked in front of her boyfriend playing a video game and he called her a "cunt." He never apologized. He says he didn't do anything wrong. If I were her, I would have kicked him the fuck out of my house. Her mother didn't. She's too fucking nice. Way too nice.

She says "he just doesn't appologize... that's just him..."

That's just douche.

If I haven't already mentioned, this kid's also a racist. He voted for McCain and said he couldn't tell us why he didn't like Obama because it would "make us mad." After Obama won, she went to bed (he had already went to bed, mad that Obama was winning) and he told her, "yeah, I know. That nigger won!" There is this guy who they work with who is half black and half white and he thinks he's mexican (despite people constantly telling him the truth). He refers to him as 'the spick.' He's a racist and she refuses to see it. She just says things like "oh that's not him. He's just joking. He listens to rap music."

But now she's becoming a racist. She thinks it's okay to call one of her shop supervisors a "nigger"... now, she's not a racists (or she says) but that word just applies to him. Yeah...

So I broke my whole avoidance of her boyfriend by going to her birthday party. I couldn't skip this. He was a total douche there too. I met his mother at her party and she was very nice and quite pleasant. His douchiness apparently didn't come from her.

He was so lazy at the party. He made her cut a piece of her own cake for him because he was too lazy to cut it himself.

That's not all. He makes her pack his lunch and makes her microwave his lunch at work... everyday... without fail. If she didn't, he'd starve. If she packs his lunch and she forgets his fork or something he calls her a bitch and storms off. Then he says things like "maybe I'll just move out now!" He's a total drama queen.

Oh yeah, and apparently she has to pick out his clothes...

Well I could go on forever but I have to get up to the present day.

Suddenly he wants to move out now (this was in July/August). She wants to move out too... but he wants to move out with someone else. Apparently he wants to get an apartment with his friend Timmy. He actually asked her "would you be mad if I moved out?" No fucking shit. First he said he wanted to move out because of "religous issues." Then it was "money" issues. Supposedly he thinks he can save more money by having more bills. Now he suddenly wants to move out and live with his mother again. It's so obvious that he's trying to inch his way out of this relationship.

Well that's it. I hate him. I'm done with him.

Am I risking my friendship with her? Yes. Do I care? Yes. (well, not anymore, see below)

I just hope that she understands that it's not her, it's him. I hope she understands that I've given him two years of chances and I just can't like him. I'm posting this here because she'll read it here and the only other people who read this don't know her personally.

I told her a while back that I know they won't last. It pissed her off. I told her to prove me wrong.

I just hope she understands. I afraid she won't. I've kept this in for too long and I can't keep it in any longer.

It looks as though their relationship might be ending soon. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope it does end. I hope he leaves her because she won't leave him. The way she lets him abuse her and treat her like shit I don't think she would EVER leave him. I hope it ends because I hope the best for her. I know she's better than him and I know there is a much better guy out there for her that she'll love a hundred times more.

I love her to death and I hate him and I can't pretend any longer.

~~~ ADDITION ADDED SEPT 30th ~~~~

So we're not really friends anymore. I just got so fucking sick of her stupid ass drama she posted on Facebook that I deleted her. (that's why I'm okay with posting this now)

She ranted for a day about how I don't have balls and blah blah blah. She never messaged me to ask what was wrong.

Her mother asked her if she ever talked to me about me deleting her and she said "NO! I don't even care."

So abusive, racist, douchebag boyfriend is better than her friends.

In life, choices you make determine where you will go in life. I predict that she'll get knocked up, have his kid, become a stupid fucking Christian (because she is dying to have some meaning to her life), and one day after she stops being his second mother he'll leave her and she'll find out he's been fucking around behind her back all along.

::deep sigh of relief::

It's good to get shit off my chest...

Better Than A Hot Stuffed Gyro

Greek singer Sarbel has a new single out... Me likey!

Mayonnaise and White Bread

This is one of my favorite moments from the Golden Girls. I really wish I could see the whole comic strip...

Mmmm... That's Good Medicine

So douchebag extraordinaire Perez Hilton is known for posting not so great photos of celebrities and making fun of them and calling them fat. I figure that's probably pretty fun. I'm gonna give it a go!

Looks Like Big Girls Do Cry...

And right there is your proof...

Adorable Animals I Never Knew Existed

For the Fourth of July Mandar and I found out that the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo was having a special. $2 off admission if you wear red, white, or blue, as well as free admission to the Rainforest and the Dinosaur Exhibit. Hot damn we said!

We had a really fun time. The weather was perfect. It was the first time I'd ever been to that zoo and I really enjoyed it. I feel like I was way closer to the animals than I ever get at the Columbus Zoo.

So anywho, we found...

Oh wait...

OMG!

There was this HILARIOUSLY fun Asian lady who was tempting this monkey with a tasty sammich. You see, there is this thing called Monkey Island. There is no cage or anything. It's just an island with a little river going around the entire island.

So there she was, shoving a huge sammich in her fat gob. Every once in a while she'd take a moment to stop eating and wave the sammich around in front of the monkeys! They got so pissed and she just kept doing it. It was great.

I wish the picture I snapped of her was of her waving the sammich but apparently it was so good she couldn't stop shoving it into her face. We saw her eat two sammichs total.

So anywho...

There were three adorable little animal I had never heard of that I just loved. The pictures below are not from the zoo, they're from online.

Chevrotain

Rufous Elephant Shrew

Rock Hyrax

The Rock Hyraxes had lots of little babies who have back legs that look like little human legs. They're such little chub balls and believe it or not they are more closely related to elephants than rodents.

The Chevrotains have such tiny legs that they ran around like they were wearing high heels. The Elephant Shrews looked like tiny little ant-eaters.

I bet they would have loved to take a bite of the fun asian lady's sammich.

People Falling Down Is Fun!

I'm going low brow. Like... bottom of the barrel. When people fall down... I laugh... normally.

Free Car Repair And A Fish Taco

So Friday Mandar was off work in observation of Independence Day. We left early because we had to go back to get our car repaired again. The service center hasn't been doing a bad job or anything, it's just my car keeps having something wrong with it.

It all started in May. I took my car's back tires to the limit. As far as I could possibly go without blowing a tire. So I needed to get two new back tires... immediately. $180 there. *insert cash register sound*

For a few weeks I'd been hearing some rattling when I breaked on a hill. I took it to the place where I purchased my car for repair (I figure they'll do a half-decent job at the least since they will want me to purchase there again). Turns out I needed a front end alignment as well as a bunch of shit replaced in the front. With parts and labor, $530. *insert cash register sound*

So a few weeks went by and then I was hearing another noise. It was only when I came to a full break. It was not really a new noise, it was a noise I had heard over top the old noise. I take it back to get checked out again and it was only $118. *insert cash register sound*

So a few more weeks go by and yet again, something else is wrong. Now we're up to the present. We arrived at noon and waited for forty minutes in the waiting room. Finally the guy comes out and tells us that the steering column needs replacing. This didn't really surprise me cos when I breaked the steering wheel felt like it was gonna pop out at times. He tells me that with parts and labor it would be approximately $825. *don't insert cash register sound*

I shit my pants. But to my surprise he tells me, "I talked to my manager and he tells me that he knows that you've been in and out of here a lot, dealing with a lot of rattling noises. So he told me to go ahead and replace it and do everything for no charge."

I shit my pants again. Doing shit like that makes me want to buy a car from them again. Considering what a shit hole GM is in right now and how horrible the economy is, doing an eight hundred dollar repair for free is amazing. This is the mark of a good repair place.

My parents and Aurora have also used this dealership for repairs and have never had a single complaint. In fact Aurora herself has received free repairs in the past as well.

Not everyone loves them though. Supposedly Pandora got a repair there and she says they used tape to fix her car and they had to pay twice for the same repair. She freaks out when she hears that we get our car repaired there. Oh well. Can't please everyone.

Now, Pandora's boyfriend tells us to go to Bill Harris's dealership and have our car repaired there.

Well, there's four big problems with Bill Harris. First, they have have a bullet-hole in the class in the front of their dealership. Second, we almost bought a car there after four days of attempting to make a deal. In those four days we looked at nearly ten cars ranging from two hundred dollars a month to four-hundred and fifty dollars a month. After too much jerking around we just left. Third, on November 4th 2008 Bill Harris's dealership threw the biggest party in our town for John McCain, calling their dealership Republican Victory Headquarters. Talk about a way to totally alienate a huge portion of your prospective clients. Fourth, Bill Harris is not just a dealership owner, he's a politican.

I've never had a problem with the dealership I bought my car from. When I bought it, I showed up in the morning, picked the car I wanted, waited for approval, signed paperwork, and drove off with my brand new car that very day without a single problem.

So anyways, now onto the Fish Taco. After we left the dealership with my car (which breaks fantastically now), we went into town to get food to go over to Aurora's house. We got a buncha of regular tacos from Taco Bell and then went through Long John Silver's to get two Fish Tacos.

The Fish Taco is simply amazing. I love it! I love it! Aurora loves it too.

That's all.

Fish Taco = Crazy Delicious.

RIP Michael Jackson & Perez Is A Douchebag

This is not gonna be your typical RIP Michael Jackson post. It is a tragedy and is terribly sad, especially for his family and the fans who had purchased his tickets. But one thing we can remember is Michael Jackson was surely a tortured soul and had major internal issues that he no longer must suffer with. At least we can say that he's no longer suffering. He was an inspiration for multiple generations and he changed the world, moving millions of musicians to produce amazing music. RIP Michael Jackson 1958-2009.

Now onto the douche. Perez Hilton.

If you're not familiar with him, he's got a website where he draws cum on celebrity faces and calls the thinnest celebrities fat cows (he himself being a fat cow). At the beginning his site was funny and quickly updated. Now it's total shit. He'll call Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson fat... then he'll turn around and talk about how terrible teen eating disorders are. He's done a lot of douchey things but within the last few days he's gone overboard. And you won't believe what he said about Michael Jackson.

Well, the first douchey thing he did was call Will.I.Am a faggot. The Black Eyed Peas's manager got so pissed he punched Perez in the face. So GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), demanded him to appologize for saying "faggot" (especially considering that Perez himself is gay and has recieved GLAAD awards).

Did he appologize? No. He said he was sorry to his fans (lol) but not to Will.I.Am. Not to mention, he freaked out because people started saying things like "well, you deserved it" or "when you call people names and spread rumors for a living, this is what you get." Now he's playing the victim because he got hit. Of course he doesn't care about of the mental abuse he puts on people.

So today, Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital and Perez posted this:

"We knew something like this would happen!!
Michael Jackson was taken by ambulance from his Holmby Hills home to a nearby Los Angeles hospital on Thursday afternoon!!
Supposedly, the singer went into cardiac arrest and the paramedics had to administer CPR!!!
His mother is even on the way to visit him!!!
We are dubious!!
Jacko pulled a similar stunt when he was getting ready for his big HBO special in ‘95 when he “collapsed” at rehearsal!
He was dragging his heels on that just like his upcoming 50 date London residency at the 02 Arena, of which he already postponed the first few dates!!!
Either he’s lying or making himself sick, but we’re curious to see if he’s able to go on!!!
Get your money back, ticket holders!!!!"

Did he appologize? No. Did he do anything? Yes! He deleted what he posted hoping that nobody would notice. What a fucking douche.

If there's one thing I can't stand it's a person who says something completely fucking terrible and decides he's such an assholey-douchebag that he won't appologize. What a fucking baby! And he's shocked that we are so sad that he got punched. I hope somebody punches him again.

I'm So Exicted.... And I Just Can't Hide It...

So there's a lot of stuff coming out in the second part of this year that I'm excited for. Yeah, I know. I'm a pop culture whore. Some of it's guilty pleasure, some not. Either way, I'm pumped! Recently I was very satisfied with the new Taking Back Sunday CD as well as the new Marilyn Manson CD. Mandar and I are also loving the Sims 3 so I hope what still is to come won't disappoint.

True Blood: Season 2 - June 14th



Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince - July 15th



Wii Sports Resort - July 26th



Julie & Julia - August 7th



New Cobra Starship CD - August 11th



I Can Do Bad All By Myself - Sept 11th



New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Holiday Season



In addition I am also looking forward to the new Richard Dawkins book for which I couldn't really find a good YouTube video for. There are also new Tarkan, Shakira, and Atreyu CDs slated for release this year!

Good Cover, Bad Cover

I was tagged or memed or whatever to pick a good cover song and a bad cover song. I couldn't make up my mind on the good cover so there are two. There are tons of bad covers but the one I picked was the first to come to mind.

Good Cover
Alien Ant Farm's version of "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson


Atreyu's version of "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi


Bad Cover
Jessica Simpson's version of "These Boots..." by Nanci Sinatra

Scientists Don't Even Believe In Evolution!

Gosh. CNN used be to pretty good. So was TIME magazine. What the fuck happened? Below is a shocking headline from CNN!

Yeah and TIME magazine totally failed with the article below.

Yes, if you read the article is all about how Ida is not our earliest ancestor because in the grand scope of things our ancestry goes far further back. The article is mainly about how scientists didn't need to see Ida to have proof of evolution.

But here's the problem. First of all, this article was on CNN which you click on and sends you to TIME magazine's website. But just think how the average person (who just can't accept evolution) will react to this. They'll look at the headline from TIME and say to themselves, "Oh, so apparently scientists don't believe this thing is real." Like a game of telephone it'll translate to, "Scientists don't even believe in evolution. I guess they have accepted that the book of Genesis is the true account."

Originally the title to the article was "Scientists Roll Their Eyes at Ida" but I guess somebody felt that was inappropriate.

Jesus fucking Christ!

Random Images 3

Once again. Random funnies I found online over the last few months...

This last one is just too disturbing (click here) NSFW!

Facebook Debate Pt. 2

47 Million Years And Waiting

It's clear that no matter how much proof there is, they'll never accept it. Especially when they believe the proof is just made-up by those evil and deceptive scientists!!! Religious people once said "there aren't any transitional fossils!" And now that there are hundreds they say, "Fossils don't prove anything!" Way to move the goal posts!

Hehe. I wonder how many people goggle pissed off with the image above. Darwin's birthday logo was subtle. This is just slap in the face to creationists and I love it!

I Wanna Do Bad Things To You...

Yep, it was inevitable. I fell in love with some vamps. Anne Rice's books were good but never got me enthralled. My fault, not hers. Stephanie Meyer... ugh, sappy, predictable, boring. Her fault, not mine. Then came along Charlaine Harris.

She's a part-time author, part-time minister. She writes stories about sex, drugs, and lots of blood. Every single one of her books in the Sookie Stackhouse series contains the word "dead."

It all started over at Mandar's cousins house. Aurora had gone on for a while about being enthralled by the Sookie Stackhouse novels. She was psyched to be getting the upcoming ninth in the series. After I finished reading Contact by Carl Sagan I thought, sure why not, I'll give it a try.

I bought the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series called "Dead Until Dark." From page one, I was interested. By page 292, I was hooked. Even better, HBO picked up the book and converted them to a weekly one-hour television program which they dubbed True Blood.

The story takes place in the rural Louisiana town of Bon Temps. The books are told from the prospective of 25 year old Sookie Stackhouse. Just months have the underground vampire community decided to "come out of the coffin" thanks to the creation of a sythetic blood drink called TruBlood Sookie is exited to meet a real live vampire when he walks into Merlotte's Bar (where she works of course). Mr. Bill Compton is a gentleman (and has a handsome 1800's look about him). From there Sookie finds herself getting slightly attracted to her dead new friend. The once quiet town of Bon Temps is shocked when several murders occur just months having the vampire's appeared. Sookie is torn between her new beau and the normal life she once had.

Above is the uber amazing Eric Northman (and his second in command Pam), the 1100 year old vampire who runs the vampire bar called Fangtasia. Oh, did I mention that they refer to the people who have sex with vampires as fang-bangers?

The series True Blood is a lot different from the book. Each season of the show represents one book. However, since the book is less than 300 pages long and the show has twelve one-hour episodes, there's time to fill. What I love is how every single scene from the book is in the show. And what's great is they have room to add more. Much much much more!

This show is not for the faint at heart. There is a lot of fucking. And I mean a lot of fucking! There's drug use. Gore. Violence. Blood. Lots of blood. Let's put it this way. Twilight is like huggies pull-ups and True Blood is like Victoria Secret lace lingerie. Don't watch unless you can handle big girl panties!

One of the things I love about the show is it's location. Deep south Lousianna. Just check out the show's opening credits. I love the song they choose and the imagery is perfect.



So it's my new addiciton. Good thing for me, I just finished reading book one and I've got eight more to go (and there currenlty is no end in visible sight for the series). I sure hope HBO keeps this series going for a nice long time!

The Voice Of The People

So I went looking for a nice polo shirt today and I had to poop. So I went into the bathroom and found some of the best graffiti I have ever seen. Enjoy it below. Oh and try spot the spelling error.