car mosh

A late post, but worth talking about. This post will be boring/obvious for my friends but hopefully everyone else gets a glimpse into my life.

I went to Rainfest this weekend: a three day long hardcore fest in Seattle. I got to see some bands I'm extremely stoked on and hang out with many cool people. Plus I ate a vegan calzone at Vegan Pizza Pi, which was next level delicious.

Hardcore, as a community (and I'm using that word tentatively) has many problems. The largest being that there are quite a few guys who only like it because they think it's hard and that moshing somehow makes them tough. I am annoyed enough with macho posturing in mainstream culture, I don't need it at shows. There are other issues too.

But by and large, hardcore is full of excellent dudes and ladies. It's not every day you get to see hundreds of people screaming and flailing wildly to incredibly heavy music, then later happily singing along to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song when it comes on the PA.

I got to meet some of my favourite artists not as a fan, but as a peer. They were just people hanging out. Al Brown, vocalist of Dangers, is a man I greatly respect. I love that band and have learned so much from their music. We argued about whether hot drinks are worth it. There is no separation between fan and musician, no barrier of security guards and business. We're all just stoked to be there and that's that.

Some singers of bands called out the crowd on their everyday hypocrisies. Others encouraged us, reminding that this didn't have to be a phase. I saw and met people in their late 30s and 40s who were still playing in bands and keeping to their ideals. It was hundreds of people gathering together because we're angry, because from this music comes catharsis, togetherness and joy.

So keep your Justin Bieber and Nickleback. This music doesn't make money. It's flawed and I often hate it but punk and hardcore is special because it's ours. It's the music of the weirdos and cynics. As Minor Threat played it all those years ago, we're out of step with the world.

It's only music, yes. But it's music worth believing in.

sarcasm much?

According to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, nuclear arms are dangerous to international relations and human existence in general. In short, they're bad and signatories of the treaty agree to disarm.

Oh, unless you're the government of France, China, the UK, Russia or the United States (who also the five permanent members of the UN security council. surprise!). Then it's fine. Really, just hold onto them. Those ~1000 actively deployed nuclear warheads of China or the 5,113 the US has, that's fine. Because we all know that all of those countries are never wrong or wage any horrific, unjust wars.

Also, Israel can apparently just do what it wants, being such a strategic ally of the US. And Pakistan is allowed to test nowadays because it's important to the war in Afghanistan. But if a strategically unimportant nation decides to develop weapons, especially if it's not full of white people, then watch out. That's what the schisms with North Korea and Iran are about. Apparently the evil empires are the ones with nuclear weapons. Even one. But not 5,113--that's a number bristling with freedom.

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I have heard the justification that we (we apparently being the rich people) need such weapons to maintain the delicate balance of power between less than friendly nations--such as the US and China. But such huge stockpiles are also useful as a deterrent. No one would dare attack those nations while they hold the trump card. As a result, they act as a worldwide protection against others developing nuclear arms. You know what I say to that?



Those five nations have some of the bloodiest and most manipulative records in the last 50 years. They support brutal dictatorships for strategic or business interests, wage proxy wars against each other and, most chillingly, are willing to use said nuclear or atomic weapons, often on civilian targets as in the case of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. This is clearly a case of might makes right. The governments with the biggest guns are trying to rewrite history and shape perceptions that they are somehow the shining white knights. Well, I'm more scared of those five countries than anything Iran can put together.

Oh, and enjoy the 1.03 TRILLION DOLLARS the US is spending on the military this year. I feel the world becoming safer as we speak.

dear abbey has nothing on me, besides syndication...and heteronormativity

You know what annoys me? Well, a lot of things actually.

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But let's stay focused. There's a tradition in pop culture (especially movies and comics) of the nerdy guy or girl who is in love with the popular, good looking cheerleader/quarterback/whatever. Usual this will take place in a high school, sometimes not. It's everywhere. From Taylor Swift to Spider-Man. Especially in the case of the nerdy guy, ms. pedestal will stick up for him when her jock boyfriend makes fun of him. It's twu luv--all the nerd has to do is gain superpowers, be good at football or get a makeover (in some cases, just taking off her glasses). Well I call shenanigans.

Ok, we all know it's a stupid plot. The outcast has to somehow prove his or her worth in some idiotic contest, treating their crush like some sort of prize. Added to that is in the case of the girl outcast the contest is nearly always getting hot (oh hey, look: misogyny!) and for the boy it usually involves sports. While it's a pretty obvious symptom of the status seeking, patriarchal aspects of our culture, it's hardly alone. Most of pop culture is a monument to those things, after all.

No, my particular beef today is with the nerdy outcasts, speaking as one of your own: why do you want mr or ms. pedestal in the first place?
Usually it's because they're really attractive and show a basic level of kindness towards the protagonist. Oh! My heart is skipping beats as we speak.

First off, while finding someone attractive is important if you want to date them, being good looking doesn't make you a good person. That's such a stupidly obvious statement I feel dumber for writing it. But if so why am I constantly surrounded by messages that say the opposite?

Secondly, liking sports and cars also doesn't make you a good person. We all have varying interests--some more out there than others. Liking all the things most people like isn't a plus in fact it can be a bad thing. Those interests define our personalities, which are kind of a big deal. Guess what, that rich, popular girl/guy isn't going to suddenly like the things you do! And radically changing yourself to fit in with them is just a shade above suicide.

Finally, and this was the hardest won lesson so pay attention: someone being nice doesn't mean they're attracted to you. We always assume the opposite sex have these bizarre mating rituals that we'll never be able to decipher. Put two minutes of thought into it and I bet you can come up with some ideas about what a person does when they want to date you.

So let's all take a look down the hall and into the cubicle of that attractive person who always says hi but you've never had a real conversation with. Who talks about getting drunk and shoes/fantasy football while we might prefer Robert Jordan or gardening. Now let's admit we only like them for their looks and this weird idea that we have to be attracted to them because they spent too much money on their car and seem to have lots of friends around the office. Let's (and I'm saying let's because I need to do this to) take a deep breath and realize that someone who we can have an actual conversation with would be a much better match.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Mean Girls is a good movie.

targeted blocks

"is it surprising that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons?"
-michael foucault

there is something in the air today. oh yes, oh yes there is.