Once upon a time, I was in a video store with my then boyfriend trying to pick out a movie to watch. I picked up John Carpenter's Vampires, and proceeded to tell the boy about the coolest scene in the movie, where a guy uses his hot-from-being-fired gun to cauterize a wound he received. Said boyfriend looks at me, shakes his head, and says, "You're not like other girls, Betty."
Name::Braindead Betty From::Indy, Indiana, United States
I just found out. Jay's band is actually getting to play a show with Cancerslug! Yeah, you probably don't know who they are, but if you do, you know how awesome they are, and what a big deal this is.
Those familiar with the history of the punk scene should not be surprised. Those who complain that punk is dead should be educated. Those who call emo the future of punk should go to hell.
When you stop and think about it, what makes more sense than taking an anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment movement and putting it in the middle of one of the biggest and oldest authoritarian establishments around?
Taqwacore is a new Islamic punk movement gaining noteriety around the world. This article features interviews with a playwright, some taqwacore band members, and the author who came up with the name for the movement. They speak with the type of punk rock, cocky bluster John Lydon would be proud of.
I know I'll never completely understand taqwacore, because I'm not a disenfranchised Muslim. But I do understand the love of punk, and the need for your voice to be heard. I can't wait to see where the movement goes.
I haven't gone to the Warped Tour for a couple years, because it makes me feel so damn old. All those 16 year old kids with so much damn energy, it kills me. Not to mention some of the stupidity I hear coming out of their mouths. I remember when the Misfits played, overhearing one kid mention to another that "Gosh, they're playing a lot of Metallica covers." Not to mention the little girl I used to work with who didn't understand why Billy Idol was on the bill.
Not that I have a lot of room to talk, as I don't know very much about what their generation is into. For instance, on this year's tour, who the hell is Boys Like Girls? Or Cute Is What We Aim For? Can I confess that I'm not expecting to like those bands very much? However, I think I'm going to have to go this year, if only for Bad Religion and Flogging Molly. It's just too bad the Vandals are not going to be at the Indy show. I guess that's just asking for too much though.
Sorry I've been kind of MIA this week. Between having the first cold of spring, losing an hour, and being absolutely swamped at work, I've been kind of bleh.
Some of the signs of spring have been cropping up. Besides the cold, the Canadian geese have been showing up. I was attacked by a goose when I was 7, and it left me with a full blown phobia of the hateful things. Jay, of course, thinks this is hilarious, but I find it to be quite a hindrance at times. For instance, I've been late to work twice this week because I refuse to get out of my car if there's a goose between where I'm parked and the door to work.
Jay's band has two shows booked next week and I'm super-excited about one of them. They're opening for an awesome band out of Japan, Peelander-Z. If you've never heard of them, you should check them out. This is also a really good opportunity for the guys, as there should be a pretty big crowd for this show.
I'm sure this is really surprising, but I'm not much of a domestic goddess. Yet I volunteered to make soda bread for a St. Patty's Day party tomorrow. I've never made it before, so wish me luck.
Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, I love my Irish heritage. That doesn't change the fact that St. Patrick was a murderer from Wales who liked to burn libraries. But here's one of my favorite Irish toasts that you're welcome to use tomorrow:
Here's to me and here's to you, And here's to ever after. I'll be true as long as you And not a moment after.
Brent Liles was killed last week while going across a crosswalk with his bicycle. The truck driver who hit him has not been cited for anything at this time, but the crash is still under investigation.
Who the hell is Brent Liles? He just happens to be a former bass player for Social Distortion and Agent Orange. He played bass for Social D on their "Mommy's Little Monster" album. He was only 43 years old. It's always a shame when young rockers die, but it seems even worse when it's a tragic accident like this, rather than an OD or something like that.
"Mommy's Little Monster" is a fantastic album. I'm sure you'll be missed.
Indianapolis had a "crime wave" this year, with our second highest number of annual homicides ever. And then our race for prosecuter was decided over promises made to try an NBA player who fired shots in the air to the fullest extent of the law. And since elections have been over, I've not heard a damn word about that case. Meanwhile, (mostly young, black) people are still dropping like flies. It's so disgusting how obvious it is that the government doesn't care as long as it's poor minorities doing the dying. Blech.
Indiana joined the rest of the world in practicing Daylight Savings Time for the first time this year. It didn't really bother me, especially the one night where we got an extra hour in the bar. Apparently, some people are really worked up over this though.
In Hollywood:
Best Movie I saw in 2006: Talledega Nights; The Legend of Ricky Bobby. Making "Shake 'n Bake" more than just something I like on pork chops.
Best Movie I didn't see in 2006: a tie between The Departed and Last King of Scotland. Hopefully, I'll get to both on DVD in 2007.
Movie I'm Happiest I Didn't Waste My Time On: Borat. I don't get it. Maybe it's just cause I'm not young and hip anymore, but I really just. don't. get. it.
Movie I Wish I Hadn't Wasted $8 On: Eragon. Kinda' sad when the CGI character does the best acting job.
Movie Most Looking Forward to in 2008: The Simpsons. D'oh!
Most Over-Exposed (Pun totally intended) Celebrity of 2006: 3 way tie: Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan. Too bad Lohan actually has talent, as evidenced in Mean Girls, it actually seems kind of a shame that she behaves this way.
Most Improved Celebrity of 2006: Nicole Ritchie. I never thought I'd congratulate an anerexo-celeb for losing weight, but that 85 pounds of Rachel Zoe that Nicole dropped were a fabulous thing.
In Music:
CBGB's closed. Sometimes I feel like I'm so young I missed out on the best part of punk rock's reign. Then I remember that new history is being made every day. The vote is still out on how cheesy the Las Vegas CBGB's that opens later this year will be.
All big bands continued to skip past Indianapolis on their way to Chicago or the East Coast, with one exception. Nine Inch Nails played a show in Indy, though they were not the band to see that night. The reclusive Bauhaus opened for them. 'Twas magic in the air that night. Even if Bela Lugosi was dead.
Goodbyes
Goodbye this year to Don Knotts, comedic genius. (I still love The Incredible Mr. Limpett no matter what anybody says.)
Goodbye to Al Lewis, aka Grandpa Munster. I liked the Munsters so much better than the Addams Family.
Goodbye Coretta Scott King. Behind every good man is a great woman, and you proved that as you continued the fight for civil rights long after your husband was taken from you.
Goodbye Gerald Ford. I didn't know much about you before you died, but from what I've read since then, you sound like a Republican that I could have gotten along with. I salute you, sir.
Goodbye, 2006 and welcome, 2007. I can't wait to see what you have in store.
Halloween was pretty good. Bean was the cutest cowgirl ever. She was really into getting free candy, but would've been just as happy to stay inside Grandma & Grandpa's house where it was warm. I'll get pictures up here sooner or later.
The weekend before Halloween was fantastic. Went to a great show. Got to see "almost" some of my favorite bands. Okay, so they were cover bands. But it was the Pixies, the Ramones, the Misfits, NOFX, and Social Distortion. But even more exciting, Jay's band got booked for next year's Halloween Rip-off show to be the Subhumans.
Then on Sunday I got my hair cut. Yay for it no longer being in an awkward growing-out phase! And the guy who cut my hair is the sweetest thing ever. In addition to being a hair stylist, he's also a sideshow performer and a bass player. I love having interesting friends even though I'm so boring. I'll have to get pictures of my new hair up here too, but I think I'll wait until my giant zit has given me back control of my chin.
It's amazing how much can be accomplished in one drunken night. This past Saturday, I went to my favorite dive bar to watch Jay's band play, and I had a great night. I made some new friends, one of whom is a hairdresser and a sideshow freak. Guess who I'm calling next time I need a trim.
I also got to emcee part of the evening, which brought about a whole new can of worms. See, every Saturday night is Punk Rock Night at this venue. There are 3 people involved in booking the bands, making sure everybody gets paid, emceeing, etc. One of these people, Blue, is getting ready to move to Texas shortly. The guy who started Punk Rock Night, Che, is the person who was supposed to be emceeing Saturday, but he asked me to keep an eye on things while he ran his girlfriend home. He also asked me if I would like to take a more official position with Punk Rock Night.
Personally, I would love to. The problem comes in when it comes to Jay. How can I be in charge of booking, yet still treat his band impartially? It puts me in a bit of a moral dilemma. I think I'm going to end up doing it though.
I've also been trying my hand at a little bit of graphic design lately, nothing fancy just flyers for the band shows. This is the flyer for the show I've been talking about: And this is for the show coming up this weekend: I must say, I'm pretty happy with them.
Jay is my husband. He can be a total jerk, like when he told his little brother the way to get rid of a hard on was to punch it as hard as you can, but he can be the sweetest guy ever, like when he rushes to kiss a boo-boo on our little girl. He's in a punk rock band called Pipe Bomb. He's a total blue collar guy. He's worked in construction for years. There's nothing that he wouldn't do for his family. He's the only guy I've found that can consistently put up with my shit, so I think I'm gonna' keep him.
Bean is our daughter. I refer to her as Bean because she never walks when she can hop. She's like a little jumping bean. I could go on & on about her, but it'd just be the same things every moms say about their kids. Suffice it to say that she's reasonably cute, smart & funny, and we'll just move on.
Sicko is my best friend, simply because she's just as big of a dork as I am. We have a blast every time we get together. 9 times out of 10 we end up having conversations about penises. (Penii?) Regardless, "Dance like noone is watching" could easily be her life motto.
And then there's the band. Left to right it's Eeyore, Jughead, Trippy & Jay. Eeyore suffers from a lot of mental problems. Depression, anxiety disorder, etc. He's also a junkie, which I'm sure doesn't help the problem at all. He's an effing genius when it comes to the bass, though. I've never seen anyone as talented as him. Jughead is, simply put, an idiot. He can't multiply 2 and 100 in his head. Seriously. Trippy's just your average guy, wife, two kids, 9-5.
These are the names you will more than likely see crop up most often in the course of the blog. I'll add other people as the need arises.
And this is for the show coming up this weekend:
I must say, I'm pretty happy with them.
