Hedberg

"NyQuil on the rocks. For when you're feeling sick...but sociable!"
- Mitch Hedberg

Album review: Mitch Hedberg - Do You Believe In Gosh

Mitch Hedberg is one of the greatest comedians of all time.

I'm usually not a fan of posthumous releases, but this one isn't too bad. This live performance was recorded before he died and not released until now. It was definitely a work in progress; several jokes he starts and just quits in the middle. But overall, classic Hedberg, right on key. As usual, you can tell he's drunk and/or high in the recording. He also does a great job ad-libbing and riffing with people in the audience.

What more can I say? Mitch is hilarious.

Mitch Hedberg - Do You Believe In Gosh: 4/5

Rockers who live lives away from the stage

Rockers who live lives away from the stage

Excellent article, all about rockers who have diversified their lives. The downfall of rock music is that it seems to suck in the one-dimensional eccentrics who have no hope of doing anything else.

"...the band has had a number of radio hits and maintains a large international following. Amid all this, Graffin eventually earned a PhD from Cornell University and became tenured at UCLA. He now divides his year between teaching and playing with Bad Religion."

Graffin is the leader of Bad Religion, one of the best punk rock bands of all time. They've released numerous incredible records since the 80's. And he still finds time to teach at UCLA for half of every year. Another of my favorite bands, who was regrettably left out of the article, is The Descendents; nerd-punk rock pioneers who only tour every few years because their lead singer is a well respected biochemist.

Anyway, interesting article. It's nice that rockers occasionally get credited for things other than being drunk.

Rock on,
- Jon

Music and personality

Interesting article I just read, claiming to have a proven link between personality and favorite musical genre:

Music Lovers Have Much More In Common Than You Would Think


And for those that don't feel like reading the article:

What your music says about you

Indie: Devotees have low self-esteem and are not very hard-working, kind or generous. However, they are creative.

Rock 'n' Roll: Fans have high self-esteem and are very creative, hard-working and at ease with themselves, but not very kind or generous.

Blues: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing and at ease with themselves.

Classical: Classical music lovers have high self-esteem, are creative and at ease with themselves, but not outgoing.

Heavy metal: Very creative and at ease with themselves, but not very outgoing or hard-working.

Reggae: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, kind, generous and at ease with themselves, but not very hard-working.

Country & Western: Very hard-working and outgoing.

Dance: Creative and outgoing but not kind or generous.

Rap: High self-esteem, outgoing.

Rock on,
- Jon

In The News

This has nothing to do with music or entertainment - it's just an interesting article I saw online.

Why Men Crave Real (Not Perfect) Bodies

In today's throwaway culture where everything is done at the speed of light (even getting my license at the DMV only took 45 minutes last week), it seems surgical enhancements have become almost commonplace. While it may make your girlfriend hotter, doesn't it seem superficial? The writer makes a good point; if you're lying about your appearance, why shouldn't people assume you're lying about other things? Or that you're not confident, not comfortable in your own skin? I'm not saying that anyone with fake tits or a nose job is untrustworthy, but doesn't it at least seem like they're trying to cover something up?

Not trying to preach, just thought some others may be interested.

I've got some more posts coming in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled.

Rock on,
- Jon

Pineapple Express (Movie Review)

I ended up with tickets to see a sneak preview of Pineapple Express last night.

Plot: A stoner (Seth Rogen) witnesses a murder and runs to his drug dealer's house. Both of them end up being chased by the local drug supplier, and end up on a adventure to save themselves.

Seth Rogen was great as always, although with every movie he becomes more and more typecast as the lovable, pudgy loser/stoner. This time he actually has a job creatively serving people with court papers, but it seems he's stoned most of the time.

James Franco caught me off guard. I'd seen the previews; I knew he was playing a drugged out loser. But he pulled it off surprisingly well, considering everything that I've seen him in before was a serious role. He had some very memorable one-liners in this flick, and was probably the funniest cast member.

Amber Heard played the role of Rogen's high school girlfriend well, even though she's 22. And Gary Cole as the evil drug dealer - who remembers Lumberg from Office Space?? Hilarious.

I had very few qualms with the movie. At times it seemed to drag on without anything funny, and people who come to Pineapple Express are there for a comedy, not an action movie. Sometimes the jokes didn't reach the whole audience. At one point everyone laughed at something I thought was stupid, and another time I was the only one in the theater that burst out laughing. Weird.

Go to this movie if you liked Superbad or Knocked Up. If you thought Superbad sucked, stay away. It's basically another stoner comedy bringing together all the actors from writer Judd Apatow's previous movies. It's got some quality one-liners, overall the plot is lacking, but it's still worth going to see once.

All in all, a pretty good movie. It's out tomorrow (Wednesday 8/6/08) officially, so go check it out if you've got $9 to spare.

Pineapple Express: 3.5/5

311 / Snoop Dogg @ Virginia Beach, VA -- 07.22.2008

After the Alkaline Trio show the other night, getting to see my other favorite band (or at least, other favorite band that's still together) was amazing. And as usual, they didn't disappoint.

311 is by far my favorite live show. Ever since seeing them at VT in 2006 I've been hooked. This was my fifth show, and even though it didn't compare to my fourth 311 show (3/11 day in New Orleans this past March), it was still a great performance. These guys are by far the best performers in modern rock.

Snoop Dogg was also on the show; I won't mention him much below because I wasn't there for him, and therefore probably not qualified to rate his performance. But if you want my opinion, he sucked. He had a live backing band, but still tracked a lot of the show. All he did was walk back and forth, and it looked like he couldn't wait to be finished. Unimpressive, in my opinion.

311 Set list:
1. Beautiful Disaster
2. Do You Right
3. Misdirected Hostility
4. Come Original
5. You Wouldn’t Believe
6. Taiyed
7. Love Song
8. Unity
9. Hydroponic
10. Applied Science
11. All Mixed Up
12. Silver
13. Beyond The Gray Sky
14. Freeze Time
15. What Was I Thinking?
16. Amber
17. Feels So Good
18. Down
E: 19. Freak Out
E: 20. Creatures (For a While)

311 / Snoop Dogg -- Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, Virginia Beach VA -- 7.22.2008
Band:
Stage Prescience: 4/5
- They're everywhere; I've never seen a band with more energy on stage.

Showmanship/technicality: 4.5/5
- The entire band is always so into the performance. The fact that they completely change their set list every night is incredibly impressive. Tim is a great guitarist and he had a crazy mohawk instead of his usual shoulder length hair. Sexton on the drums and P-Nut on bass were amazing as always.

Song Selection: 3.5/5
- In their amphitheater shows they only do about 20 songs (75-90 minutes), which somewhat limits how deep they can go into their catalog. My favorite song "Unity" was definitely a highlight for me. Other great songs were Feels So Good, Taiyed, Freak Out, Creatures, Do You Right and Misdirected Hostility. I definitely could have done without Love Song and Amber...they're both so overplayed, but I guess they have to give the majority what they came for. Overall, no big complaints about the lineup but not stellar either.


Crowd:
Audience participation: 4/5
- The Snoop Dogg crowd was sparse but they were all enjoying it. 311, of course, everyone was jumping around. I wish I'd been in the Orchestra pit, but seats were great too.

Venue:
I'm not really a fan of the big amphitheaters...so impersonal, so generic.

Ticket price: N/A
- Nothing wrong with free tickets, free VIP passes and free parking!

Sound quality: 4.5/5
- Clear lyrics and the bass was thumping. I was told the show was heard from 5 miles away.

Drink/food: N/A
- Fucking $8 beers, but I buy 'em anyway.

Overall show rating: 4/5

Movie review: The Dark Knight

I think I'm going to need more time for this to sink in before I can write a coherent review on it.

All I can say is wow. Go see it.

The Dark Knight: 5/5 (that's right, my first perfect rating on this blog)

Alkaline Trio @ Norfolk, VA -- 07.16.2008

Wow. Just wow.

Best Alkaline Trio show I've ever seen, and this was number 6 for me. The band was animated, they played tracks from almost all of their albums, the crowd response was great, and Matt Skiba didn't yell out the wrong city name or forget any lyrics. They played several songs I've never heard live before, including 2 off compilations. All in all, a great night.

Set List
1. Calling All Skeletons
2. Nose Over Tail
3. I Lied My Face Off
4. I Found Away
5. In Vein
6. Private Eye
7. Mercy Me
8. Warbrain
9. Continental (I think I've got the wrong name on this one)
10. Old School Reasons
11. Armageddon
12. Do You Wanna Know
13. Dead and Broken
14. Goodbye Forever
15. Crawl
16. Help Me
17. Bleeder
18. This Could Be Love
E: 19. For Your Lungs Only
E: 20. Radio

Alkaline Trio -- The NorVa, Norfolk VA -- 7.16.2008
Band:
Stage Prescience: 4/5
- They were all over the fuckin' place.

Showmanship/technicality: 3.5/5
- Matt wasn't drunk, so he was paying attention to the crowd. They're both singing so they're tied to the mics, but even during short breaks between verses Dan and Matt made efforts to connect with the audience instead of just stand at the mic. They got a 3.5 because neither of them is a great musician; rather, they're phenominal lyricists.

Song Selection: 5/5
- Amazing. New stuff. Old stuff. Everything in between. Rarities. 2 songs off compilations that I never expected to hear live. Amazing.


Crowd:
Audience participation: 4/5
- The crowd was way more into the show than The National. Instead of just standing and listening, they were actually getting into it.

Venue:
Ticket price: 4/5
- $18. Not too bad. I also had drinks at Kelly's before the show to get it early, spent $15 there.

Sound quality: 4/5
- Had some trouble discerning lyrics, but that's probably due to the fact that I was in the front row (sound is usually focused ~10 rows back). Nothing too terribly annoying though.

Drink/food: N/A
- I didn't buy anything.

Overall show rating: 4.5/5

Movie review: Wanted

I saw "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman the other night.

Damn. That was pretty fucking sweet.

The phrase of the day is "suspension of disbelief"; as in, if you don't suspend your disbelief, you'll think this movie is total crap. There's ridiculous stunts and cheesy premises, and if you take it seriously you're an idiot.

Plot: a blue collar loser with a shit job and a bitchy boss finds out his long-lost father is an assassin and is recruited by his father's organization to become one as well.

All that can be said is wow. Whoever thought of this must have been smoking something.

But when all is said and done, it actually worked really well. The movie was engrossing and entertaining. Angelina Jolie did well (and she was hot as always). The main character (played by James McAvoy) was someone that most of the audience could easily identify with, and McAvoy did pretty well portraying the character. Morgan Freeman's performance was lacking in depth, I didn't feel like they really developed his character at all, whereas they did a great job developing McAvoy/Jolie.

Special effects: there were some ridiculous special effects and stunts, completely over the top but completely amazing as well. There were at least 3 points in the movie when the entire audiences' collective jaws dropped.

Overall it was a ridiculous premise, but kept me entertained for 2 hours. I'll probably watch it again when the DVD comes out, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes action/Angelina Jolie naked. And who doesn't like that?

Wanted: 4/5

Album review: Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony

Two Alkaline Trio reviews in a row? I promise I'll review some other stuff soon, included "Wanted" next.

I've been eagerly awaiting the new Alkaline Trio album...and I must say, it's not a complete disappointment. Not the best stuff I've ever heard, but definitely not the worst. It came out a week ago, but I gave it a week's worth of listens so I could form a reasonable opinion.

If you're expecting their classics ("Goddamnit", and the self titled album), you will be disappointed. The Trio has matured since "Crimson", and their sound has slightly evolved as well. The album is reminiscent of more recent albums, with the pop/rock feel to it, as well as their usual themes: alcohol, depression, etc.

"Agony & Irony" starts out with a phenomenal track, "Calling All Skeletons", one of my favorites off the album. The high energy and wailing vocals make it a great track to lead off with. The only problem is that the album slows down significantly in the middle, so all the energy they built at the beginning is lost. The end speeds back up somewhat, which is good.

The single: "Help Me" kind of sucks. It's poppier than anything they've done, and the "Lalala"s throughout are annoying as fuck. I hated the song at first; I hate to say it's growing on me, and it is a little, but overall I'm not a fan.

The CD continues with "In Vein", a great high energy track. Plus Dan sings lead, which I generally prefer. I almost think this should have been the first single, but whatever. Track 5 is the next highlight, "I Found Away". A string of slow songs kills the energy at this point, up until track 9, "Lost and Rendered", which is another great one.

I should mention: I did get the Deluxe edition (bonus disc). The disc is worth it: nice case instead of a paper sleeve, an unreleased song ("Burned Is The House", good track), as well as 5 acoustic songs. Definitely worth the extra $5.

Agony & Irony Overall:
- Lyrically good
- Musically mediocre
- Catchy at parts, slow at others

If you like recent Trio albums, I'd recommend it.

Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony (Deluxe Edition): 3.5/5

Alkaline Trio @ Richmond, VA -- 06.19.2008

First show review. SO I've come up with some categories, I'm going to try to stick to these for all live show reviews. Maybe I'll add some, but for now this is what I'm going with. I'm rating 3 different aspects: band, crowd, and venue.

Band:
Stage Prescience
Showmanship/technicality
Song Selection

Crowd:
Audience participation

Venue:
Ticket price
Sound quality
Drink/food

Let me start by saying that Alkaline Trio is one of my favorite (recorded) bands, so I may be a bit biased.

That being said...for any fan, the show was good. For a non-fan (someone who only knows a few songs), you would have been completely lost, but you still would have had fun. To me, Alkaline is a "sing along" band, as in, if you know the song and can sing along you'll enjoy it but if not then you're Shit Outta Luck (SOL).

Matt Skiba (vocals/guitar) forgot lyrics at least 3 times in the first 4 songs. And on "Old School Reasons", he forgot the whole verse and stopped the song, laughing. It wasn't really that funny. Then he restarted the song where he got lost originally, and couldn't get the lyrics right again! Did they rehearse at all before they hit the road?

Alkaline Trio is generally a dark and brooding band; most of the songs are about lost love, alcoholism, drug use, anger, or any combination of those. But Matt was on stage in his popped collar half-sleeve shirt with one of those funky hats. He looked like he should be listening to Fall Out Boy and shallow-slicing his wrists just enough so it leaves tiny scabs, so he could brag to his friends about them.

But overall, I enjoyed seeing them live. It's been 2 years since they toured, so it was good to have them back in action.

Also - this was the best version of "Radio" I've ever seen. It was the last song of the set, but they were all (finally) into it. They had GREAT audience participation, and it was a great ending to the evening.


Set List (approximate, if there's a # I forgot the order). I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting a few songs as well:

1. Private Eye
2. Clavicle
3. I Lied My Face Off
4. Mercy Me
5. In Vein
#. Goodbye Forever
#. Every Thug Needs A Lady
#. Skeletons (off the new album, not sure of the title)
#. She Took Him To The Lake
#. Help Me
#. Time To Waste
12. Armageddon (GREAT version)
13. Crawl
14. This Could Be Love
E: 15. Old School Reasons
E: 16. Radio


Alkaline Trio -- The National, Richmond VA -- 6.19.2008
Band:
Stage Prescience: 3/5
- Matt Skiba (vocals/guitar) and Dan Andriano (bass/vocals) share singing responsibilities almost equally, which means they're tied to their mic stands since they're also playing an instrument (no headset mics, they're not a boy band). When they're not singing they're moving around somewhat, but overall I've always been a little bored at their shows since they're so stationary.

Showmanship/technicality: 3/5
- Neither Matt or Dan are particularly "great" musicians: they're both (lyrically) phenominal songwriters. Derek Grant (drums/vocals), is a great dummer, although he uses more of his arms than feet. But both Matt and Dan do basic/rudimentary guitar and bass lines, no solos. I could play better with my buttcheeks.

Song Selection: 2.5/5
- There was a definite skew towards "new" stuff. I know, with any band it will be that way because they want to sell the new album. But Alkaline Trio has so many old old fans (I've been listening since 1999) that they should pepper in a few more old tracks, in my opinion. Of course there were old staples that they play every show, but how about a few rarities?

Crowd:
Audience participation: 1.5/5
- The audience SUCKED. They just fucking stood there. The front row or two were going nuts, but that's to be expected. Past that, everyone just stood there. Fuck Richmond fans, apparently.

Venue:
Ticket price: 4/5
- $17.50. Not bad, I guess. I bought through the presale as well, which may have saved on service fees.

Sound quality: 2/5
- Second show I've been to at The National, and both times I thought something was off with the sound. I can't pinpoint it; maybe the highs are too tinny, and there's not enough bass. There's no subs on the stage like I'm used to, so maybe that's it. The speaker stack seems underpowered as well.

Drink/food: N/A
- I didn't buy anything. But based on past shows at The National/Norva (owned by the same guy) everything would have been way overpriced if I HAD bought anything.

Overall show rating: 3/5

I gave it a 3/5 cause of certain band factors, but keep in mind that Alkaline Trio is one of my favorite bands. I've seen them 4 or 5 times, and I'll admit it, they're not great live. I'd go see any show near me, but for most people, this show probably isn't worth the money. Listen to the CDs instead.

At any rate, I had fun.

Rock on,
- Jon

"I've got a needle scratch in me,
It injects the poison of alcohol IV"
- Trio

Striving For Mediocrity

I meant to write this 2 weeks ago when the album came out but...it just slipped my mind. Anyway...

The new Weezer album blows. And it blows hard.

The aptly titled "Red Album" (they must have known it would make my ears bleed) starts off decent. The first two tracks are nothing to write home about, but they kept me entertained. But by track 3 ("Pork and Beans", the first single), I had started to lose interest. The tracks just started blurring together. And by track 7, I had lost all hope for humanity. I forced myself to listen to the rest of the album, then stared at a blank wall for a second because it was more interesting that what I had just heard. As a whole, it felt like a remake of the "Make Believe" album, which sucked pretty bad as well except for the song "Perfect Situation".

On the second listen (I always try to give music a second chance, no matter how hard an album blew the first time), nothing improved. Seriously, nothing.

I will give them credit where credit is due - they still have a sense of humor. The video for "Pork and Beans" is kinda funny, but the song sounds like...well...sounds like they're channeling past singles, like "Hash Pipe" and the utterly terrible "Beverly Hills".

Overall - save your $15. Just listen to Make Believe, it sounds the same anyway.

Weezer - The Red Album - 1.5/5

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

As usual, I'm a little behind the times on seeing the movie. Deal with it.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was definitely worth it. Funny throughout, great characters, and pretty good storyline.

Judd Apatow scores again. Superbad, Knocked Up, Talladega Nights, 40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman...the list goes on and on. All his comedies focus on a loser/clueless character that the audience can identify with. While it's a great movie, he's chosen a relatively simple concept and stuck with it (and he does it well). It'd be interesting if he branched out in future movies, maybe tackle a more serious topic, or something.

Jason Segel played the part of the dumped relationship-mourning loser very well. His songs were great. Could have done without seeing his twig and giggleberries though.

Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell did well in their roles, and they're both damn hot. Especially Mila Kunis.

My favorite character was Paul Rudd, even though he only had a couple scenes. He played the stoned Hawaiian-implant surfer dude to perfection. Hilarious.

Not a whole lot of character development, but I guess that wasn't the point of the movie. And the male nudity was totally unnecessary. There's really not too much to say...it was funny, that's about it.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 4/5

Music can soothe even the savage beast

Note the song of the day.

Fucking A. 'Nuff said.

Rock on,
- JH

----------------
Now playing: Green Day - She's A Rebel
via FoxyTunes

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Surprisingly Decent Sequel

First off, I promise there's no spoilers here.

Sequels.....so they usually suck. They usually suck a fat one. But sometimes, there is one that breaks the rule.

I'm not saying that "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was great by any means. But it definitely was worth the $7.00.

The plotline - Maybe I went in with low expectations, but the movie exceeded them. I expected a cheesy throwback to the feelgood original Indiana Jones, and while there were one or two moments, they didn't overwhelm or dominate the story. The plot was overall pretty good, cheesy at points, but you come to expect a little cheesiness in and Indiana Jones movie.

Harrison Ford - Did a great job continuing his role as Indy. He had moments where his age showed, i.e. the second scene, in the warehouse, he definitely looked like an old man trying to run instead of the semi-young dude we all envision as the title character. It's definitely a big step above his last "action" movie (Firewall), where he looked like he was about to keel over from a heart attack. But overall, his acting kept the movie afloat, definitely more that the other characters.

Shia LaBeouf - The real life hooligan played a fuckin' hooligan in the movie, so he was pretty good at his role. I don't have much more to say about it....not bad, but definitely not memorable. I still give him props for getting with Megan Fox in Transformers.

Cate Blanchett - Second movie in a row of hers that I really didn't care for how she played the role (the last was the "I'm Not There" tribute to Bob Dylan. Yes, a chick playing Bob Dylan). She was mediocre but nothing to write home about. The fake Russian accent made my ears bleed a little.

HOWEVER - I was caught off guard (maybe because I avoided reading pre-reviews) that Karen Allen showed up in this one. She was Marion in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", for those of you who don't remember. And damn, she's still pretty easy on the eyes 27 years later. She looked good for her age, and even after 27 years was able to hit the exact same character she played back in 1981.

The Good - Karen Allen and Harrison Ford
The Bad - Cate Blanchett
The Mediocre - Shia LaBeouf, The Plotline

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 4/5
The quick and easy: Surprisingly decent, definitely worth seeing.

Rock on,
- Jon

Iron Man

I saw Iron Man this week...I know, I'm about 2 weeks behind the rest of the country.

It was pretty good. I think I went into it with higher expectations because of all the positive reviews it was getting, so it didn't meet those exceedingly high expectations.

I thought Robert Downey Jr. did a good job in the role. It was odd seeing him out of his normal character as the drugged out loser/nerd (go see A Scanner Darkly if you're not sure what I'm talking about). But despite being out of "character", he nailed the superhero role. At least he finally shaved for a role.

Gwyneth Paltrow looked hot. Enough said.

The technology and graphics were good throughout. That suit was fuckin' cool.

Some of the storyline was a little ridiculous and over the top, and there were a few scientifically impossible things that were nagging at me throughout the movie. But hey, it's based on a comic book - suspend your disbelief for 2 hours and just enjoy it.

Overall, I'd say it's worth checking out in theaters. I'll get the DVD from Netflix when it comes out, but it's probably not worth buying. In the meantime, go check it out and get psyched for the new Indiana Jones this week.

"Iron Man" rating: 3.5/5

It's too soon for another post

We all know what you're thinking.

What the fuck? He just posted his first blog 6 minutes ago, and he's already posting a rant? This dude is crazy.

Well, the rant in question in directed at Blogspot. I start to fill out my profile, and for the Industry category there is no "Music" option. I would have settled for "Entertainment", but alas, there is none. They have Fashion...but not Music or Entertainment. I guess "Arts" will have to do for now.

Rock on,
- Jon

Goodbye, My Blog Cherry

So...I'm finally starting one of these things. There are plenty of reasons I've decided to get involved in this instantaneous "blog" culture we live in today. I know, I'm 10 years behind the curve, but I just didn't care before. But at age 24, I think it's about time I lose my blog-ginity (it was either that or "blog virginity", which sounds almost as funny).

I've always had the ability to write well, but never have been one to publicly express my opinions. But every day I read the news and there's so much ridiculous shit out there that I can't help but laugh.

I'll try to post on here frequently. It may be once a day, once a month or anywhere in between. I'll write when something strikes my fancy. I won't be writing to entertain or amuse (very few people will probably be reading anyway).

So, on to the subject matter.

1. Entertainment News. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the blatantly stupid. This will form a majority of my column.
   
2. Politics. It's an election year; I'll have plenty to say.
   
3. Reviews. Movies, music, books, etc.
4. Random shit. Especially shit that entertains me, or that I find hilarious.
5. Other stuff. Whatever strikes my fancy.
   

I should warn you:
- I curse like a sailor, and may make gross/disturbing/offensive remarks. Note the title of this post.
- I am very opinionated if I'm passionate about something, but I will at least consider your point of view.
- I will express my personal opinions. If you don't like them, I will certainly engage you in a logical debate via comments or email. If you choose to post, I reserve the right to mock you mercilessly.
- The point of this is to have fun (not piss people off, or make money, or whatever). If you take life so seriously that you can't form a rational response to my opinions, don't post at all.

In closing...don't be a cattle being led to slaughter. This world is built on free thinking and forming your own opinions. Express them if you feel they need to be heard. Even if they get shot down, at least you tried.

Until next time.

Rock on,
- Jon

"I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things a different way."
- Dead Poets Society