Oh my! What is this?! WARM WEATHER?!

If you live in Oklahoma, and have not yet seen the weather report for the week, you'll be surprised this week when we reach temperatures of 60 and above for the entire work week! Sadly, it seems cooler weather may return next weekend, but I plan to enjoy the warmth while it's here.

In other business, if there is anything on which you'd like to hear my thoughts, please feel free to post the topic in my comments. I'll keep bringing the topics...as long as you'll keep reading.

Back Again: My Posts And The White Stuff As Well

After another extended hiatus, I've decided to return. I only return because I feel I have more to discuss with the world and hope someone is out there listening. Today's subject, the evil that is the llello.

In the past few months, I've noticed a sharp incline in the usage of cocaine among, especially, younger Americans. Though I'm unsure as to what led to such an increase, I know it is a problem that needs to be recognised by the general public soon. It seems as though everyone is ignoring the issue, either because they choose not to acknowledge it, or simply because they just don't know it's happening behind their backs. Well it's just about time that something is done, and I'm just here to bring the message to the masses.

Now to elaborate upon my personal experience with the drug. While I, myself, have never tried, nor ever wanted to try, the drug, I currently know at least three of my friends are using cocaine. How do I feel about it? Well, if it has the possibility to end my stint in my band, to end a friendship, or to never see someone again, I must say that I don't like it at all. Being that they all mix it with alcohol, which creates an even more dangerous and deadly chemical called cocaethylene, I feel as though the issue needs to be dealt with more quickly...not only because I don't want to lose my friends, but also because I don't want to see so many lives ruined, and possibly ended, because of a drug.

While authorities are out there arresting people for smoking marijuana and sending them to jail for years, or harassing skateboarders for doing what I consider to be a sport, the cocaine epidemic is being seemingly ignored. How can everyone be so blind? Is it the memories of the glamorous 80's? The days of oil industry coke parties? Though it was once the drug of choice for the white collar hipsters, it has become the same for the ill-informed youth of America. The so-called war on drugs is being completely pushed aside and directed toward the wrong people. We can only sit here, doing what we can to inform the people, hoping that we can one day work together to actually do something about it. Until then...we wait...

[Let me know what you think. Want to hear my rant about a certain issue? Post it in the comments!]

By Popular Demand: New Rant

I am currently in the midst of an arguement where my opponent swears that 99% of all "big bands" today use backing DAT audio tracks when performing live. For those of you who don't know what a DAT track is, allow me to explain. A backing track is used when a band wishes to make their live show more "full" sounding, or when a band is unable to play their songs as well as they'd like to do so. There are many bands out there that do in fact use this as a "crutch", but nowhere near 99% of all bands.

My stance on DAT usage is as follows. If you have a band that relies heavily upon electronical effects, the usage of DAT is understandable, but if you use it just so you can take it easier on stage, that is a chickenshit way of doing so. Being in a band, if my bandmates EVER suggest using a DAT backing track live, I will leave the band immediately. If a band is THAT set on not doing their job, i.e. "rocking the house" in an honest manner, I don't want to be a part of it. Songs using effects that can't be used live can easily be altered for live purposes.

Nothing will change my stance on this practice...

Alright NOLA...

With two full days' notice, many decided they wanted to stay in their safe, bowl-shaped, flood-prone haven. Of course, the levee broke, flooding 80% of the city. But it's what happened in the days following that really angers me. The displaced people are now being referred to as "refugees", as if they're fleeing war-torn Somalia. These "refugees" have gone on looting sprees, but not only for useful necessities...oh no...that'd make sense...but instead they are stealing EVERYTHING! What the hell is a person with no home, no power, and no way to get these things going to do with a TV?! Seems that they've also been robbing gun dealers and using those guns to shoot at the FEMA rescue workers. These few assholes are ruining it for the rest of those misfortunate enough to be stranded in New Orleans! This has actually caused FEMA to discontinue rescue missions for the time being. Now it's been THREE DAYS since the hurricane hit. These people have been stranded without useable water and food for THREE FULL DAYS! If they don't get food and water quickly, I feel many, or perhaps all, of these people will soon be dead, as many have already.

Then again, at least our National Guard is busy in Iraq! Doing things that...well...really don't help us at all. The government fails the country again.

Now...I'm really tired...so it's back to bed I go...

Connection Problems Resolved!

Hmm...guess it really didn't have anything to do with IE... ;)

Confessions of a Former Substitute Teacher

NOTE: To protect the innocent, no colleagues or students will be mentioned by name in this article.

It was my junior year of high school when I decided I'd like to pursue a career in the education field. I had grown increasingly interested in psychology as well as how school's work and wondered what it would be like to teach the subject to students. The year following my graduation in 2002, just days after my 18th birthday, I began substitute teaching at my alma mater. The strangest part of my first subbing job was that there were actually students in the class that were older than me, and many other students that recognized me from the previous year. It was soon a normal occurrence to be asked immediately by students in the halls "what class are you subbing today?" Yes, I'd achieved the much-coveted "cool sub" title.

In my two years of substituting, I saw many things. I was groped by more than one student. I witnessed two couples of supposedly straight girls making out in more than one instance. I was forced to recognize my Generalized Anxiety Disorder as the result of a panic attack during a class without provocation. And finally, I saw some of the most idiotic and retarded acts by students. On the flip-side, I was able to see the other side. The side where these were no longer my teachers, but my colleagues. Where these were no longer principals, but bosses. I got to hear some great testimonials from these individuals regarding the field, good and bad.

It eventually became a burden, and I was forced to discontinue my career as a substitute teacher. I didn't have enough funding to continue schooling, and still owe my college a good amount of money; a bill that must be paid before I move on to more classes. I have decided against the education field for a few reasons. First of all, the pay would not be enough for the work being done. The students can make you feel like a hero at times, and a completely useless and helpless piece of trash at others. I thought that those students who fail classes just needed a good teacher to step in and turn them around. I once dreamed that I'd one day be that teacher. But when one of the best, and most lenient, teachers I'd ever had the pleasure of calling a friend told me that he still has students that fail his class, and that it eats at him all the time, I knew the dream was exactly that...a dream. If a student doesn't want success on their own, there is nothing the teacher can do to change that. Such is the curse of the educator.

Right now, I'm planning to someday soon get my degree in Music Recording followed by a degree in psychology. Who knows though, maybe I'll go back to education, but at age 21, the future is wide open.

Posthumous Popularity?

Ah, now this is something I have been wanting to rant about for some time now. I wish it was more fresh on my mind, but when this atrocious deed occurred I was without an outlet. Thinking back to high school, I remember that the drivers were never good. Come to think of it, high school drivers are hardly skilled. Many wrecks occur with students leaving or returning to an open-campus school every year, though only a small portion are fatal. This is the portion on which I'd like to focus my rant.

The first fatal wreck I remember hearing about was during the middle of my senior year. "Chris" was the passenger in a car that was struck overnight by a believed drunk driver. His funeral was held at the Lyle Boren Activity Center at the school, but not many attended. He received a page in the yearbook as a remembrance. Ah, a kind gesture. The year continued on, and graduation night came. The next day, all of the seniors were let out of normal schooling to attend a "Senior Brunch" where we would bowl and eat for free. Overnight, however, something happened that would send that all crashing down.

I awoke on the day of the brunch to a phone call from a senior sponsor who was sobbing heavily on the answering machine. The message said we were to meet at the Activity Center instead of the bowling alley. I arrived at the LBAC and met with friends before entering the building and seeing tables and chairs full of people crying. On the previous night, "Zach" had attended a graduation party and gotten drunk off his ass. For some idiotic reason, he decided to drive home...WITH THE KEG. Along the way, he swerved off the road and into a tree. It has been said that when he hit the tree, the keg flew toward the front of the vehicle, decapitating him. Needless to say, there would be no bowling, there would be no fun.

Here were hundreds of seniors, juniors and sophomores crying at what was supposed to be my senior brunch. SENIOR brunch. So why was everyone up in arms about this person, who stupidly killed himself, receiving more grief and attention than someone who was killed by a possible drunk driver? Ah yes...popularity. My friends and I, whom were all quite angry about missing out on free bowling, left to find our own fun on our day off. Oh, I already know what you're saying..."You're so selfish, you heartless bastard!" Feel free to think that, but why should I pretend to care about someone that I didn't know and who killed himself ruining my fun? But the best was yet to come...

You learn a lot of things growing up. Be polite. Say no to drugs. But there's one that many teens never get through their heads. Buckle Up. One day in the 2003-2004 school year, senior "Brad", a very popular guy, got into the SUV of his craptastic driver-of-a-friend and they headed to Midwest City for lunch. On the way, the driver decided a bus was not moving swiftly enough and decided to pass. Why was the bus moving so slow? Oh yes, because it was turning...left... The SUV crashed directly into the turning bus, sending Brad flying out of the windshield to his death. The other passengers and the driver escaped with only minor injuries, but why was "Brad" ejected? Ah...of course...because he had entered the vehicle of a friend, who he knew drove insanely bad, and didn't buckle his seat belt. Everyone at the school was distraught. The "Buckle Up for Brad" campaign began, reminding everyone to buckle their belts. Many blamed the driver for the death, which ultimately led to his attempted suicide, but was it his fault? I say it wasn't. Sure he could drive better, sure he could have made sure his friend was wearing his seat belt, but isn't it ultimately the responsibility of the "self" to do such a thing?

So the question I pose is: would all of this hoopla have been incited for someone that wasn't so popular? Would anyone outside of their small circle of friends have even cared? Popularity is a great injustice in life...and seemingly...in death. It may not be fair, but it's human nature, and we'll have to learn to deal with such hypocrisy.

Different Topic...Different Blog

Prepare for the worst...