A Rant On Relationships Or At Least How us.reachout.com Views Them

I'm sure you've all seen those "We've Been There" commercials. Well I checked out the site out of curiousity and this was one of the things I read that I had a serious issue with...

http://us.reachout.com/blog/forever-alone-on-february-14

And this was my response:

I'm sorry Brandon but this is the biggest piece of horsecrap I've ever read in my entire life. It is very, very possible to be single and happy, however to act as if being in a relationship is somehow bad annoys me. I mean from the looks of it you have absolutely no idea what being in a relationship is like.

"You can concentrate on doing things you enjoy. You don’t have to worry about pleasing someone else, so you can focus on yourself. Maybe finish reading that book you’ve always wanted to read or start up a new activity."

Because it's totally impossible to finish reading a book or start a new hobby or (god-forbid) do something you enjoy when you're with someone.

"Your decisions only affect you and don’t involve a partner's wants, needs or contradictory opinion. If you want to go to a certain restaurant, go for it. You have no one holding you back, no one you have to consult with first."

You don't have to ask your boyfriend/girlfriend about every single thing you do, if you do have to do that you're in what is called an "Unhealthy Relationship". If you're dating someone and they're holding you back then it's probably time to end it.

"You can save a lot of money. Let’s face it, relationships cost a lot of money. The dates, the presents, the clothes to look good, the gas money; it all adds up. When you’re, single you get to keep it all for yourself."

1) Dates don't have to break the bank, ever. The best date I've ever been on was when me and my then boyfriend went downtown and I brought him to all of my favorite places and then he brought me to all of his favorite places and the food's outrageously cheap in that area. Bam, perfect date, practically free.

2) I (and most people I know) would prefer if someone spent a couple hours making a mix CD (a FREE mix CD) than anything you could ever buy from any mall

3) You should want to look good anyway... not for anyone in particular just for you

4) Gas money shouldn't really be an issue unless your boyfriend/girlfriend lives 40 minutes away.

That said, here are some logical reasons why being single can be a good thing.

a) You can flirt with anyone you want.

b) You don't have to fill your parents in on every single aspect of your significant other's life (if your parents are as obnoxiously curious as mine)

c) You can play the field and figure out what you really want in a boyfriend/girlfriend

d) You can have absolutely no reason at all.

It seems absolutely redundant to attempt to make someone feel better about being single by telling them that being in a relationship sucks... Better possible advice? If you think you're sad because you're single you'll most likely be sad when you're not. Happy people have happy relationships, better yourself before considering one.

DFTBA,

Chuck

Postscript: I meant to post this last night, like I had it all typed and ready to go... I guess I just never pressed "Publish Post"

I apologize for my disappearance but there's something that bugs me about KONY 2012 and I need to talk about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
(For anyone who may not know what KONY2012 is)

1
2

First of all, click those links and you'll know most of what I'm about to tell you.


There are many reasons not to support the charity group Invisible Children among them include:

• Joseph Kony probably isn't in Uganda
• Many of the facts mentioned in the video are outrageously misrepresented
• Joseph Kony isn't abducting children for no reason, it isn't a good reason but he's not abducting raping and murdering just for the fun of it as the video blatantly portrays

Not to mention the fact that the "policy makers" and "culture makers" that Invisible Children is so obsessed with getting the attention of really have absolutely no power in the conflict itself, only in American public opinion and intervention.

Invisible Children wants the people of the United States to force the government of the United States to assist a group, who until a few years ago was using child soldiers to fight AGAINST the LRA, in using military action against Joseph Kony.

What Invisible Children does is take sides in a complicated conflict that truly has no transparent "good guy" or "bad guy". If you're okay with taking the lesser of the two evils to temporarily save kids who will most likely suffer under the current Ugandan government then by all means continue to support this cause.

However, if you want to stop rape murder and abduction I challenge you to realize that giving power to a group that is also infamous for rape, murder, and abduction isn't going to solve much of anything.

Do the Ugandan people WANT the United States to come into their homeland, guns blazing, to take out one man and then leave? Or do they want a peaceful end to a conflict that has already left them broken? The KONY2012 campaign doesn't ask that question, but it gives them an answer.

DFTBA,
Chuck

Postscript: I seriously think we should consider getting this blog back up and running, (sorry for stealing whoever's day this is)...

Postpostscript: Just in case you were wondering about me, I am officially a High School graduate. I've decided to take a semester off before starting college. I've also decided that I'm going to attend Purchase College in NY instead of Bowling Green State University in OH, it's a lot closer to home. I've been occupying my time by interning at a Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at a local college and partying... I hope you're all doing really well! Best wishes!

Harry Potter Week!!

I literally just bought my tickets for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Words cannot describe how excited I am.

(seriously though... how epic is this poster? I want it.)

I first got into Harry Potter when my friend Robert forced me to go see Prisoner of Azkaban with him when I was 10. Right after that I went and bought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone and after reading it I was instantly addicted. After that I read 2-5 (because that's all that was out at the time). The rest is history.

I remember going to the midnight parties for Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, and the midnight showings of the Order Of The Phoenix, Half Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows Pt1 movies. They were so much fun.

I, like soooo many other people, grew up on Harry Potter. It's been a major part of my life for such a long time. I don't even know who I would be right now if it wasn't for Harry Potter.

Okayyyy now I'm going to list off (in order of excitement) the things that I can't wait to see in HPDHPT2

#5 The break in at Gringotts

#4 Harry's death scene

#3 The epilouge

#2 The final battle

#1 Mrs. Weasley's duel with Bellatrix (I mean seriously. That was literally the best part in all seven books.)

DFTBA

-Chuck

Postscript: I would like to propose a challenge to everyone to try and see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 on the opening weekend (at midnight if you can ;).

Postpostscript:

I totally forgot to add this, but this time next week I'll be on a plane to Germany. I'm pretty sure that I'll have internet access once I get there so posting most likely won't be a problem, however the week after that I'll be in France and I don't know if I'll be able to post then. I'm realllllllllly excited though.

What a crazy week.

Two huge things happened in the last week.

First, friday night Gay Marriage in New York was passed into law.

and second Peter Parker was killed in Ultimate Spider-Man #160

More on that in a second... onto the theme!

I believe, to the best of my knowledge, that the theme is like end of the school year/ summer vacation week. This summer is going to be fantastic! I'm really looking forward to it... I just got home from my friend's graduation party (which is why I'm posting so early) and in about 5 hours I have to be up to attend this program at UAlbany for four days. I guess I'm looking forward to it... This summer I'm going back to Germany!! I'm really really excited for that.

I took my very last regents test on wednesday, and now I'm done for the year! I'm officially on summer vacation and it feels GREAT! I'm going to be a senior next year, and it feels really good.

Okay, so on tuesday I found out that Peter Parker was going to be killed in Ultimate Spiderman #160 (which came out wednesday). I cried... a lot, which is weird because in comic books it's widely known that most superheroes who die don't really stay dead for very long... And when some of my favorites like Northstar and Night Crawler and The Human Torch got killed off I didn't really feel sad about it.. I mean sure I boycotted Marvel for about a month (Hah. Get it?) after Night Crawler was killed but I didn't really feel the surge of emotions that came to me when I found out that Peter Parker was going to be killed. I mean I grew up on Marvel Comics, so Peter Parker dying (just like the last Harry Potter movie coming out) kind of makes me feel like my childhood is ending... and that's kind of scary I guess. I don't think I really realized that until I saw that picture of him and Uncle Ben.

I first found out that they had officially passed gay marriage into law around 2 am at an end of the year/ graduation party my friend had Friday night. It was hard to grasp, I didn't get home until about 4 that night (well, morning) and then when I went online to see if it was true and I found that it was, it was an extremely surreal moment.. I really think that's all I can say about it. I'm so glad that New York has moved forward on this. I don't know about you guys, but I seriously think it's one of the greatest achievements for my state in the last 10 years.

DFTBA

-Chuck.

My Father The Anti-Hoarder (Story week!)

The following is a short memoir in honor of my Father since yesterday was Father's Day.

The only things that I have managed to salvage from the years before my age was in the double digits are thirty-seven Hot Wheels cars. When I first moved into my new bedroom I hid them at the very top of my closet to prevent ‘the monster’ from disposing of them. I’d learned from countless lost video games, VHS tapes, and toys that if they were not safely put away and preserved they would end up in the landfill overlooking Crossgates Mall.

I didn’t even realize the intensity of my father’s problem until he became obsessed with a show that was all over the television called Hoarders. When I was fifteen he told me “If I ever turn into that guy I would hope that you would put me out of my misery Charles.” He never did turn into that guy. He had, however, become the complete opposite of that guy years before. In the same way that my father quickly got rid of anything we didn’t touch for a couple days he was very hesitant to buy anything that would be of little use to us in the long run. “What do you need Yu-Gi-Oh cards for?” He’d say, “it’s not like you’re going to need them 10 years from now when you’re in college.”

If anything went missing My mother, sister and I would know exactly where it was… or at least who could find it.

“Dad where are my Roller Blades?” I asked desperately wanting to go to Guptils, a skating rink where me and my friends would hang out for hours.

“I threw those out weeks ago.”

The End

MOVIEQUESTIONWEEK!

I totally forgot it was my day to post BUTTT

I HAVE GOOD NEWS! AND THEN EVEN BETTER NEWS!!

But first, questions.

I don't think Caitlin and Toms have e-mailed theirs yet.

Question Number One in three parts (Mine)

What's the last movie you went to go see in theatres? How was it? Who did you go with?

Super8. FANTASTIC. The first time I went to go see it I went with my mom on saturday around 4ish, the second time was with this guy that I like and some of our friends saturday night.

Question Number Two (Emily's)

What movie(s) do you most regret watching?

Last night I watched Percy Jackson and The Olympians. I read the book when I was in middle school and the movie just did not live up to it. I was kind of disappointed. :(

Question Number Three (Kim's)

What movie is coming up that you're really looking forward to?

SOMANY.

I'm going to just list off all of the good movies that came out/ are coming out this summer.

Thor,

Pirates of The Caribbean 2,

X-men 1st Class,

Hangover 2,

Kung Fu Panda 2,

Super8,

Green Lantern,

Transformers 3,

HPDHPT2,

The Smirfs'

Spykids Four,

and Captain America.

I mean SERIOUSLY.

(Insert billions of pictures here.. lmao)

And finally Question Number Four (Sim's)

If you could be any character from any movie (excluding Harry Potter), which would you be and why?

EASY,

One of the guys from White Squall. I mean Damnn.

(But if I could choose someone from Harry Potter I would say Dean Thomas.)

Now onto the news

It's really not that important so I hope you didn't get too excited.

Butttt, I got my computer back Friday!!! :D

The better news is I'M ALMOST DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!

Today was my official last full day as a Junior. Now all I have are tests and then I'm DONE. It's so exciting. But yeah, I kind of forgot that I have to post today so I'm a little wavy (gotta celebrate!) but then I was like "Oh Crap I post today!" and now I'm posting ;)

DFTBA

-Chuck

This blog brought to you by Annoying Apple Associates and Positive Pranking!

So yesterday I brought my computer to the apple store and they said I won't get it back until Wednesday, soooo I shall be posting this blog through my iPod. It will be short , so if you expect quality..... You probably shouldn't.

Okay, so you know those really annoying fliers people put on your mailbox advertising things like Gardening Services or restaurants???well this is the source of my Positive Pranking idea. Even though it isn't really a prank..... Yesterday I gathered my best friend Jason who lives down the street and we went online and found a ton of really nice inspiring quotes (ex: "It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. - Confucius") wrote them down in notebooks, and then went outside, Copied them onto post-its, and put them on every mail-box in our neighborhood.

It hadn't really occurred to me to take pictures (fail on my part. Sorry!!).. But doing this whole Positive Pranking thing reminded me of two quotes that I came across while searching.

"I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do" - Helen Keller

"The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love" - William Wordsworth

And with these I leave you.
I can't wait to see what the rest of you do this week, maybe if we ever have a "re-do your favorite theme" theme I can do this one again and do it right.

DFTBA
-Chuck

It's been too long!

Happy Sunday!

This is most likely going to be rushed, because I have to go to church and then I have to go do my positive pranking for tomorrow's post (which is the theme by the way. I'm SO excited for it, although I'm still not 100% sure as to what I'm going to do yet) and then I have to go to the apple store because my laptop screen keeps turning blue for some reason.. and then tonight I'm going to a Cotillion (it's like a ball...). Therefore this will be written while I'm getting dressed / eating breakfast.

I think I'm going to use this "do whatever" week to talk about my fellow bloggers.

Emily:

You're a cellist! I love the cello.. when I was in fourth grade and the music teacher came into all of the classrooms to ask all of the kids if we wanted to play an instrument I said that I wanted to play the cello, but because I couldn't bring a cello on the bus I was told that I'd have to pick the viola or the violin. It was a sad day.

You've made the blog what it is. Which is a pretty flippin' fantastic blog, and even though you are vehement about punishing me I still think you're an extremely cool person and I'm proud to call you my friend. ;)

Caitlin:

You've lived basically everywhere that a person could ever want to go. I honestly think that is so cool. Your posts are always really funny and fantastic. In the beginning of the blog you would always had these really cool pictures ...

(ex: )

I kind of miss those. You should definitely start posting them again.

Kim:

You brought us all together. This whole blog is your brainchild, and I think everyone who is a part of it is really grateful for that. I mean we've been doing this for going on 3 months and it's really been fantastic. So thank you very very very much for having this wonderful idea. I can say with absolute certainty that I'm really glad I came across your thread on the ning because I got to meet 5 (6 including Colin) really awesome people because of it.

Sim:

Your name rhymes with Kim! And you guys post back to back. Which is basically awesome. Emily found you, and I asked you 5 questions. And you answered them all perfectly. I don't even know if I ever told you that, but when I was reading your answers I was like "woah... you're basically awesome."

Toms:

Okay so how awesome would it have been if Toms was Tim? I mean seriously.. that would have been pretty cool. But anyway, your first post was probably the funniest post ever on The League. Ever. It was really great. I read your post from yesterday and you are extremely smart too, but then again everyone in the league is pretty smart. I hope you have fun at home this week!

And that's it. I can't wait to post again tomorrow!

DFTBA

-Chuck

SO EXCITING!!! 5.16

WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE SIM AND TOMS!

This week is reintroduction / question week!

I'll start with my reintroduction.

My name is Chuck. I live in upstate New York. I'm a part of this majorly awesome blog called The League of Extraordinary Nerds. My fellow bloggers are Emily, Caitlin, Kim, Sim and Toms! I believe we're going on our 11th week which is pretty exciting. On Saturday I celebrated my 17th birthday. It was so amazing, I had a great time. I won't go too deep into all of the inappropriate shenanigans but friday was greekfest (so much funnnnn), saturday was prom so I (being the cool kid that I am) went to the movies instead (I saw Priest... it was kind of lame) and sunday I went to church and then I came home and chilled, did a little homework, and then went to bed.

A few of my favorite things:

I talked about this a lot on my original introduction post and on inspirational musicians week and on inspirational authors week. So I guess I should talk about different bands/movies/books that I like.

BANDS:

FLEET FOXES

These guys just released a new album called Helplessness Blues. It's really good if you're into the Simon & Garfunkel folky kind of music. Which I am. :)

THE POSTAL SERVICE

The Postal Service is a band composed of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello (DNTEL) they worked together on a song called (This Is) The Dream Of Evan and Chan and I guess that turned into The Postal Service. . . They only released one album and honestly I would totally prefer another TPS album over a new Death Cab one any day.

ANDREW BIRD

This man can whistle anything, and he plays the violin, which is my instrument (run-on sentences FTW).

MOVIES:

Ten Inch Hero

I watched this movie for the first time about two months ago. It was fantastic! I seriously recommend it if you don't mind a little foul language and some nudity.

House of D

I think I saw this movie for the first time when I was like 10 or 11. It's so ridiculously good. And it has Robin Williams in it, and the Russian kid from Star Trek. Ndfajklsfhdkasldhf it's so good. Watch it NOW.

Little Manhattan

The best movie I have ever seen. I feel comfortable saying that too. Watch it if you ever get the chance.

BOOKS:

A few weeks ago I picked up The Hunger Games. And I just fell in love with it, I finished it in one sitting and almost immediately had to go back to B&N to get Catching Fire and it was GREAT. I haven't started Mocking Jay yet but I seriously need to. These books are almost as good as Harry Potter.

NOW ONTO THE QUESTIONS!

(my question)

What is one piece of technology that makes your life so much easier?

My laptop (is laptop one word or two?). I honestly don't know what I'd do without it. I would never have been introduced to Nerd Fighting (that's probably a lie because I have a couple Nerd Fighter friends in my area.)

(Emily's question)

If you could visit any fictional universe (e.g. Doctor Who, Harry Potter), which would it be and why?

No question about it. Asgard (Marvel Universe).

(Caitlin's question)

If you could be a guest on any talk show, what would it be and why?

ELLEN. I love her <3

(Kim's question)

What's your family like?

Nuclear.... I can honestly say that my family is comprised of the most mundane uninteresting people you could ever want to meet. We're quite boring. My father's name is also Charles. He's one of the directors of residential life at the University of Albany and is a part-time minister (It's confusing. Like our church has one head pastor and then a few evangelists under him who occasionally do sermons.) My mother's name is Perdietha. She works for the New York State Department of Health and she like reviews contracts that the State has set up with certain organizations that it funds. My sister, Brianna, just finished her junior year at a small HBCU in Charlotte, North Carolina. And that's the Rogers family.

(Sim's question WOAH SIM AND KIM RHYME)

If you had a TARDIS or any other time travelling device, which past era would you travel to and why?

I honestly can't think of a better place to be than the present.

That's all :) I don't think Toms had a question. Hmmm.

Postscript:

Donald Trump isn't running for President!!!

Inspirational Authors!! And Osama Bin Laden!!

(Note: I'm going to make the Inspirational Authors part kind of short because there are a lot of things that I want to say about Bin Laden.)

So I was going to do J.K. Rowling, but I had the feeling that someone else would want to do her.

So I'll just say that she was my childhood and that will be that <3 And the list of authors who have shaped the way I think in some way is practically endless. So Instead of talking about one author in particular I'll just talk about 3 books that are important to me.

1.) Paper Towns by John Green

This book showed me how we view the people we idolize as being this entity and not really seeing them as people, and I know anyone who has read this book will probably say the exact same thing.

2.) The Screwed Up Life of Charlie The Second by Drew Ferguson

This hilariously amazing novel made me realize that although a lot of things are objective true unadulterated honesty is not. I respect Drew Furgeson for that.

3.) Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron

It is a little known (not really...) secret that I spent about two years of my life at an all boy catholic military school... and I can honestly say that they were some of the worse times of my life. This book was fantastic to my frame of mind around that time.

Now onto Osama Bin Laden:

I woke up this morning at around 6 am and the first thing I heard was "THEY GOT OSAMA!". I don't think this was what woke me up, but who knows. It was surprisingly bitter sweet. Because on the one hand a man who caused the death of thousands of people got what he deserved and thousands of families now have closure, but then on the other hand someone's father/brother/son/husband (who was dying anyway) was murdered over what can most likely be considered a political ploy (for lack of a better word). Barack Obama officially has a shoe in when it comes to the 2012 Elections. He did in two years what President Bush tried and failed to do for seven, and while I can't say I'm extremely sad about this, I don't think it seems fair...

A quote by Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr. basically sums up how I feel at the moment. "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"

So on that note DFTBA,

Chuck

Postscript: FIRST POST OF MAY! So awesome seeing as it's my birthday month.

Postpostscript: 12 DAYS!

Dear 27 year old me.

(Note this letter was written at 7:25 AM. Just thought you should know that before you thought you might get something with quality...)

Yesterday was easter. I'm currently sitting in spanish, writing this letter to you because it hasn't really started yet. I didn't stand for the pledge and it kind of made me feel like a total badass.

I have a series of questions that I feel you should be able to answer accurately because you're me... and you live like 10 years and one month in the future.

1) Did you vote for Obama?

I don't really know why I'm asking this. Seeing as I already know you're going to waste your vote on an independant, seeing as New York is a blue state and all of the electoral votes will go to Barry anyway... unless Trump runs. Then it's very possible that he could take the state (being a New Yorker and all) in that case you probably will vote for Obama because the only thing worse than the people not being able to directly elect their leader is having Donald Trump as our president. However Donald Trump would never in a million years win a Republican Primary. Just bring up the 14.25% one time tax he proposed in 1999 in a debate and no Republican would vote for him.

2) Are you happy?

Although we both personally feel that happiness is subjective and I don't know much about 2021, I hope that you are. I hope that there's less world suck and I hope you're not senile and/ or cynical.

3) Do you have a dog...?

If the answer to this is yes then I feel very bad for you, because it clearly means that we don't have friends anymore. Not that we really ever had that many to begin with. Except for those people in that blog thing that I'm doing that you probably still have very very very fond memories of.

4) What do you do?

Job-wise, hobby-wise.

5) What did you do?

Where'd you go to school? What'd you study? Did you go to grad-school? Are you still in school getting your PhD? HOPEFULLY! However, that would probably mean that you're broke. Like super broke. Because mom and dad aren't paying for Grad School. *sigh* Woe is us.

I have to go now... Ms Beckmann and me don't really have the best relationship (as you know) and I don't feel like listening to her flip out on me for 'doing other work'.

Au Revoir *wink*

16 y/o Chuck.

Easter Week (4.18.11)

This is probably going to be a pretty short post.

I have two opinions about easter.

The first,

Easter has gone from being a celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to being a secular holiday about Bunnies and Chocolate... However I can't really call this a bad thing because Easter (like Marriage or the Nuclear Family) has changed dramatically since it was first 'created', and (like Christmas) it means something completely different in other parts of the world.

The second,

This theme kind of bothers me. It kind of bothers me because even though I'm a Christian and I celebrate Easter doesn't mean that everyone does. I mean one of my fellow bloggers is a staunch athiest and since this is a Christian holiday it kind of seems (to me at least) like a slap in the face to him...

In my family Easter has never really been a big deal in terms of celebration. We go to church, we come home from church, and then we go out to eat maybe? It's kind of like every other Sunday...

Postscript:

So HPDH1 came out on blu-ray Friday, and I got it, and I watched it... It was fantastic. I honestly don't understand how someone can watch Dobby die and NOT cry.... Seriously.

AND AND AND (this is the exciting part) I saw the opening scene for HPDH2 yesterday! vasdfjasdfkafhakdjfhakjsdhflajsd It was so great.

It starts at about 1:37

Question week 1.8?

So there isn't really a theme this week. I think this stems from us either being extremely unorganized or extremely busy or both. AND YET at the last minute we got a few questions together. However, Colin hasn't given us a question yet so I propose we all just make up our own question to answer.

QUESTION #1

What is your political affiliation?

... yep.

QUESTION #2

What's your ethnic/racial heritage and what does it mean to you?

I am an African American (obviously). I've grown up in a predominately white area, my best friend is from bangladesh, and my church is predominately African American so I guess I could say that I've been exposed to a lot of different 'cultures' but race has never really been a major factor in anything I do.4

QUESTION #3

If you could be any fictional character (book/film/tv) who would you be and why?

Hmmmm, that's a hard one, but I would definitely have to say this guy

Why would I say this guy? Good question. It's probably the costume.

QUESTION #4

What is your opinion of global warming?

I don't really have an opinion on global warming... I believe that it's happening and that we do have a major role in it but I haven't really researched it enough to form an opinion on what we should do

QUESTION #5 (The question that would be Colin's question but isn't.....)

Did it really take you like 4 hours to think of a question and this is all you could come up with?

Yes. I actually went for a drive with my mother because it's 80 degrees outside and there's going to be a thunderstorm and we don't hang out nearly as often as we should.

I feel like next week should be MOTHER APPRECIATION WEEK. Although Mother's day is in like a month so that can definitely be put on hold.

WELL THAT'S QUESTION WEEK.

DFTBA, Chuck

Postscript: I found this Bob Dylan cover by Andrew Bird and it's really good and I kinda flipped out when I heard it. Enjoy it.

Postpostscript: Emily's brother is like a youtuber! He uploaded a couple videos on the youtube!! I find them extremely epic!!! Check them out.

(Inspiring People: Musicians) Conor Oberst + Jeff Mangum

I couldn't choose between Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst or Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum so I'm going to do both.

CONOR OBERST

To this day I remember (in order) the first five songs I heard by Bright Eyes

The first Take It Easy (Love Nothing)

the second Bowl of Oranges

third Lover I Don't Have To Love

fourth Easy Lucky Free

fifth A Song To Pass The Time

After that I just started buying albums and listened to every single song on itunes that I could find (I currently have 131 Bright Eyes songs). A short while after I found out that Conor Oberst has been in 7 other bands and has a solo album.

Those bands being:

Desaparecidos,

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

Norman Bailer

Commander Venus

The Magnetas

Park Ave

and Monsters of Folk

Conor is an extremely deep and profound musician. His voice is haunting, lovable, and so addicting.

Example #1

Example #2

Example #3

Example #4

Example #5

His lyrics are thoughtful and evocative

Example #1: 'Sometimes I worry that I've lost the plot. My twitching muscles tease my flippant thoughts. I never really dreamed of heaven much until we put him in the ground, but it's all I'm doing now. Listening for patterns in the sound of an endless static sea. But once the satellite's deceased It blows like garbage through the streets Of the night sky to infinity' - Easy/ Lucky/ Free

Example #2: 'I dreamt of a fever, one that would cure me of this cold winter set heart. With heat to melt these frozen tears, burned with reasons as to carry on into these twisted months I plunge without a light to follow, but I swear that I would follow anything. Just get me out of here.' - If Winter Ends

Example #3: 'There is a man holding a megaphone, so he must have been the voice of God. The bystanders claimed they saw angels flying up and down the block. Well, they must have been attached to wires. I saw one laying in the lawn with a broken arm, so I called 911. So that is one less founded opinion. One more cause for a dispute. So the street filled, like a basin, up with cameras and their crews and they washed away the rumors leaving just the concrete truth. It was a spectacle. No, no, I mean a miracle.' - From A Balance Beam

Example #4: Laura's asleep in my bed, as I'm leaving she wakes up and says "I dreamed you were carried away on the crest of a wave. Baby don't go away, come here". There's kids playing guns in the street and ones pointing his tree branch at me. So I put my hands up I say "enough is enough, if you walk away, I'll walk away" And he shot me dead. - Land Locked Blues

Example #5: We made love on the living room floor with the noise in the background of a televised war, and in the deafening pleasure I thought I heard someone say "If we walk away, they'll walk away". But greed is a bottomless pit, and our freedom's a joke, we're just taking a piss, and the whole world must watch the sad comic display. If you're still free start running away cause we're coming for you!

In my opinion he is the best lyricist still making music today.

JEFF MANGUM

When I was about -1 a band called Neutral Milk Hotel (not-so-interesting fact #1: Neutral Milk Hotel was mentioned in Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green!) released their very first EP and it was called Everything Is. To this day the title track of that EP is and will always be my favorite NMH song.

Jeff Mangum was to folk music as Albert Einstein was to physics. Sure he didn't discover it, and he definitely didn't create it, but he changed the way people thought about it. If you look at most semi-popular folk bands today (i.e. Band of Horses, Dawes, Death Cab For Cutie, Arcade Fire, Freelance Whales, The Decemberists, The Mountain Goats etc.) you can hear Neutral Milk Hotel.

Neutral Milk Hotel broke up in 1999 after releasing 7 demo cds 2 EPs and 2 Full Length Albums

Occasionally Jeff Mangum will play a show or two but most people don't find out about them until after he's performed. In mid February Jeff Mangum announced that he would be doing a small tour along the east coast in fall 2011 and soon (practically minutes) after every single show was completely sold out. (I was pissed.)

Postscript: you don't have to listen to every single song. That would take way too much time out of your day and I know we all have lives.......... but at least listen to the first 30 seconds of From A Balance Beam and Take It Easy (Love Nothing) by Bright Eyes and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and The King of Carrot Flowers by Neutral Milk Hotel

Postpostscript: On saturday I found out that I might be going back to Germany this summer and I'm REALLY excited.

Postpostpostscript: I currently have Streptococcal Pharyngitis. FML