What this blog is about now

Listen to the song “Ain’t no Rest for the Wicked.” What do you hear? I hear a group of college rockers that will not appeal to the mainstream. Cage the Elephant came out in the Friday twilight and performed with the appearance that they were meant to be on stage. The Singer, singer of Cage the Elephant, showed how to have a great time Bowling Green, Kentucky-style. Jumping, hopping, and head-banging from one side of the stage to the other, The Singer showed his talent off, but at the cost of a mid-concert nosebleed. That’s right, the singer had a nosebleed on stage shortly after a stage dive during “Back Against the Wall.”

Despite the energy the band exerted from stage, the sound they were producing needed refining. Yes Charter One Pavilion is an outdoor venue, however the overpowering drums and lead guitar hid the rhythm, vocals, and bass making a very dry sounding performance. Besides the dry sound, Cage has potential to become huge in the neo-punk genre. I can certainly see why Stone Temple Pilots would choose them to be their opening band.

Thirty seconds after the lights went out, a shadow with a lit cigarette crossed the stage halfway, stopped, put the cigarette out, took a sip of a drink, then, while turning around, the guitar, bass, drums, and stage lights turned on. “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” was blasted at us. At first the band looked stiff. Literally, it looked like they forgot to stretch before they went on stage. Everything was on an angle, no curves, no relaxation coming from the stage. “Trippin’” was continued with “Wicked Garden,” “Vasoline,” STP’s new hit “Between the Lines,” “Big Empty,” and “Cinnamon.” Once “Big Empty” was played, STP turned into the band everyone was hoping for- a hard, post-grunge rock band that, like Nirvana, mixes beautiful and cute riffs with heavy guitars and a heavier voice. As they played “Wicked Garden,” lights would turn from a green base with a harmony of blue, yellow, and orange to a solid bright red during which, fans sang, “BURN!!! BURN!!! BURN!!!”

The most interesting part of the concert was what kind of people was attracted to STP. Relaxed country club folk were accounted for as well as many metalheads wearing shirts from System of a Down, Slayer, and Pantera. Although STP’s music does contain deep vocals and a powerful guitar like many metal bands, the attire of the members of STP was that of a club with jeans, collard shirts, and sunglasses (even at night). Stone Temple Pilots did not disappoint as they played into the early minutes of eleven at night. Playing all songs, old and new, covering all genres, and even had time for extra-long intros, which led to many blues riffs and segments and in the end proved they could play the Mississippi Delta. From blues, they crossed over into alternative rock, hard rock, and post-grunge. It was just a shame that it was not a sold out concert because the performances of both Cage the Elephant and Stone Temple Pilots were deserving of it.

What is this government coming to?

9/11 changed everything. This is what Republicans have adopted as their slogan to get what they wanted during the early stages of uncertainty after the catastrophe that costed nearly 3,000 American civilians' lives. However, a couple months ago, there was a bill in congress that would extend 100% medical coverage to all of the 9/11 first responders who are viewed as American heroes. Problem? The bill was proposed by Democrats. Republicans snapped into action and voted against giving these heroes medical coverage. Why? I have no idea why. They must have lost their souls in 9/11. These first responders inhaled deadly shrapnel that now has shortened their lives. The luckiest of these first responders have up to twenty years to live. What could have possibly made it so these politicians, the people who are supposed to be helping this nation out, to choose to deny these true heroes help? I give up. All I know is that this government is either extraordinarily corrupt or lack any kind of ethics. These "politicians" keep saying that "it's just not the right time." For what? To save lives? We're killing tens of thousands of civilians in the middle-east. Have we become a country of blood-lust?

This Is Sickening

This morning I awoke to Mike and Mike in the Morning. During their breaks, Sports Center has 2 minutes to spit out all of the Chicago sports team's scores. However, instead of scores, the first thing the man on the radio barked that Derrick Rose had someone else take his SAT for him so he could get into Memphis. I think that this is an overlooked blow to Memphis, U of Kentucky, NCAA basketball, the NBA, and even the Bulls. There's no excuse for a substitute to take a test for anyone else, no matter who it is! Is anyone supposed to be above the law? NO! Is Derrick Rose an immortal god? NO! There is no reason at all that both he and his former head coach should not be penalized, fined, and suspended to the fullest extent for this type of infraction. Academic Integrity is more important than Athletic Integrity any day of the week. This is an insult to all of the basketball world and reinforces this sport as the most corrupt sport in America.

When I Read

When I read a book, I want to read for the story and not pick apart the story. I'm very much enjoying Gatsby, but every class we talk about the book, I feel like we tear the book apart to the point where it is no longer fun reading the book. I know that in English class, we are supposed to read critically, but to me it tears the book apart when we shred away the story and look more for meanings than understanding the novel. We look for every parallel, contrast, symbol, and foreshadowing meaning we can. To me, it ruins the book because people start making predictions about the story and then the book is not fun anymore. When we read Huck Finn, to me, it seemed like a more relaxed read and that there was not much reading into the story as it was making sure everyone understood what happened in the last few chapters. I'm fine with saying that "this" represents "X" and "that"represents "Y," but I really do not want to read into the book so far that I can see the fibers that make up each page. I want to see a story for what it is and not making interpretations for what "opening a window" means. In the end, I think that some connections that have been made are very far fetched and have started to make Gatsby very undesirable to keep picking up.

The Last Full Week

Well here we are. This last full week will be the hardest week due to the amount of work that we will receive in the next few days for a last-minute boost to our grades. I'm not sure how to react to the upcoming summer. I mean, we've been in school for so long and have learned a lot, but we haven't had a lot of time to ourselves. How will you respond to all of the free time you are about to receive? I'm definitely looking forward to turning off my brain and not looking at the world critically for the next seven weeks. Honestly, through the whole school year, I haven't understood the meaning of looking through the world critically. I just look for what can be improved. I'm not a huge "why"question asker or thinker. Don't get me wrong, I do have my moments of brilliance, but I just don't see myself asking why to people all summer long.

Why Are We Still In This?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

A couple days ago in Iraq, an American soldier, from Texas, opened fire and killed five other American soldiers. The U.S. Army has announced that this is the single deadliest soldier-to-soldier conflict since the initial mistake of invading Iraq. I don't understand why this happened. I mean, he was at a mental health clinic in Baghdad and they let him have a gun! Is our army stupid or something?! When a junkie checks themselves into a rehab facility, do the doctors let him keep the drugs? NO! Secondly, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, one in six soldiers come home with post-traumatic stress syndrome. In addition, many of these people, such as this killer, didn't receive help which he clearly needed. I strongly believe that we have made matters worse for us in the middle east and that we have destroyed Iraq and it will only be rebuilt by the Al Queda. In the end, this is truly a disaster that could have been avoided.

My Flag

While playing sports when you grow up on the north shore of Chicago, you start to accumulate ribbons and trophies and other memorabilia of seasons that you have played on different teams. So what does this have to do with the flag being important to me? I saw a documentary on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and realized how much the U.S. needed to win that game to pick up American spirits. I have these medals hanging just inside my room and whenever I see them, I think of that great game which boosted our pride in America and started to throw us into the America of today.

I truly love these medals. To me they mean more than any trophy I have received over my years. The ribbon makes me feel as if I'm out there on the ice with the 1980 team because of the American "red, white, and blue" on it. However, like I have said in class, though I don't have any pictures of it, when I see the full American flag, there's only one thing I think about and that is the firefighters raising the flag over the wreckage of 9/11. I feel mix emotions of happiness that this flag has brought to people, but sad because I know what terrors this flag has flown over like 9/11. 

On a different note, when I have traveled to different countries, I notice that there are still more American flags per square feet on the little patch of land that is the U.S. embassy than the surrounding country has in its entirety. I'm not sure what it is with Americans and our flag, but we seem as though we just cannot get enough of it! Next thing you know, people will be sleeping with their flags. Seriously though, U.S. citizens take so much pride in the stars and stripes that it makes me feel proud of this country, that we can all agree on one thing, we have a pretty cool flag.