Randomness from an overactive mind
bangbang023
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Posts by bangbang023
Just discovered a new band: Rise Against
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in general
Leave it to me to turn on Fuse at the moment they’re showing an hour of rock music videos and stumble upon a band I have overlooked way too many times in my life. For the past week, I’ve been obsessing over Rise Against and their latest album, “Appeal to Reason”. I’ve given all of their older stuff a listen, too, but it just doesn’t have that extra something the new material has. There’s rebellion against society and government, reflection on failed relationships, and acceptance of one’s place in this world. It’s a great album that really has me hooked.
Below is the single, from the album, that initially caught my attention. This is, obviously, the rebellion I had mentioned previously.
The problem with this church
12 years ago
by bangbang023
in general
This isn’t meant to chastise a religion and criticize beliefs of a group of people, including the group I belong to. So, let’s not get defensive.
Today, my mom had asked me and my two sister’s to go to church as a family for Christmas. We kids haven’t gone to church in a while, so we thought it would be nice to give something to my mom that means so much to her. We went and, so quickly, I realized why this particular parish and so many others are failing. The ceremony was very solemn, which is needed to a certain degree, but also so depressing. The music didn’t have any kind of joyous tone to it and the sermon was ridiculously awful. The sermon mentioned the words “pain” and “wounds” and “depression” more than the 14th suicide note from a hyper emotional teen. To add to that, the deacon jumped from point to point like one of today’s many ADHD ridden children. It was painful (ha) to listen to.
A leader needs to be motivational and inspirational. People need care about the words they say and not count the minutes until it’s all over. Priests need to be that. Deacons need to be that. Most of them aren’t and that’s the problem with this church.
Windless
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in poems
It revs and it revs and it never gets started
The flow never kicks, but I can’t disregard it
When I’m feeling best, this always gets hardest
I feel like a fluke and a floundering artist
Am I just a dude who will always be starless
With nothing to show for and nothing to start it
I look for ignition but nothing can spark it
When this mind’s at ease, I can feel so retarded
Cause I can’t get it started or light up the fire
When this writing is needed and not just desire
When time calls for venting and pressure builds higher
This drug is the goal for which I aspire
But I’m like a tower with crumbling spire
Hope left to waste until everything’s dire
Too late to fix it and no point to try it
The door’s fucking shut and nothing can pry it
And nothing can hide it and nothing can break it
Nothing incites it; I’m not one to fake it
I once knew it all but now I’m mistaken
Nothing is known; it’s hard to keep pace with
And tough to keep patience when everything’s failing
A mind falls to waste while the words lay there flailing
Pain made for sailing but now in contentment
I find too much peace and so much resentment
But I can not vent it or lay down a sentence
I’m like the student who snoozed through the lessons
The spotlight brings tension, I spit out these guesses
A jumble of words that increases these messes
Notes: Just trying to get a few lines written down for the sake of it. I’ve done better, but it’s better than nothing (for me).
I actually like my job
12 years ago
by bangbang023
in journal
I bitch and moan and get really stressed out way too often, yet I like the job that I have. There’s just something about it and the immediate satisfaction that I get from wiring up a display that is so hard to find in many other paths in life. Even during the holidays, when I don’t get to do the technical stuff, I enjoy the basic aspects of my job and, shockingly enough, even helping the random customer or two so they don’t go crazy trying to make their kids happy.
Next year is going to be an interesting year, for sure. My first full year of being full time and the first time I’ll be working with this new management during non-holiday times. I have high hopes because they seem to want my department to be exactly what it used to be instead of the useless shell that it is now. It’ll mean a lot of stress and work, but the satisfaction will be there more so than it has been in a long time. Now if only I can convince my management that it’s not a crime to be friends with the people I work with. That might take a while.
So many gifts are up to me
42 years ago
by bangbang023
in journal
Electronics are becoming the main type of gift to give someone for Christmas. It makes sense as some of the most wanted items out there are the latest gadgets ranging from GPS units to digital cameras and netbooks to televisions. Each one of us probably craves a gadget or gizmo or two. Unfortunately, not everyone is as interested in them the rest of the year.
It happens more and more, for me. As this time of year rolls around, everyone starts asking me to help them sort through a long list of models to help pick out that right gadget for someone else to receive. Phones, cameras, GPS devices, televisions and so on and so forth are all decided upon by me. Don’t get me wrong, I love helping people find what’s right for the person receiving the gift, but I always feel a certain amount of pressure knowing that my decision can really affect how that person’s Christmas is remembered. Was that camera too complicated or missing features? Is that TV not what they were expecting? Are they going to like that phone’s interface? It’s all up to me and it can be stressful.
Thankfully, the season is almost over. I don’t mind helping, really, I don’t. I just wish it all didn’t feel so crucial.
Conan O’Brien works at Best Buy
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in general
As an employee of the big blue box, it’s kind of cool to watch this. Conan decided to work at a Best Buy in California, for a day, and hilarity ensues.
Why isn’t Hollywood Undead more popular?
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in general
You know me and my music by now. It’s no secret that I love music, especially rock, and love sharing that passion with others. Let me introduce you to a band you may not know, yet.
Hollywood Undead is a band that mixes rap and rock (more rap than rock, though) in a mix of increasingly passionate and completely shallow songs. It’s actually an adventure listening to their album, Swan Songs, because you never quite know what to expect. There’s energy and irreverence and passion all mixed in to one album that just captivates the same feelings that early Eminem and Limp Bizkit works did. It’s nice to get a little taste of that old rebellion and crudeness that made some of that music so fun to listen to. If you like older Linkin Park, you may like Undead, too. Their serious tracks can, very often, sound like an LP track from a few years ago.
Give these guys and listen and let me know what you think. Everyone, at work, who has heard me playing their music has been very impressed with them. It makes me wonder why they aren’t more popular.
Click the link below to see a few of their videos.
New site design is live
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in general
I took the lazy route this time around. I made absolutely no code changes to the theme you see before you. I don’t have to, though. This is an extremely powerful WordPress theme that will allow me to make a TON of changes, over time, without ever having to touch any actual code. It’s extremely helpful to me as my interest in web design and coding dwindles from what it once was.
Let me know what you guys and gals think and what you miss or want to see. I really plan on breathing a ton of life back into this site and I thought a redesign would be a perfect way to show that dedication. Thanks god that WordPress and digitalnature made it so easy.
For those of you who may miss the column with a categorical break down of recent posts, I must warn you now that it’s not coming back. It’s getting more and more difficult to classify my posts with one word. Tags, which you have seen on the site for a while now, are much more flexible and indicative of the overall gist of each and every post. Give it some time before hating it.
Why I love video games
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in journal
A lot of people like video games just as much as I do, but sometimes I feel like we all get a bad rap for it. I can’t speak for anyone else, but the biggest thing for me is the competitive spirit behind games, especially with online play being in the picture.
When I was younger (mid to late teens), I would play all kinds of sports all day long with Joe. I have no idea where I found the energy, but I had it and I used it to get out all of that wonderful alpha-male nonsense that teenagers go through. It wasn’t all because of my age, though. I like the feeling of winning and the work required to get there. I don’t like rubbing it in the loser’s face like some people, but that feeling of accomplishment is something I treasure. Growing up got in the way of that.
Now that all of us are older and don’t have much time to go out and play sports all day long, I often find my desire for competition unfulfilled. Video games help quench that thirst, though. Granted, I’d still rather be on the field or at the park, but it’s a great secondary means of satisfying a need that I feel I may always have with me. I love games for that.
I do wonder why other people like video games so much, though. Is it the competition? Is it the social aspect?
Does Microsoft get it?
02 years ago
by bangbang023
in tech talk
I’m a Windows Mobile user and I don’t think that Microsoft gets it.
When you use an iPhone or see one in use, you can’t help but be amazed by the beautiful fading and sliding transitions. You’re bound to have a similar reaction to some of the nicer Android phones out there. Then, in comes Windows Mobile with its bland interface that lacks customization abilities or any animation, whatsoever. It drives me nuts. Presentation may not be everything, but it does count for something.
The problem with WM is that there’s a lot of power locked behind an out dated interface that fails to inspire or hold one’s attention. Sure, there are masks put on it by companies like HTC, but even those replacement interfaces feel tacked on and never really seem to truly blend in with the rest of the operating system. This isn’t a problem that can be fixed by a mask, either. It runs throughout the system and always manages to rear its head at one point or another, despite how thorough of a masking job has been done.
My eyes were really opened to the importance of presentation, and specifically, animation in this article that I read a few days ago. It’s an interesting read and explains how exaggerated animations are important in creating the illusion of speed and an overall better “feel” to the device. It’s worth a read. What I find interesting is that, while using various test builds of the next version of Windows Mobile (6.5.1), I’ve witnessed Microsoft implement some of these exaggerated animations, particularly with scrolling, and then proceed to remove them in a later build. Don’t they get it?
This isn’t meant to be a full length article. I want to post more, but don’t wish to creatively drain myself. To keep a balance, I’m hoping to discuss aspects of my life or thoughts on the world around me in a way that stimulates discussion