New favorite

I stumble across this artist today and I've yet to find anything about his work that I don't love. His name is John Kenn and he is from Denmark. He writes and directs childrens shows but what is awesome is his drawings. They are done on Post-It Notes. They remind me of creepy version of Where the Wild Things Are. Some of them have a Shadow of the Colossus feel (it's a great PS2 game for those who don't know) because many of them have giant earthy creatures blending or becoming apart of their surroundings.

These remind me of Nosferatus

and this one reminds me of that creepy girl from The Ring

I have to stop myself from posting every picture on his site cause I fricken love all of 'em. Anyway, if you like these check out Mr. Kenn's site http://johnkenn.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_20.html.

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I also found this site not to long ago http://southernshelter.com/. It has live recordings for shows that can downloaded for free. The ones that I have downloaded have all been at The 40 Watt in Athens, GA. The site has a couple of musicians that I'm really into like Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Wilco and Explosions in the Sky. The main reason I really like it is because it has solo performances from Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood from the Drive-By Truckers. There are is a plethora* of other artists I've never heard of but you may like, plus its free!

*Yes I learned the word plethora from The Three Amigos. "I would not like to think that a person would tell someone that he has a plethora and find out that that person has no idea what it means to have a plethora." Classic, I need to watch that movie again soon. If you have never seen it, click the link and check out the clip. It only gets funnier.

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One last thing before I forget. I found this incredibly funny.

Enjoy.

American Gothic

So, I'm going to Chicago this week. It's kind of a big deal. I've never crossed the Mason Dixon Line before. The weather here in South Carolina just reached the 80's. It has been amazing. The highs in Chicago don't reach 40 degrees. Hopefully it will nice enough to walk around.
Sheila has been there once before and she sent me this picture.

It is entitled God Bless America by J Seward Johnson Jr.

Here is a pic of the models standing by the original artwork. The "farmer" looks even grumpier in real life than in the painting. He was actually Grant Wood's dentist. I tried to find the version of the picture that Pee Wee Herman had in his playhouse but I could find it anywhere. I did however find these that made me laugh:



Not a journey, but a circus are our lives

Yeah I know its been awhile. My good intentions of keeping up a blog have fallen very short of successful, but it is my intention to start fresh from this moment. We'll see what happens. My hope is that I will write at least once a week.

I'm going to try to focus on certain aspects of my life and write about them.

I'm just now diving into the world of Computer Science, so I'm probably going to write about that. Music, movies and video games will also be a constant topic. I'm going to stop there for now before I get ahead of myself.

Anyway, I'll get to the main reason why I felt the urge to blog tonight.

Music.

I have had a certain song struck in my head for about a week now. It started when I was at a friends house and we were watching a documentary about The Drive-by Truckers called "The Secret to a Happy Ending." It was a really great documentary about one of the best bands around today. DBT, for me, is all about songwriting and storytelling. I feel they've really brought a depth to songs that you don't find today in most music. The lyrics stick with you and in this case the particular song was "Space City."

It is a song written by Mike Cooley. It is off the album "A Blessing and a Curse" which came out in The Year of Our Lord 2006. I really like the song but when Cooley spoke about it on the film it really opened my eyes to how beautiful the song really is. Here are the lyrics:

"If I could have one wish right now
I'd be about as half as tough as I pretend I am
I wouldn't care how empty this old house feels
I'd take her things and take 'em far away from here
I'd make sure no dirt ever got on her name
Lookin' at that stone wouldn't bring me so much pain
I'd go into town wearin' my finest clothes
I could turn these tears to blood and make it run ice cold

Space City is one hour up the road from me
Its one hour away from as close to the moon as anybody down here is ever going to be
Somewhere beyond that big white light is where my heart has gone
And somewhere she's wondering what's taken' me so long

My hands are as good to me as they've ever been
And I ain't ashamed of anything my hands ever did
But sometimes the words I used where as hard as my fist
She had the strength of a man and the heart of a child, I guess

Space City is one hour up the road from me
Its one hour away from as close to the moon as anybody down here is ever going to be
Somewhere beyond that big white light is where my heart has gone
And somewhere she's wondering what's taken' me so long"

I knew it was a song about a person losing someone close to them but in the documentary Cooley reveals that it was something more personal. He tried to imagine what his 80 year old grandfather went through when his wife died and how his grandfather would be forced to live alone without her for the first time. Cooley performs it on an acoustic guitar on the film and it was such a powerful moment. I just felt a swell of emotion that I don't normally get from listening to music.





Another band that I've recently got in my head is Honeyhoney. They are a music duo that I had the pleasure of seeing in Greenville at the HandleBar. They are pretty amazing. If you don't know them you should check them out. They currently only have one album out but they have another coming out soon. They do a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins's song "1979" which is a amazing. Check it out:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JnMjODmNa0



I love a good cover song, especially in cases like this where I really like the song but not the original artist. I'm not a fan of Billy Corgan but he writes some good songs. The same goes for U2.

Speaking of covers,

A band that I've just recently got into, Deer Tick, is planning on doing a show that is nothing but Nirvana covers. It's called, Deervana, of course.



If you want more info go to Deer Tick's facebook page http://www.facebook.com/deertick. I unfortunately don't live near Austin, TX or I would be there. Hopefully someone will record it. Here is one of my favorite Deer Tick songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmWdnfFqhuk

Well that's all I got right now. I've got some tossin' and turnin' to get to.

All dead bodies are gonna get shot now b/c of you...I hope your happy.

My friend Michael just unwittingly titled this entry for me whilst he was playing video games and talking to the TV. Thanks buddy. As you know getting started is the hardest part.

Anyways, I got a spell of disappointing news yesterday and it was confirmed today. I know its not the end of the world but it is still "difficult not to feel a little bit disappointed and passed over." The news was I didn't not get a job that I felt would have been a good opportunity for me. It sucks b/c it was an opportunity that would have dictated what I would have been doing the next two or three years. Now instead of going and doing I'm back to the drawing board. I feel like I'm constantly at a crossroad and every time I think I've figured out which way I want to go something prevents me from doing it. Uhhh. You know what I mean?

But, I woke up this morning with a song in my head. This hasn't happened in about three weeks or so, but the last time it happened I told Michael (yes the very same Michael from above) that it seemed like whatever song that was in head when I awoke would set the tone and theme for that day. Michael said that if a song gets stuck in your head, the only way to get it out is to listen to it. So that's just "awhat" I did. This particular morning the song was The Avett Bros. "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise." And it goes a little something like this...

There's a darkness upon me that's flooded with light
And in the fine print they tell me what's wrong and what's right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I'm frightened by those who don't see it

When nothing is owed, deserved or expected
And your life doesn't change by the man that's elected
If you're loved by someone you're never rejected
Decide what to be and go be it

There was a dream
And one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I'll scream till I die or the last of the bad thoughts are finally out

There's darkness upon you that's flooded with light
And in the fine print they tell you what's wrong and what's right
And it comes in black and comes in white
And I'm frightened by those who don't see it.

When I heard this song, the italicized lines especially, it really made me feel better. Some might say that this was just a cowinkiedink and to them I say "boo, Sir, boo."

I'd like to think of it as the Lord speaking to me in a way that He knows I'll understand.

I hate moving

That's it. No bloggy blog. Just, I hate moving.

"I think I'm gonna cancel the breakfast club"

I'm not happy with my last post.

While I was at the funeral, my Grandfather said the saddest thing I've ever heard and I was speechless. I didn't know what to say, but I knew that I could NOT cry.

He said "It doesn't get any easier. It's rough Cole. Not only did I lose my brother, but I lost my best friend."

It hit me so hard that it physically hurt. To me it was just another funeral, but not to him.

As hard as it hit me, I knew I couldn't cry. Not that crying is bad or would make me less of a man. I just knew that if I started crying then he would. I was so scared to see him cry that I stopped myself from doing it. I didn't want to see my Grandfather cry. I've only knew strength from him and I didn't want it to acknowledge that he could break down too.

I mean this is my Granddad. Not just any Granddad but GRANDDAD. The teeth sneezer, the Hairyman slayer, the bull puncher, the mini horse wrangler. He is the stuff upon which legends are built.

He is the most genuine person I know. I wish everyone could know him and I could know him even more so.

Now I feel really bad about that evening because maybe he needed to cry. Maybe that might have been his only real chance to let it out.

One thing I did learn is that funerals are not for the deceased. People try to make arrangements for their loved ones because "it's what they would have wanted." The dead don't care. For better or worse they have moved on. Funerals are for the ones they've left, so they can make their peace and say goodbye. It helps them move on.




"Like the wings stolen from an angel
Like petals gone from a rose
Like a dove caught in a storm

Tonight he is in the Lord's arms"



On a lighter note, I made my Aunt Pat laugh during the funeral. She is the widow. I hope it really made her happy for just those few seconds, because those few seconds made everything worth it to me. It's times like those that make me happy to be me and I thank the Lord for them.

I had a Great Uncle die today. I'm not sure if I handle death well or not; seeing as how I've never had anyone really close to me die. I guess that could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.


I'm normally quiet at funerals. I try not to say much to the person(s) closest to the departed. I figure they don't want to hear the same stuff over and over again. "They're in a better place" or "If you need anything call me." In my mind that kinda generic stuff would go in one ear and out the other anyway.



So you what do ya do?



I'll tell ya what I do. Show up, shut up and "Hug it out, bitch."

I'm a hugger. I think it speaks more than anything else I could say.



Sooner or later I'm going to have to deal with this on the other side but hopefully not for a long time. I assume I'll either handle it the same way or be an emotional disaster.



And that's all I have to say about that.