Today is my big day

I'm graduating tonight, so my summer officially starts around 9pm. So stoked continue reading...

Food, Fun, and Family. The 3 F's that don't suck.

I started working in a kitchen this summer and here are some funny pictures and poor jokes about kitchens/cooking. 

-Did you hear about the new head chef at KFC?

He's quali-fried!

-Why don't men cook at home?
No one's invented a steak that will fit in the toaster.

-What do you call cheese that doesn't belong to you?

 Nacho cheese!!!

As you can tell, summer jobs have already gotten to me. 

continue reading...

Some quotes from my trip to VA

Quotes from the East Coast. They are all from quality pieces of cinema such as "Leprechaum 5: In Da' Hood", "If I Die Before I Wake", "Toxic Avenger", and "Hot Rod". Enjoy.

(after toking up with Ice-T in the bathroom of a Compton club, Leprechaun says, "Mmmm... a curious aroma...A friend with weed is a friend indeed, but a friend with gold is the best I'm told."

" I hope you had sex last night, 'cause I'm gonna come over there and I'm gonna cut off your dick, then I'm gonna feed it to my pit, then I'm gonna burn the shit when it comes out my goddam dog's ass, you hear me? Don't fuck with me, bitch!"

"I have been blessed with the gift of *snarl* tongues... *snarl again*"

"I'll take it from you, homie, you'll see, cause you know the Leprechaun is the real O.G."

"If you're gonna' pussy out, you can go downstairs and make yourself a fuckin' omelette!"

"All right everybody, drop your tacos or I'll blow your brains out."

"Cool beans."

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SUMMER TEEN ZINE PT. II

I forgot to tell everyone a deadline for the Summer Teen Zine. If you're like me you work better under certain deadlines. It motivates you, right?

The date is Friday, June 5. So you have a week and a half. I've already received a poem and a short story, so keep them coming.

And, I promise you will have a real post from me by the end of the week. I have an article due for the Daily News, and after that is up i will post the link for it. i'm not really into the whole newspaper business because i don't think many of the things that interest me are newspaper material. but i digress.

please send more things. continue reading...

Album of the Week II

I know that most of you already have this album, but here it is anyway.

Dan Deacon - Bromst



--Click to Download Album--

After Last.fm kept on heckling me to listen to Dan Deacon, I finally did the good and ethical thing and torrented every album of his that I could find. As I do with most new albums, I put on Bromst and listened to it straight through.

It starts with the song "Build Voice" which takes a good 30 seconds just to build up to an audible level, but once it gets going it is both haunting and intense. But the song that totally blew mind was "Snookered." My gosh, I don't even understand how a song can sound that good. There are not many songs that I think deserve to be 8 minutes long, but "Snookered" defintely merits the time frame. The first half of the song is magical and gets more and more exciting as it move along... and then at 4:16 the song breaks loose. The drums, synth, and samples are all going full speed at this point. This is where I thought the song was incredible, and then it hit 4:48 and I have never heard anything like the type of vocal cutting that happens at that point. Totally rad. Another song I really enjoy is the last song on the album entitled "Get Older." The use of a vocoder near the end is pretty sweet.

another thing about Dan Deacon... i have no idea how he makes the sounds he does. just looking at his set-up is so confusing. i guess that's part of what makes it so good.



if you don't have this album yet, get it. it rules.
-Stephen
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Text Messages From A 17 Year Old Sister

Here is a string of text messages that my seventeen year old sister sent me last night.

5:50 p.m.
"if u want the van u have to get over to the ball diamonds and get it i have to work and that goes over any crap ur doing in muncie"

5:55 p.m.
"well ur a piece of crap who never l3eaves me gas.. i have practice int the morning... so whatever u and ur "friends" are doing it needs to be home before i leave at 725"

6:01 p.m.
"i had things i needed to get done this morning and couldnt bc ur an egotistical arrogant lil boy who thinks the world revoloves and and ur delinquent friends"

6:04 p.m.
"remember how i said all u need to do is tell dad it needs gas? well obviously u didnt.. go back to college bc i dont want u here"

6:06 p.m.
"and remember the countless other times u have left me at home with no gas.. u dont care ab anyone else but ur self... seriously do everyone a favor and go back.. none of us want u home."

6:06 p.m.
"u do nothing but cause problems"

6:14 p.m.
"and im sure when i get home ull have already cried to mommy and daddy ab it.. im sure u arent man enough.. if ur even a man to take anything from a 17 yr old" continue reading...

My Girls - Gigamesh Remix

I've been pretty into remixes lately... mostly because of all the dance parties that have been going down. This is one of the coolest ones I've heard

--click to listen, right click to save--

-Stephen continue reading...

SUMMER TEEN ZINE

And you thought the world of print was dead.

WRONG.

I've been trying to come up with a few zine ideas, having contributed a couple times for King Cobra last year (check out Tulip Weekly too). My biggest problem was finding people to get involved with, but now the time seems to be now.

SO.

I am officially announcing the start of submissions for the first Summer Teen Zine.

a few things to consider:

1) any type of work (essays, fiction, art, lists, pictures, etc.) that can be e-mailed will do.

2) send work to erik(dot)r(dot)fox(at)gmail(com)with the subject SUMMER TEEN ZINE and what category of work you are sending, as well as how many words it is.

3) as far as length goes, try to keep it around 1,000 words.

4) if sending a picture/work of art, keep in mind that i will be printing it off black and white.

5) the theme here is Love Letters. interpret how you will. if you love something, write about it; that's a love letter. take a picture of your favorite flower; it's a love letter. see where i'm going with this?

6) if yours isn't in the zine, it could be that it's being saved for another time.

7) oh, and also in the email, give your name and a brief bio. continue reading...

Crack Box

New Animal Collective:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IFM3KXH0

Tracklisting:

A1. Jimmy Raven
A2. Ahhh Good Country
A3. Iko Ovo

A1 and A2 recorded live to MiniDisc 18 September 2000 at the Cooler, NYC by Avey/Panda. A3 recorded live to MiniDisc fall 2000 at N. 4th Practice Space, Brooklyn by Avey/Panda.

B1. Pumpkin Gets a Snakebite
B2. Pumpkin's Hallucination
B3. Pumpkin's Funeral

B1 and B3 recorded live to MiniDisc February 2001 at N. 4th Practice Space, Brooklyn by Avey/Panda/Geologist. B2 recorded live to MiniDisc 25 February 2001 at Mercury Lounge, NYC by Avey/Panda/Geologist.

C1. Jungle Heat
C2. Hey Friend
C3. De Soto De Son

C1 and C2 recorded live to MiniDisc winter early 2001 at 67 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn by Avey/Panda. C3 recorded live to MiniDisc August 2000 at Mercury Lounge, NYC by Avey/Panda.

D1. Oh Sweet
D2. Young Prayer #2
D3. Do the Nurse

D1 partly recorded live to MiniDisc summer 2002 at N. 4th Practice Space, Brooklyn by Avey/Deakin and partly recorded live to MiniDisc 18 October 2002 at Warsaw, Brooklyn by Avey. D2 recorded live to MiniDisc fall 2002 at Bard College, NYC by Avey/Panda. D3 recorded live to MiniDisc 18 October 2002 at Warsaw, Brooklyn by Avey.

E1. Ice Cream Factory
E2. Hey Light
E3. Two Sails

E1 and E3 recorded live to MiniDisc March 2002 at Tonic, NYC by Avey/Panda/Geologist/Deakin. E2 recorded live to MiniDisc winter early 2002 at N. 4th Practice Space, Brooklyn by Avey/Panda/Geologist/Deakin.

F1. Don't Believe the Pilot
F2. Who Could Win a Rabbit
F3. Mouth Wooed Her
F4. Covered in Frogs
F5. We Tigers

F1 and F2 recorded live to MiniDisc July 2003 at New World Brewery, Tampa, FL by Avey/Panda. F3 recorded live to MiniDisc June 2003 at a house party in Brooklyn by Avey/Panda. F4 recorded live to MiniDisc sometime and somewhere in 2003 (recording details are lost) by Avey/Panda. F5 recorded live to MiniDisc October 2003 at Concorde 2, Brighton, UK by Avey/Panda. continue reading...

Jack of all trades, master of none

"Jack of all trades, master of none"

How often do you get to hear this phrase? More importantly, does anyone you know apply it to you?

It's amazing how little this phrase has been thrown around in our generation. The intent of focus in American society has really been to find that one area of mediocrity to improve on to become successful.

So, basically:

Can you play some chords on a guitar and become famous? YEA YOU CAN! Just spend all your time learning about the guitar and lay down some mad licks and then BOOM! a record deal comes your way.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

OR!!!!!

Are you good at basketball or football? Get a full-ride scholarship to a college or university, do poorly in your classes but somehow still pass, and then after two (or maybe even ONE, HOW EXCITINGGGGGGG) years of feeling like you REALLY put in your dues, get drafted so you can sit on a bench for about two more years until you are ready to get rid of some of that ego and maybe play like a team player.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Everybody has got to get paid.

Do I sound bitter about this? Nah...not at all. I just find that talents, the things that are somehow so divinely given to us, are wasted on the extreme push for money. American wants money. That is nothing new. Boy, now I do understand wanting to get paid. Money is money. It keeps us going and keeps us from ultimately just destroying each other (although it also has been helping us TRY to destroy each other)

But really. Let me just set my personal expertise on this for you.

I come from a musical family, that even at least 15 years prior to MY birth, they traveled and cut records. My grandma on piano, my dad on bass, everyone else singing. Ah...the "Buckler Family Singers." Now, they weren't famous. But everyone knew them. And everyone knew how each were talented at their own part in the band/group/whatever.

Then David Wayne Buckler II (me) came into this world. Interestingly enough, my family didn't push music onto me. Instead, they let the music kind of come to me. So, at ten years old, I pushed to get my own drumset. My dad very happily complied. Soon, I was in the mix of the gospel music scene. I played at churches for years it seemed, and well I got a lot of experience.

There I was, focusing on one instrument, starting a couple of bands and having a blast.

That all soon changed.

I found other instruments. Banjo, mandolin, bass, guitar, accordion, lap steel, and my main being ukulele (all thanks to this, which was originally written on ukulele). Now, that's a pretty extreme list of instruments. Extreme meaning that my attention span led me to learn more how the instruments worked more so than actually playing them well.

Of course this led to quite a disappointment for my family.

I went to school for history, instead of music like my sister. Fine, whatever. I started another band without being involved with the drums.

Then they said it. Quite a bit too. "Oh, you were so good at the drums, why couldn't you ever stick to that?" "When will you be playing drums again?"

"You know, are a jack of many trades, but a master of none."

It got under my skin, left me feeling like a little bit of a failure. And sometimes, I feel as though they make it a point to tell me this.

But what of all of this?

Is it actually a bad thing to be a "jack of all trades?"

It makes me think of those in ancient Greece or Rome who had a vast amount of knowledge on everything. It was expected of them, for it was not to make money out of it, but instead to do their duty to their civilization.

I'm not saying that focusing on one thing is all necessarily a bad thing. I have great respect for those who can sit down and become so good at their instrument that they don't need anything else.

But maybe those who want to dabble in everything want to do their part, be a little more well rounded than others.

So, let's look at this phrase one more time:

"Jack of all trades, master of none."

Interestingly enough, that is not the whole complete quote:

"Jack of all trades, master of none,
though ofttimes better than master of one."

-bigdave continue reading...

Album of the Week

This is a bit belated, but here's my first "album of the week" review.

The Gaskets - Loose Change


--CLICK TO DOWNLOAD ALBUM--

The twins (Taylor and Jamison MacKillop) were the first ones to introduce me to The Gaskets. The Gaskets are no longer a band, and they never got really big, but I feel that the music they did make was a really fun twist on electronic pop. They were a duo from Richmond, Virginia that rocked it with just a microphone and a Yamaha RM1X sequencer. For some special shows they added a full band which was pretty rad (Taylor owns the live DVD if you ever want to see it).

The album Loose Change is full of catchy electronic funk and shout-out-loud lyrics. The first song that really got my attention is the the third track "Cold Busted." It's starts with an acoustic guitar loop that is intricate and yet easy to follow and then drops a beat with some fun lyrics about getting caught doing stuff you shouldn't do. Definitely a fun song. Recently my favorite song on this album has been "Eiffel Tower." This song is a straight rad danceable tune that has a chorus that gets stuck in my head and a breakdown/chant near the end that always makes me smile. The only song that I think is really weak on this album is "De Sunuke Sufain." Some chick guest sings on it and it just rubs me the wrong way.

here's the music video for "Eiffel Tower"


This is definitely a fun summer album to jam to and sing along with (which I've been doing a lot lately). So check it out and tell me what you think.

-Stephen


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Wikipedia of the Week

Who knew those Germans could rock so hard? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krautrock. continue reading...

Ret's Go!

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2009/03/10  continue reading...

Exclusive First Listen: Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse Team Up With David Lynch

A first listen to the "Most Mysterious Album of the Year" from NPR. Give it a listen?
. continue reading...

Bassment

So, after next weekend I'll be living with my father. He lives in a small town called Alexandria (it's kind of south of muncie, but like 20 mins away) Aaaanywho, I'm going to be moving into his basement, now his basement is segregated into like 3 rooms. A tv room, a laundry room and this big ass room thats taken over by a pool table. My first goal, is to smash that old piece of shit into hundreds of pieces. By doing so I'll be opening up a ton of space. This ton of space is obvz going to be used for the most entertaining thing someone can do with this amount of space. Dance parties till the break of dawn. But before, I'll be grilling and drinking Orange Crush to celebrate summertime. I'll let everyone know the minor details such as where and when. But trust me, once I graduate from high school and truly become a man, I'll be bringing in summer in style continue reading...

Some Changes

You may or may not have noticed a few additions to Summer Teen Diary.

1. Over on the right side there is now a new section that's titled "Other Blogs." Feel free to edit it and add whatever other blogs you think people would be interested in. I added "The Onion" and "Tiger Cub" just to get it started. I don't really know many awesome music blogs, but it would be cool if someone could add one or two of those. I would at least be interested in reading them.

2. Also over there on the right Austin added his Last.fm weekly top artists. If you have a Last.fm and would like to do the same simply click on the "Get Your Own" button on Austin's, make sure you're logged in, and then click on "Make a widget from your own charts." You can do weekly top tracks or artists or just what you've listened to recently. Then go to the "Customize" button at the top of the blog and then click "Add a Gadget" in the right bar. Add the HTML gadget, put in the code that Last.fm gives you, and bam. Donezo. For some reason all the play counts are screwed up on mine, so i removed mine from the page.

3. I'm going to start doing and "Album of the Week." I will do a short review and put the album up for download so that you can check it out if you want. I will probably start either later today or tomorrow.

so feel free to add gadgets and random stuff to the blog. it could be a lot of fun.
-Stephen
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last week of classes

This is tomorrow
And I'm going to see Native and ITFOW in Kokomo on Friday if anyone wants to go with.

-Stephen continue reading...

Know Your IndianAnimals

As residents of the great state of Indiana we have an obligation to know the various flora and fauna that can be found in the Hoosier State. This feature aims to educate.

The American Bobcat Lynx Rufus

Did you know these mother fuckers were around? It's enough to make me want to stay inside. These bastards will eat anything from a rabbit to a deer. You'd better believe a human being is on the menu. Should you be unlucky enough to encounter one, you'll know it because it's a tanish brown color, with dark streaks on the body. They come out around dawn and sunset, so if you're tromping around in the woods, watch your fucking back. These guys are endangered in Indiana, but that doesn't mean that they're pussies. If you're thinking about trouncing around in the foliage, you'd better think twice.

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Happy Mothers Day!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

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ok. alright.

i wasn't going to post for awhile (or anything at all) but this just happened and i had to share it with everyone immediately.

so i'm on my friend Adam's blog and i'm about to make a comment. no big deal.
it was one of those where you had to type the word in the box kinda things. well here's what was in the box.



it says "her hyman". for those of you who don't know what that is, ask erik. continue reading...

Burgers, Fries and a Coke

I thought this idea was pretty cool. Although they take the whole "hospital" theme a little too far and it'd be a little cooler if it was a Drive-In.

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This American Life - Cat and Mouse

For those of you who don't know, "This American Life" is the best radio show in the world. Turns out, my pop has been recording these for a very long time, making for a huge collection I've been listening through for a year or so. At least every week, I'll feature another episode for download, and we can listen... together!

From my dad, to me, to you.

This American Life - "Cat and Mouse"


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pic of the day

Pic of the day:

And a bonus for missing yesterday!

For some reason I feel like these two just go well together.

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i am known to do the wop. (wop)

Premature ejaculation is a bummer.

Sure, every guy liberates the baby-batter early once in awhile, but the overall effect premature ejaculation puts on a man is depressing. No one likes it. The girl involved gets let down and probably won’t be seeing him again. Or, if she’s a first-timer, she’ll forever be plagued by not knowing what could have been good sex. And once word gets around the man is looked down upon forever.

Sometimes a guy just really wants to get laid, but can’t because of his reputation.

However, like any sexual behavior, it can be (and needs to be) learned and understood to control. There’s no genetics involved with lasting longer, just some time and effort taken. There are a few things a man can do curb such a problem:

1) Masturbation. Ever hear of the term ‘edging’? It’s a good way for a person to get acquainted with oneself and practice for a masterpiece of sex. Overcoming the urge to let it out while getting to know yourself will help to overcome a potential demeaning situation.

2) Breathe. Relaxation makes for good sex. Deep, rhythmic breaths and communication with the girl being poked doesn’t hurt. Instead of just going wild and trying bump uglies at 100-mph just take your time, chill out, and think about what is trying to be accomplished.

3) Kegels. Kegel exercises target the pelvic floor muscles that control urination. When you gotta go just start, hold for three seconds, then release again. The impulse to go is always there, but restraint is needed in order to make something good of sex.

Askmen.com says it best at the end of the article: “Premature ejaculation can be easily countered with patience, effort and knowledge.”

If you've noticed the flurry of activity happening here (here and here too) at STD, you might see the relevance. continue reading...

Sup girl?

I saw this babe at Paynes tonight, she was with two ugs, I'm guessing just to make herself look better. She was doing some scientific stuff, so I'm guessing shes got a brain inside that head of hers. I could tell by her body language that she was pretty open. I think she was drinking a latte though so it was pretty obvious she didn't know what she was doing in that department. The only thing I couldn't figure out IWU or Taylor?

-TuloBroChill continue reading...

Jamison, Summer, Pigs

hello summer teen diary. i am a tween though! just turned twenty :-p .

so here's an update.

i might have swine flu. pretty crazy.

but here is what i think. i think the pig is getting a pretty bad rap.

jews hate pigs.

muslims hate pigs.

pigs are associated with corruption in politics.

pigs are over fed and exploited for their weight gain, why doesn't anyone do that here in upland?

pigs need a better PR spokesperson. 

so here it is, funny pig pics. enjoy.

Jamison

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an explanation.

pc4pc is picture comment for picture comment. 

fuck, i feel like a turd for actually knowing that.

just clarifying the exploitation of one's bubble gum/angsty myspace posts.

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Help

I just bought a 62cm Fuji Special Road Racer frame to convert to fixed gear. I just realized I might be in a little bit over my head. I still need:

22.2mm quill stem

26.4mm seat post

Saddle

70mm English threaded bottom bracket

Crank set

Fixed gear chain ring

Chain

Either 126mm Fixed hub, or 120mm hub with spacers

Some bullhorn handlebars

Front brake

I have just the frame and fork. This is going to be my summer project. I guess I need to get a decent job, because this might get expensive. Erik, you told me before you'd help me with a fixed gear, so I'm going to hold you to it. If anyone has any old parts they'd like to donate or sell for cheap, let me know. I think my biggest problem is making sure everything is compatible. From what I can tell old Japanese bikes have a 70mm wide bottom bracket, which is standard for Italian threading, but use English threading, for which 68 cm width is normal. This is so confusing, if anyone knows what they're talking about, please help me.

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a pretty big problem

After recovering from one beer too many last night, I decided to REALLY wake up and see how the Reds did last night. I do get "game texts" from ESPN (aka the LEADER), but last night I was texting way too many people to bother what the game was like.

I will say I listened to the radio last night for a second or two, and boy, Marty Brennamen sounded a little peeved, and it seemed the game was a little bit of a joke to him. HMM I wonder why?

(By the way, I am getting all these stats from the reds.com wrap, just in case anybody wants to see this atrocity.)

Brewers SLAUGHTERED the Reds for an inexplicable reason. Bronson Arroyo, within the first inning, JUST THE FIRST INNING, gave the Brewers NINE, COUNT 'EM NINE, runs. He completed only an official inning of work (three outs), and pitched to four batters in the second with completing an out.

Let's look at his ERA for the game.

(ERA is earned run average for those who don't know, it's basically a really funny system to measure a pitcher's worth. ERA=9xEarned Runs Allowed/Innings Pitched)

So, Bronson pitched one inning divided into 9, which equals nine, multiplied by nine.
So, this means that Bronson's ERA for this individual game was......81.00!
His ERA right now, is a whopping 7.15. That means 27 earned runs given in 34 innings. That also means that almost one for one, he is giving people a really great time....almost like in a man finding his g-spot kind of way.

It gets crazier, the Reds right now have the 8th best team ERA with 3.99. Their batting though is dismal. 27th in the league with batting average of .246. HUH WAIT WHAT? DO the Reds want to win games? Or switch back in forth in areas they are good at, just sucking one or the other year by year. It is grating to my baseball fan soul. It's killing me smalls.

I bet you guys are thinking "Srsly, this dude just posted about stats on meaningless game" LOLZ!!!

But this is what happens during my summer. I pretty much devote most of my time to the Reds, because really I definitely don't want to be a Cubs fan (A majority of whom I've met are bandwagoners, not saying anyone here, but definite bandwagoners), a St. Louis fan, or the dude-bros who always love the Red Sox. I'd rather stay with a team whose poor ownership skills, managerial skills (from the general manager to the club manager DUSTY FREAKING BAKER) for past 15 years has driven the team pretty much into the ground setting up for a very long road to recovery.

If anything, God help us all, and God bless America.
-bigdave

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Antwuan Dixon

what a giant.  

i couldn't sleep last night cause all i could think about was anderson skate plaza.  I'm getting so pumped for this summer!  its so close, its about to blow off.  

Turns out im pretty sure i can go to the house show on saturday, pretty pumped but not psyched about driving back to west lafayette for that final on monday.  

When they do make the whip you like ya chips ain’t right, by the time you could afford it the car ain’t important 

-Shane

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Passion Pit - Manners

here's the new Passion Pit album for anyone who's interested: CLICK HERE

my favorite tracks are "Let Your Love Grow Tall" and "The Reeling"

-Stephen continue reading...

Get me some blog-na. But I'm vegetarian!

Plans this summer: Virginia, work, pitchfork, music.

Holy shit, I'm so lame. 

I guess it's time to put up an angsty post from someone's myspace bulletin.

eleven more days left of school! i'm exciteddd. :D i'm not going to want to get up tomorrow, i can already tell. okay so for real this time i'm going to credit redemption. i need to make up my hours. even though i'm going to dread going. ugh, someone come with me, anyone who has to make up hours. :p please.

be my friend and go! haha. <3>

let's talk&
new picture, pc4pc.

Taylor.

PC4PC plzzz ; )

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Something I should never do - Blog

So this will be my first blog since xanga and livejournal days...something that I never thought I could do again. But I'm going to try it out and see what I can contribute.

Since this is the first post (the pre-summer post), I'll state some of my goals like everybody else.

0. Actually work on a relationship with God

1. Meet new people and get closer to the people I already know

2. Listen to more music and maybe start some of my own

3. Watch less t.v. (Except for the Cubs)

4. Oh you know I'm going on at least one sweet adventure (meaning more than 1 day)

5. I am gonna dance when I can

So you can make it official: Grant is in.

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Kickin it off

Bonfire at my house on Friday at 10 pm. Everyone is invited.

and then this on Saturday of course:
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Be Easy

Summer Teen Diary is clearly going to be one son-of-a-gun written joy ride. This is the heart of the Upland/Muncie/Greater area.

I am neck deep in school crap right now to post anything too great, but I want to make it clear how excited I am for this. Major points for good first entries. Especially Aaron's, which I look at in the library.

Pic of the Day:
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plans?

yeah this summer is gonna be awesome. Upland is growing old and i wish i wasn't gonna be there all summer, but i am. So, i plan to make the best of it. chill with my friends, turn 21, skate and maybe play some music. I'm not gonna commit to anything cause i pretty much hate you all and am still looking for a way out. but until then i guess we will have some fun. love you continue reading...

-Aaron

continue reading...

After a quick first post, it's time for a real first post. I'm going to steal a few ideas from everyone on this one.

Summer Music And Books

Like Erik, I'm really excited to be able to have 3 months to hang out, listen to music, and read.

The best part of listening to music in the summer is driving around with the windows down. It's real cheesy, but it's kind of a dream of mine to go on a road trip in a convertible, cruising down the interstate, listening to tunes, and of course everyone is wearing sunglasses. That's not going to happen anytime in the foreseeable future, so until then, it's windows down with my imagination going. This is what (in no particular order, oh wow, I'm unoriginal) I'll be jamming too this summer.

1) Le Face - Isolation

This album is sick. Noise punk is huge all of a sudden, which is kind of cool because there is a lot more music out there, but a bunch of bands are starting to sound the same. Le Face rules though, they've got some sweet hooks. It's the perfect mix between the noise, hiss, and pop.

2) Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

All time favorite album. Good anytime, but especially great for summer. "Range Life" is such a great song, it should be the official anthem of summers everywhere. The line "Out on my skateboard, the night is just hummin'..." is so gorgeous and perfectly describes my dream summer, full of hangouts and 100% carefree.

3) Abe Vigoda - 2007 7" / Skeleton

I wore out that Abe Vigoda 7" last summer, and I'm planning on doing it again. There's only two songs on it, but they may be the two most perfect songs I've ever heard. It's not really an album, but it might be my favorite record. Skeleton is great too, tropical noise punk. I can't even begin to describe how perfect of an idea that is. I love tropical music, it's perfect for summer.

4) Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes / Mutantes

Tropicália is a sweet movement that deserves more attention. Os Mutantes are really psychedelic tropical music. Like I said before I love tropical music, I also dig some weird psychedelic shit. Favorites are "Baby" and "Dois Mil E Um". Forgot to mention these guys are from Brazil and speak Portuguese. I'm going to learn Portuguese sometime soon.

5) Prussia - Dear Emily, Best Wishes, Molly

Again, pretty tropical sounding. It's kind of funny that I equate tropical music with summer, seeing as I live in Indiana. Sounds like a tropical version of Danielson. Awesome.

As far as reading goes this summer, right now I'm planning on reading Atlas Shrugged and The Gift Of Asher Lev. If I can get those finished quickly then I'll probably read some John Kennedy Toole.

Other Summer Goals

Hanging out. This is the last summer that all of my friends will be together, and I plan on making the most of it. I feel kind of bad, but my family is definitely going to end up on the back burner summer '09.

Payne's. Here at school I spend a lot of my free time at Greyhouse, this summer Payne's will be my Greyhouse.

Music. I'm going to see Animal Collective twice, Passion Pit, Pitchfork Fest, and maybe Lollapalooza. I'm going to go to every show possible this summer. I'm hoping to get down to Bloomington with Aaron a couple of times. I'm also going to work on playing guitar, and I want to try to worm my way in on some people's bands.

Traveling. Like I said I'm going to a bunch of concerts, but I'm going to head down to Cinci a couple of times hopefully, and over toward Arlington Heights to see Zach.

Riding bikes daily. I've been riding an exercise bike like crazy lately (20 miles today), but I'm hoping to save up enough to put together a sweet fixie.

Blog Goals

I plan on bring the usual blog stuff to the table (music reviews, talking about how shitty my day was, etc.), but I really want to play the zine angle. I'm going to try to carry a tape recorder, and if I meet someone interesting, I'll interview them. I want to document some sweet experiments as well. These are my inspiration:

http://www.theplug.net/index.htm

http://www.viceland.com/index_int_r.php

I hope this blog lasts much longer than summer. Dream come true would be we pick up a bunch of contributors, everyone finds their voice, we get a real website going, and end up doing this part time or something. That's wishful thinking though.

This was way too long, anyways, I'm Austin, I'm 19, I'll be 20 soon. Summer Teen Diary everyone.

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a series of lists

My standards are set very high for this summer. 

Awesome things about this summer:
- My parents are going to be gone for 7-8 weeks so I have a house to myself (and possibly a house mate) for pretty much the whole summer.
- Most of the friends that I truly love are going to be within a 30 minute drive.

- I plan on attending many concerts and one music festival.  Not to mention local shows.

- I plan on reading any Michael Crichton books I haven't read yet (I think there are only 3 or 4)

- 2 new tattoos

- Movies, movies, movies (at Aaron's?  I hope so)

What might suck about this summer:

- Working on Taylor paint crew. 

- Not having the twins around

What I hope will happen

- Wiffle ball at Shane's town house (well, more of just a property now)

- Bonfires at my house, Shane's house.... anyone else's house

- Dance parties.  With no padres around I'm definitely going to host a few.

- Writing some solo songs and then also making music with various people

- Road trips and/or Tiger Cub tour.

Other stuff

- I have to miss 4 days of work to fly out to my sister's wedding.  I'm actually kind of bummed I have to go to my own sister's wedding... is that wrong?

- I'm going to have to cut my hair for the wedding.  I don't know how I feel about that.

There they are.  My hopes, fears, and expectations.

I'm sitting in one of the video editing suites right now and I just finished my final film for digital video production.  It's not nearly as good as I had hoped.  But on the bright side it's pretty much the last major thing I had to do for the semester.  I'm as good as done.

I'll be seeing all of you soon,

Stephen

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Here I am...

Presentation everybody.

Here I am presenting myself as somebody who tries to know anything about something.

Sounds pretty boring, eh?

I kind of want to write this as statement of intent in accordance to what I plan to contribute to this collective. I kind of hope it goes beyond summer, because although I love the season, my past two have been pretty terrible.

(By the way I write this in the transition of ending my year at school and summer, so excuse me if I still sound all academic. Don't worry, that will change soon.)

Anyways, my summers in the past years have consisted of (other than this) video games, books, movies and most importantly BASEBALL.

(By the way Austin, suck it up, the Reds are a really decent team, plus on top of that their first road trip of the year they went 5 of 7, 2 of 3 being the Cubs/Reds series, where, OHMYGOD!!!!!!!, the Reds won the series. Compare this to last April and their first road trip which they lost 6 of 9 (heh 69) and lost the series to the Cubs./end rant)

Mainly I'd like to knock out the AFI Top 100 Movies list this summer, which I already have a majority finished. It does help that I do work for an flailing videostore.

Next is to finish a couple of video games: Grand Theft Auto IV, Mass Effect, Fable II and Fallout 3 for the XBOX 360, and Resident Evil 5, MLB 09 and Killzone 2 for Playstation 3. On top of that I have some Nintendo DS games I'd like to finally put away. Subsequent reviews will follow the completion of each, mainly to convince you that I am huge dork or that I look at video games in a different way (yearight)((by the way, it is pretty sad when I say a couple and really it was way more than 3. 3 is considered a couple right?))(((Plus, I think Erik and I are going to Goldeneye, mario kart, and contra it up this summer also)))

Scattered through those two main things and working, I'm going try to fit in some books I've started. Mainly Asimov science fiction, sports journalism, and Hemingway. Because who doesn't love some Hemingway?

On top of all that, my goal this year was to go to as many different sporting events possible. I am right now at one. Not looking good. Not looking good.

Lastly, it is to cook out and listen to baseball games at T-Rex, to which all of you are invited. Especially the ladies...single ones.

So good luck in trying to understand what I just wrote, or all the boring things I am going to write about my summer.

KLUVUBYE
-bigdave continue reading...

Guy

I want to get the first baseball post in before Dave joins up.

I am a Cubs guy.

Dave is a Reds guy.

This is unacceptable.

I really want to do a bunch of interviews.

Hold me to it.

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hey oh! i love beer.

so this is summer, huh? i'm fine with making an initial post. if you don't know what's up, this is a collective. if you want to be a part of this, find us on facebook or some other networking site. you know us well enough.

since this is the Summer Teen Diary, it's important that i relate this to the summer, and when i was a teenager. so let's get this underway.

if there's anything i love to do more than anything in the summer, it's listen to music and read books. hopefully the rest of the gang will follow suit here. if you want to know something about someone, spend two minutes with them (according to one of my favorite fiction characters), or take a look at their music and readings. so here is what i plan on reading this summer.

1) Bablyon Revisited and Other Stories - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The last thing of Fitzgerald's I've read was The Great Gatsby, and this was back in high school. I'm almost a senior in college now. Being a sort of borderline alcoholic myself, I've been turned on to the lifestyle Fitz led. I am also an avid ex-pat, "Lost Generation" fan, and short story enthusiast.

2) The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
One of my favorite books. Sometimes you just need a picker-upper.

3) Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
It's possible that this is the only book I read this summer. I'm fine with that. 1,000 + pages? psh.

4) On the Road - Jack Kerouac
This is another book on the list of books i am trying to get through. Though I'm not much for the beatnik movement i've heard interesting things about Jack's style, so it's worth trying.

5) The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles
Also on the list. During WW II, an estranged couple travels to the North African desert to find some common ground...but things take a turn for the worst.


Summertime also brings a sense of music. I'm talking roadtrips. Making out with a girl. Sitting on your porch, smoking a pipe. Hanging out by the campfire. This is what I will be jamming out to the most. No particular order.

1) Alopecia - Why?
This is sort of the indie hip-hop i've been dreaming of.

2) Some Girls - The Rolling Stones
Chill out in your backyard, light a campfire, and dive into the New York era of the Stones.

3) Ancient Melodies of the Future - Built to Spill
This is a newbie. But I am excited to learn more and more about this band. "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" is awesome.

4) The '59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem
This is summer jams right here. Yea, you can take the Springsteen comparisons. But enough of that. It's fun and enjoyable.

5) Stay What You Are - Saves the Day
If I had to listen to only one album each summer, this is the one. Hands down.



This is Summer Teen Diary. each of us has our own aspect to contribute, whether it be words, art, lists, reviews, or updates on our Hot or Not photo.

-erik continue reading...