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New Blog

2010-04-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

So long blogspot. I have switched to tumblr. Am I cool now?

http://jaxonadams.tumblr.com

funny article i read

2010-04-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

"Passion Pit was easily the worst performance I witnessed at Sasquatch 09, but I was going to get my $30 worth of entertainment, and the crowd provided it. It quickly became evident that the ratio of chemicals in a man's hair was directly proportional the amount of chemicals his date was wearing on her face. I guess I've been attending so many shows with hippies and hipsters, I sometimes forget the Chad & Sorostitute crowd exists.

How priceless is it when the crowd hears the first couple beats of a song, starts waiving their arms and screaming, then look at each other confused as the song progresses, leading to comments such as, "wait, I've never heard this song?" The bro-hugs when a radio song was played was also fun. I've had live musical moments when I wanted to hug everyone around me a couple times, but I wouldn't classify hearing Passion Pit's "The Reeling" near the top of that list. And seriously, what type of person goes to a Passion Pit show and screams, "PLAY SLEEPYHEAD" in between songs? They have created less than 90 minutes worth of music in their career. Do you really think they are going to skip any of the songs people like? The lead singer eventually said something along the lines of, "We wouldn't drive all the way out here from Boston, and not play Sleepyhead? Settle down, we're going to play another couple songs, then you'll get to hear it." The crowd erupted, as though they also feared it wouldn't happen.

I'm not bashing the crowd, just pointing out amusing observations. If the crowd during Passion Pit at Sasquatch is anything near this ball of energy, you are in for a treat, because overall, the crowd was packed full of rowdy Passion Pit freaks, jumping up and down and singing along.

Oh yeah, the band was also much better. After watching this show, it became clear why they were so terrible at Sasquatch 09. This band needs their lead singer to sound like how he sounds on the album. I love it when bands mix it up, but the annoyance of the singers voice quickly overshadows the catchyness of their music when he is improvising his tone and beat, and that is what happened at Sasquatch 09. To exaggerate how bad it was last year, the singer walked around stage quietly speaking the lyrics, often off beat, and randomly yelping. That is no longer the case. When his voice becomes another instrument, and goes where it belongs, it really lets the rest of their music shine, which eliminates the annoyance factor. His voice is unique, but it is nowhere near what makes their music so fun. Expect an enjoyable musical experience this year, and get ready to throw your hands in the air during "Little Secrets," because that song easily trumped Sleepyhead live."

Setlist:
1-13. Who Cares
14. SLEEPYHEAD!!!!!!!!!!

funny stuff.

i do not think that it can get anymore accurate than this. if you were sober at sasquatch 09, then you understand what this man is talking about. thank God i am not going to this fest again this year. i am trading it for a hardcore fest. three times less expensive and ten times more fun. sound and fury 2010 ftw.

http://www.punknews.org/article/37889

"I can still see the reasons that I opened my eyes to this scene in the first place" - Aaron Bedard

NFG

2010-04-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

my favorite band is new found glory. always has been. always will be. there is so much about them that i enjoy. such as: their positivity, energy, and musicianship. they have been around for 13 years now and like a fine wine they are only getting better with time. long live the drama of junior high school, long live new found glory.

srsly srsly srsly

2010-04-12T12:19:00.001-07:00

everyone should have twitter. i am obsessed.

http://twitter.com/Jaxonadams

make one and we shall follow each other.

p.s. i already miss HAVE HEART. people can talk crap on them all they want. it is hardcore and i understand that everyone is an elitists and talks jam. i love them. no hardcore band has ever had such an influence on me. in loving memory of them harley and i bought some of their merch yesterday. i already want to buy more.

What I have been jammin' for the last 6 months

2010-04-02T08:59:00.001-07:00

Make your own dynamic tag cloud

What I have been jammin' for the last 7 days

2010-04-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

Make your own dynamic tag cloud

Rather Be Dead

2010-03-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

Refused - Rather Be DEAD

Guilty Of Being White

2010-03-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

a few weekends ago i attended Biola's SCORR Conference. SCORR stands for "Student Congress on Racial Reconciliation." awesome right?! yes and no.

reconcile - 1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony b : settle, resolve
2 : to make consistent or congruous
3 : to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant

there was no reconciliation taking place. if reconciliation to those of different ethnicities means constantly making fun of white people then i dont want to be a part of it. i understand that imperialism and genocide has taken place in this very country. many sins have been committed and healing is still taking place. but to go to a conference and feeling like crap the whole time is not fun. i know i may be being a baby about it, but there was no healing taking place, just more hostility towards white people.

i understand that ethnic groups and minorities have been oppressed for years and this was maybe a little taste of what they have to go through everyday. But, why would one impose the same feelings of hostility back onto someone that has never racially discriminated against anyone in his life. i just felt accused of a crime that i have never committed.

i am still trying to understand this all. it is such a touchy subject to talk about at times. that is why i am very unsure of this post. i guess it is just my reaction to feeling guilty of all the oppression over the years.

Peace Prayer of St. Francis

2010-02-26T10:54:00.000-08:00

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life.

musics

2010-02-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

so i left my guitar at home while i was attending school for the past month. worst mistake ever. i was like a writer without a pen and paper, a surfer without waves, or a life without jesus chirst. i mostly play bass now but i grew up playing the guitar and living without it was just too hard. its brings me sanity whenever i pick it up ans strum a few of my favorite chords.

good news. i am going to get it back today! yay! i cannot wait to play what has been in my mind for the last month. much has been swirling around in the catacombs of my brain, longing to come out and grace the ears of "the sweet layer."

school is already kicking my white booty. i have grown tired of hw, reading, or studying. week four begins tomorrow. wah wah.

girlfriennn in twelve dayzzzz. see you soon fartbreath!

Messages From The Past

2010-02-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

The following is an e-mail from the past, composed on Monday, July 20, 2009, and sent via FutureMe.org
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Subject: Happy Birthday Dumbass

Dear FutureMe,
if you do not have a girlfriend by today then you have failed at life. but God still loves you, your family still loves you, and your friends still love you no matter how much of a loser you are and will probably be. you probably have no money because you hate work. you're probably failing a class because you hate school. anyways, now onto the really important stuff. get more tattoos. people will think you are cooler than you actually are. it'll be awesome, you'll have them all fooled. you are 21 now, so be responsible when it comes to alcohol. do not EVER drive while under the influence or the 20 year old punk writing this will kick your butt. i think that is all i can think of right now. your 20 year old self is at sugar pine right now enjoying summer and obviously gettin' paid. your little brother showed you how to write this email and he is really cool. your older brother is also da man. your parents are the best parents in the world and they would do anything for you.

love,
20 year old jax

celebrate

2010-02-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

i am twenty one years old today.

Philippians 2:1-11

(1)Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, (2)make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. (3)Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; (4)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (5)Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, (6)who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (7)but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (8)Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (9)For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, (10)so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11)and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

facebook vs. twitter

2010-02-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

first it was melodramatic
then blogger
then myspace
then facebook

the only reason all of those were so much fun and resourceful was because at one point everyone had one. there really is nothing too special about facebook. no one reinvented the wheel with designing it. it is useful because 95% of my friends have one. myspace could have still been awesome but it quickly became too creepy and is now only used to follow my favorite bands.

the future is now twitter. people are still hating on this program because they are too scared to fully take the plunge into something new. trust me, it is worth it. i thoroughly enjoy it. the only reason it is not as cool as facebook is because only about 15% of my friends use it. that is not nearly enough people saying awesome statements in less than 140 characters to keep me around for the long haul. yes, t swift, hayley, and chadball will entertain me for now but my friends, you have to step up. join twitter. say funny things. say srs things. follow me, and i you. and together we shall take over.

http://twitter.com/jaxonadams

i leave you with a haiku that i just wrote in one minute, because they are fun and i do not have to show off my poor rhyming skillz.

facebook is the past
twitter is now the future
and you smell like cheese

iPad

2010-01-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

it sounds weird just writing that. saying it is even more awkward. i feel like im iPod with a Minnesota accent. no offense to all my friends from there. i ruv roo all.

http://gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad

Then and Now

2010-01-25T18:15:00.001-08:00

2006:

i guess i used to have a jawline. and surf everyday. wetsuit tan.

2010:

Colton Harris-Moore

2010-01-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

Teen at large. Mind=blown. Planes. Really?! Planes. Read Article

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122630422

the story so far

2010-01-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

i like pop punk
i like house shows
i like bands that name themselves after nfg songs

The Story So Far-Live from James Liberato on Vimeo.

interestingggg.....

2010-01-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Fireworks - Detroit

2010-01-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

been waiting for 6 months in anticipation for this video. love this song. so much. hope you like it too. bikes galore!

Tops of 2009

2009-12-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

Top artists by plays:
1088 Alkaline Trio
1011 New Found Glory
971 Blink 182
700 Crime In Stereo
575 Tegan and Sara
522 The Startling Line
489 Have Heart
474 The Juliana Theory
465 Brand New
465 Saves The Day

Top tracks by plays:
84 Matt and Kim - Daylight
81 Alkaline Trio - Nose Over Tail
71 Alkaline Trio - Help Me
64 Jimmy Eat World - Work
64 Alkaline Trio - Cringe
64 Alkaline Trio - As You Were
63 Crime In Stereo - Bicycles For Afghanistan
60 The Starting Line - Leaving
60 Blink 182 - First Date
55 Crime in Stereo – Everything Changes/Nothing Is Ever Truly Lost

My Top Albums of 2009:
Matt and Kim - Grand
Owl City - Ocean Eyes
New Found Glory - Not Without A Fight
Passion Pit - Manners
mewithoutYou – It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright
Fireworks – All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion
Set Your Goals – This Will Be The Death of Us
Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
Polar Bear Club – Chasing Hamburg
Title Fight – The Last Thing You Forget
Morrissey - Years Of Refusal
Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
Taylor Swift - Fearless (Platinum Edition)

Best Shows I saw in 2009:
Kings of Leon
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Decemberists
The Gaslight Anthem
The Murder City Devils
Of Montreal
M83
Hockey
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Fleet Foxes
Explosions In The Sky (2)
Girl Talk
mewithoutYou
Death Cab For Cutie
Gwar
Earth Crisis
New Found Glory (3)
Crime In Stereo (3)
Polar Bear Club (2)
Set Your Goals
Have Heart (3)
Cold War Kids (2)
Matt and Kim
Final Fight (3)
Graf Orlock (3)
Terror
Owl City (2)
Blacklisted

Worst Shows I saw in 2009:
Passion Pit
Grizzly Bear
Gwar
Lewd Acts (2)
Tegan and Sara
Animal Collective

Reunions I want in 2010:
At the Drive-In
The Smiths
Neutral Milk Hotel
Tarkio
Operation Ivy
Descendents

Breakups I want in 2010:
Underoath
Fall Out Boy
Haste The Day
Taking Back Sunday
Coldplay
Green Day
Panic At The Disco
The Mars Volta
Nickelback

done and done

2009-12-16T16:30:00.001-08:00

i have completed my first semester of my junior year of college. now i shall sleep, read books i wanna read, and watch countless movies.

it's late...can't sleep

2009-11-18T01:45:00.000-08:00

i had coffee after 11 pm tonight. first mistake. i then tried to go to bed around 11:45. second mistake. i obviously could not sleep. soon my thoughts crept out of nowhere to torment me. i had some stupid song stuck in my head for the longest time and could not get it out. i have since forgotten it. praise 'im. i then began thinking about ultimate frisbee playoffs this weekend. throwing a frisbee around with friends is one of my favorite things to do.
im currently uploading an album onto my music blog. check it out here http://vanridesandhightides.blogspot.com/. it's by a currently defunct band called northstar. i jammed this album a lot in high school and it is still a favorite of mine. im currently listening to a song called "all i need" by a small band called Radiohead. my goodness this song puts me in the sleepy mood every time without fail. i guess thats why i chose to listen to it now because i no longer want to be conscience. as a matter of fact, this whole album is putting me to sleep. last thoughts...check out and follow me and my roommates twitter. http://www.twitter.com/thesweetlayer
also follow me personally on twitter

http://www.twitter.com/jaxonadams

A.A. Bondy - Oh the Vampire

2009-10-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

With a vampire's kiss
I got a vampire's heart
Now I don't roll out of bed til after dark

See my teeth so sharp?
And my blood so still
You know I could drink the world and never get my fill

And when I come, I will come on like a dream
With the crimson moon shining down upon my devil's ring

You see it ain't my fault
That I am this way
Just a crying in my box for misty day

Lord what I would give
For just one drop of red
Now the dew is on the grass and I am late for bed

And when I come, I will come on like a dream
With the crimson moon shining down upon my devil's ring

First Train Home

2009-10-26T23:34:00.001-07:00

What matters you, doesn't matter to me.
What matters to me, doesn't matter to you.
What matters to you, doesn't matter to them.
What matters to them, doesn't change anything.

Fast Facts and/or Opinions

2009-10-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Stu has herpies
Money is overrated
Family means a lot to me
Taco Bell always satisfies
Stop Rob will become famous
Justin Timberlake is a cool dude
My phone constantly frustrates me
Everything about Harry Potter rules
Facebook is more addicting than meth
New Converge album melts my face off
Poetry by Robert Frost is most enjoyable
Dying my hair is a favorite hobby of mine
Carter once attacked me with a light saber
The Outsiders is my favorite book of all time
Heima by Sigur Rós makes me cry tears of joy
Stephen King is a better author than one may think
The Sweet Layer embodies everything good in the world

No Roses, No Skies

2009-10-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

She's a song unsung
She's the wild orchid in your ugly swamp
She's a song unsung
and the only white walls of her mind know what that song sounds like

The pills, the pills
and the Dr.'s promises just ain't doing the trick
cause the arms of nothing she falls asleep in
can still bring the razor to the wrist

The TV screens, the magazines
scream at you like the dogs of hell
advertising and advising you to be
anyone but your beautiful self

Prince Charming never brought you flowers
just loveless lifetime alone
No roses for you, just unlocked doors
and the deafening silence of your phone

So block your ears, close your eyes
remember that you're a golden soul fallen from the
boring, heartless Hollywood heard of lies that they call:

Beautiful

With no shoulder, no hand, no body, no man, no door,
no heart to let you
"The sun can take too long
to end the endless night"

I hear you, I feel you, I bleed with you
when our hearts begin to scream
"This life can feel too long"

But at night, you're dancing through the pain
even when you're the only one
no rose, no sky as full of the beauty of the girl who dies
but rises with every morning's sun:

Alone

She dances alone
alone - so beautiful
alone - her own romance
alone - Lady Lazarus' Life-Sustaining Dance

Hollow Place

2009-09-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've been driving with the rear view mirror.
Who guessed it would be no clearer?
It got me lost, and now I'm late.
The clock's dead on, no one to blame but me.

Is this a bad chase dream where speed's not what it seems?
The pedal's pressed, but nothing works.
Bite your nails 'til your fingers hurt.

What now? What now boy?
What now? Who you are is not enough.

It's hard to know where we should go
When home's too far away and "here" is a hollow place
Where people come to softly hum
The songs that scare you most, believe me I'm scared enough

Bite down, 'cause everyone's looking.
Wouldn't this be the perfect bookend?
Little boy was scared at first.
Brazen once, but now he's gone astray

What now boy?

It's hard to know where we should go
When home's too far away and "here" is a hollow place
Where people come to softly hum
The songs that scare you most, believe me I'm scared enough

It stings to say it out loud

At the Bottom

2009-08-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

i am back at school now. classes started last wednesday. that means i have homework! yay! but instead of doing homework i just read harry potter all day. i am on the 5th book and it is pretty interesting. not as interesting as the first four but this is harry potter we're talkin about...its bound to get crazy vedy vedy soon.

i now have a disneyland pass and i have gone 3 times in the past week. im already getting some quality use out of it. i had not been to d land since i was 10 years of age. it was hard remembering everything that i had once experienced there at a young age, but there were a few things that i was familiar with. pirates of the caribbean still rules. that is one thing that i can always count on...pirates being awesomely awesome. pirate tattoo in the future? yes please.

brand new's album titled "daisy" leaked onto the internet and i go my hands on it vedy quickly. they have been one of my favorite bands since freshman year of high school. every time they record an album they continue to develop musically and jesse lacey continues to be spot on lyrically. the bassist throughout the record had some groovin bass lines. the guitar work is phenomenal on this record. i cant get enough of the riffage going on here. me likey. id like to see some of these songs live in the near future.

things that make me happy:

Harley Marissa

holy springsteen and gaslight

2009-08-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

home is where you make it

2009-08-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

i have been at camp for 3 and a half weeks now. i get home this saturday and im and extremely excited. i miss my family very much and also my dear friends from home. however, returning home does have its downfalls. it means that school will start very shortly. i will also miss some staff members and counselors that i have met up at camp. but life goes on...

i have come to appreciate my hometown the more i am away from it. i no longer have a distaste for the county in which i was raised. there is a heritage in san juan capistrano that is like none that i have found anywhere else. orange county is looked at among other people as a wealthy county full of snobs and ignorant fools. that is not entirely true. though, every rose does have its thorns...there are some stupid people that live there but the majority love and care for each others needs. it is hard to go back to school each fall and leave those that i love back home. i hope to still live in orange county after i am done with school. it will be hard to manage but if it is in the cards then that will be much appreciated.

Crime In Stereo - Bicycles For Afghanistan lyrics

2009-08-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

So I wanted goals. I saw all I needed was:
-a home with a view of something beautiful
-a woman that I trusted
-the friends that I grew up with

But it was asking too much for us to pray things stay in exactly the same way.
And so we drift together saying "Every mirror shows the same ugly shell I've shared forever".

We drift together, yet apart and alone.
The only role for these lonely souls.

And you can see the by the lonely numbers on my bank receipts, the lonely space between these sheets, by the ravenous company I keep, comforts are few and far between.

But just this once I'll have you know, this is not a lonely soul.

This world has other sorrows than love.

Let It Happen

2009-08-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

week 2 up at Sugar Pine Christian Camp is complete and a lovely weekend awaits. it should be some good times with some good people. cant wait.

i shall be going to see the film 500 days of summer today. ive been wanting to see this for a long time. i sure hope it is good. the last few indie loves films that i have seen have been disappointing.

i miss my golden locks of love

The Fallen

2009-07-15T22:34:00.001-07:00

Some stop feeling love for every word that they once sung
May I never lose my youth and If I do, may I be forgettable

Night Falls Over Kortedala

2009-07-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Jens Lekman got swine flu while in south america! sad day. hope he fully recovers. this article is taken directly from he website. read for more deets

http://www.jenslekman.com/records/smalltalk.htm

NEW BLOG

2009-06-30T12:47:00.001-07:00

this blog will focus more on the current music i am listening to. i will upload full albums at a time. request something and i'll get it and then upload it. please follow it too! i'll still post on this blog anything not music related.

http://vanridesandhightides.blogspot.com/

Mean Everything To Nothing

2009-06-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

i joined everyone and their mother on twitter. follow me if you'd like

http://twitter.com/Jaxonadams

From Here To Infirmary

2009-05-20T10:54:00.001-07:00

off to washington to listen to some jammin tunes at the sasquatch festival.

http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/

check out the line up and be jealous...be vedy vedy jealous

Unfun

2009-05-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

i dont want to take 3 finals today. but i do want to go to washington tomorrow

So Jealous

2009-05-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

Alkaline trio w/ Tegan performing "Wake Up Exhausted" (orginally by Tegan and Sara)

Full Collapse

2009-04-30T03:40:00.000-07:00

tonight, tonight:

i thought about doing hw, then decided to put it off till after this blog post
i thought about going to bed, then decided to contemplate life
i thought about playing with lenny, then remembered i'd wasted my whole day doing that
i thought about dropping out of school, then figured i'd be too bored afterwards
i thought about reading more books, but didnt have the patience
i thought about making music, then remembered my roommates were doing their hw in peace
i thought about grace, then decided to write her a note to give to her tomorrow
i thought about my family, then laughed at how different and yet similar we all are
i thought about my friends, then loved
i thought about making a pb&j sandwich, then figured i'd be hungry in another hour anyways
i thought about selling some of my possessions, then remembered that i'm a pack rat
i thought about watching a movie, then remembered i had done that last night
i thought about afterdark tonight, then remembered how awesome adoption is
i thought about one too many things tonight

Sometimes Things Just Disappear

2009-04-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

im back at school now after having an awesome easter break with friends and family.

highlights:
ate mexican food everyday
played with shopping carts in the middle of the night
rubik's cube in my free time
downloaded some sweet new tunes
rummaged through abandoned houses
get money get paid
did not touch one hw assignment
read a lot (not for school)

lowlights:
made me too anxious for summer

The Bends

2009-04-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

Midterms are finally over. Spring Break is finally here. That means that summer is just around the corner. Thank you Jesus.

The Troubled Stateside

2009-03-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

Cold War Kids last night at the Orpheum Theatre. New Found Glory and Set Your Goals tonight in LA. more tattoos next weekend. life is good.

p.s. i now wear dresses

Life In General

2009-03-26T00:40:00.000-07:00

i no longer do homework. i repeatedly complete my rubik's cube all day long. my friends are beginning to worry about me a little bit. i dont care. my rubik's cube does not get jealous if i neglect it. why are humans so complicated? wait! now that i think about it...my rubik's cube is pretty complicated too.

The '59 Sound

2009-03-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

as you can see i do not write too many words on this thing anymore. i just post cool photos, like this...

there is a story about these. one day last year my buds and i traveled to deerlick and it was awesome. the end

Hatful of Hallow

2009-03-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

new tattoo...

Through Being Cool

2009-02-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

Understand This Is A Dream

2009-02-13T23:09:00.000-08:00

Nexus Video Blog 2/8/09

Nexus Video Blog 2/22/09

OK Computer

2009-02-10T20:01:00.001-08:00

i am now 20 years old

Say It Like You Mean It

2009-02-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

so nexus (my worship band) has been playing a few winter camps for high school and junior high kids. the last 2 weekends we were at camp playing for them and with them. it has been pretty fun hanging with the guys in the band but its also been hard because some of us have been sick and we all miss loved ones very much while away. we have 3 more camps left so wish us luck.

this beverage is delicious.
kyle and stu know whats up. just ask them. this drink is magical.

and yes its different than squirt. thanks for asking

Interventions and Lullabies

2009-01-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

Saint Morrissey. He's pretty cool i guess.

Hair cut tomorrow. If you know me, you know I'm really nervous.

School started this week. So far so good. New roommate Mr. Dan Westman is one awesome dude, but Mr. Trevor Storey is greatly missed.

C.S. Lewis' Narnia is a fascinating place. His Chronicles of Narnia series will forever be timeless and I long to possibly read it to a child one day. His imagination absolutely blows me away. Though it may be directed towards a younger audience, I hope to always appreciate these stories as wonderful masterpiece with amazing theological symbolism that makes so much sense in this context.

The Queen is Dead

2009-01-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

happy new year! now watch this! or dont

Beneath Medicine Tree

2008-12-25T01:06:00.000-08:00

first of all, Merry Christmas! i hope everyone has a blessed day admiring the date of birth of our saviour Jesus Christ.

secondly, this means that 2008 is quickly coming to a close. i am now going to make a list of things i did the most in 2008:

most times i read a book:
4 the outsiders
3 through painted deserts
2 irresistible revolution
2 knowledge of the holy
30+ other books tied for 4th place

most songs listened to (by band):

487	New Found Glory
377	Tegan and Sara
244	Radiohead
237	Bright Eyes
226	The Smiths
217	Saves the Day
211	Have Heart
194	Brand New
183	Neutral Milk Hotel
171	The Format

most times i tripped:
365 crack, uneven pavement, etc
100 flat ground no other objects involved other than my own feet
15 stairs
10 slippery object or surface

Your Favorite Weapon

2008-12-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

my semester is almost over! and that means family time is coming. weee! but seriously. one more final and im halfway done with my sophomore year. i still feel like im sixteen sometimes. like the last 4 years just flew by and i grew up too fast. even though im still not really grown up to some people. gahh this post is all over the place so far. i apologize.

anyways...i still need to go Christmas shopping because ive been so busy with school and such that i have had no time. i guess i'll do it this weekend when i head home. hopefully its wont be crowded everywhere, even though i secretly know it already will be.

its been raining like crazy since monday and im about the happiest little schoolboy in the world. i love the rain. i cant stop watching movies or putting down a book. rain here means snow else where so that also makes me quite happy.

Mutiny!

2008-12-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

boredom created this last week...i might have helped a little

Logic Will Break Your Heart

2008-12-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

Thoughts as of late...

First of all, God is to be the focus of everything in my life. Yes, I have all my other things going on that are important to me but they are important to me because they are important to Him. Why worry about anything else when He is in control of everything? Sure, I think about other things during the day but when its just Him and me…nothing seems to matter but my time spent with him. That’s not to say that those other things aren’t important at all when Im only in prayer with Him.

Sometimes I feel bad if I dont think about my loved ones or other important things during my time in prayer, because I thought I might be a bad friend by not thinking about them during my time with God, BUT its just that when im with God I only care about Him and His plans for me. Yes, friends are prevalent in the those plans, but when in tune with the Holy Spirit all that matters is the love that God has for me. He is so infinitely huge, and its impossible to grasp that because of our human nature. Though, the more time we spend with Him, we see His hand in everything and we catch a glimpse of that hugeness.

Secondly, by having Christ at the center of the my life, everything else falls into place. God is not just a point on a list of important things. God is the only thing. Period. By caring about God, all else goes into place according to his perfect will.

"Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God's dear sake, then we can enjoy spiritual tranquility under every circumstance." - A.W. Tozer

Bleed American

2008-12-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

first day back at school since thanksgiving break. sometimes breaks come at the perfect time and this was a perfect example of that. now i have 2 more weeks of classes and then finals. so basically 3 weeks of school left. so stoked! then i have a 3 week break from christmas and then i go back to take 2 classes during a 3 week interterm session to catch up in my schooling.

my favorite book of all time is called "the outsiders." the female author S.E. Hinton starting writing the book when she was 15! and it was published in 1967 when she was 17. the book is about the struggles between the working class (the greasers) and the rich social class (the socs). at first the greasers seem to get all the the bad breaks in life and the socs get everything handed to them. but after diggin deeper into it you realize that life is rough all over. the west side of town sees hardship just like the east side of town does. no matter how different you think you are you all watch the same sunset at the end of the day. we all go through periods of both hardship and triumph. this is probably my tenth time reading it and it keeps getting better and better. read it. i highly recommend.

"The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not." - C.S. Lewis

The Artist in the Ambulance

2008-11-19T00:36:00.000-08:00

ive been drinking tea everyday for the last month or so and ive been thoroughly enjoying it. its just so soothing to both my body and my soul. i would argue thats its as addicting as heroin (though ive never done heroin). anyways...dang good stuff.

i saw a documentary last week called "the ordinary radicals" and it was truly inspiring. it was basically promoting shane claibornes book "jesus for president" which im currently reading and cannot seem to put down at all. they are basically modern day hippies that love jesus and love people. you cant go wrong with living a life like that. we're called to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. And to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40)

ive been really curious about Leo Tolstoy lately and what he's all about so i looked up some of his quotes. he seems pretty solid i guess. here are my 2 favorites quotes by him...

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus

2008-11-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

wow

its been a long long long time. i bet nobody even reads this anymore. and if you do then youve probably read my whole blog about 4 times through already. i apologize in advance for the next year of blogging to be just as boring as the last.

i am now going to list some things i enjoy and some things that bug me. none of this in any particular order.

likes:
music, art, the internet, bikes, books, sweatshirts, social justice, fruits and vegetables, nexus, inexpensive food, bracelets, tea, milkshakes, recycling, necessary holidays, rosaries, candles, super smash, the office, radiohead, hats, sewing, culture, halo, icons, and of course friends and family

dislikes: ignorance, plastic bottles, hate, alcohol, unnecessary holidays, and many more things that might hurt some peoples feelings.

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C. S. Lewis

Boxer

2008-08-29T01:09:00.000-07:00

school has started and i have another new hobby

http://jaydegrenade.com/

peace, love, late

Sleepwalker

2008-07-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

school is almost here and i have another new hobby

http://www.myspace.com/rocknexus

now go. go away

Turn It Around

2008-04-26T01:47:00.000-07:00

i am so ready for summer to come and rescue me from life right now. i cannot wait to see all my amazing friends from home. unfortunately i am going to miss a lot of chill peeps from school, and i am also going to have to get a job. lamesauce.

today i realized that i really really like polaroid pictures, silent films, and oxford dress shoes.

i miss my family right now too.

The Con

2008-04-23T02:50:00.000-07:00

i dont want anyone to see my insecurities. ironic, isn't it? tomorrow is a new day and i see hope on the horizon. barely but i know its there.

" And we'll keep working on the problem we know we'll never solve
of love's uneven remainders, our lives are fractions of a whole.
but if the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall.
then I think we would see the beauty.
then we would stand staring in awe at our still lives
posed like a bowl of oranges,
like a story told by the fault lines and the soil." - Conor Oberst

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

2008-04-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Music that has been comforting me lately:
Bright Eyes
Page France
Tegan & Sara
Have Heart
Third Eye Blind
Comeback Kid
Matt Costa
Ace Enders
Hotel Lights

Authors that have been comforting me lately:
Richard J. Foster
Shel Silverstein
Shane Claiborne
Erwin McManus
Paul the apostle
King Solomon
King David

Movies that have been comforting me lately:
The NeverEnding Story
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Outsiders
The Goonies

friends that have been comforting me lately:
ALL OF YOU

i love my friends and family so much its RIDICALUSSS!

The Things They Carry

2008-03-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

passions are crazy. one day i think my passion is for mission work and then the next i think it is music. heck it might by playing music while doing mission work. i just do not even know whats going on these days. i found a few new hobbies that i never thought that i would enjoy. i go to the fitness center and work out at least once a day. its so refreshing during and afterwards. i also go to the library everyday to get my hw done. its the only place i can focus and block out everything and get some work done.

thats all for now. . .

Till We Have Faces

2008-02-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." - James 4:13-15

"Tomorrow isn't coming, that day won't be here. What you do to pass your time will ruin your next years. I can't be your savior; I won't be your guardian angel. And when is the right time for you to slap your own hand. Put it down and put it away. Enough is enough, you've had that today. Nature will take its course and you will waste away. You are your biggest enemy, the biggest harm to yourself. TODAY'S THE DAY. DO SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE! WE ARE THE ONES THAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR." - David Tiano

Life is short. Go on an adventure. Do something that no one has done before. What are you waiting for?

Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

2008-01-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

i honestly dont know what to write about anymore. ive been trying for the past two weeks, but nothing has come to me. so i guess im going to write about how much i hate writing. i know that youre probably saying that this is quite ironic that im writing about hating writing, but just bare with me.

so during high school i had to take 4 years of both math and english. math was always a piece of cake for me, but english is another story. each teacher in high school taught me different ways to write essays and none of them really stuck with me. now that im in college and i have essays almost daily, life can become temporarily frustrating.

man this post is depressing...haha.

"Caked up and faked up, she's obsessed with the outside
Nothing earned, too afraid to fail, so she lead a hollow life void of insight
Loving what you see but hating what you think because between your mind and your body, There's a missing link that leaves you vulnerable, susceptible to pain
You're a garden of potential, submerged in the rain

True beauty can't be seen with the eyes

Armed with a mind
I'm going to strengthen my action with thought
Make use of the gift that I got and walk fearless because I'm armed with a mind
A weak offense when you step to this
Mind over matter is power over fists
I walk fearless because I'm armed with a mind" - Patrick Flynn

Deja Entendu

2008-01-11T09:48:00.000-08:00

im turning 19 in less than a month. 6 of my good friends also have birthdays in between now and then. so stoked for yall, but i bet we all wished we were turning 7, and that we going off to neverland after our parents tucked us in at night. anyways...back to the topic of birthdays. i know they are celebration of ones birth, but i think that is quite selfish. birthdays always come with selfish expectations like who got me presents, or who is actually going to say happy b day to me? that is simply ridiculous. lemme tell you what, how about on my birthday we all go to grocery stores and eat french bread for every meal, go on random adventures in between those meals, and then end the night with a glorious movie. oh wait...i do that everyday, and i cant wait to do it again.

"It's a revelation; a moment of clarity, and I am trapped inside this moment. Deadlines are left to die and I guess I am truly free. My brain was spent. I worried as I fell in knee deep where consequences and circumstances suffocated and I could barely breathe. And by all means, this rain should be bringing me down. Seattle is keeping me in tune with just right now and a song that tends to be so oddly timed. Outside the rain falls. The city is cold and miserable but I am not. All we are is all we've started. All could all be gone, so let's begin. I often wonder if I'll ever finish all that I have started, and the answer I have found is no. No, I will never finish all that I have started because life is about DOING the process and not the result. Life is about DOING whether you want to or not. My life: a constant work in progress and I wouldn't have it any other way." - SYG

The Execution Of All Things

2008-01-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

so i only made it 175 miles up the coast on my road trip. the storm that is currently hitting the west coast was too tough for us to travel in, so we took a train home. we met A LOT of crazy people to say the least. im am completely positive that 5 out 6 people that picked us up did some form of drug use. all in all it was a memorable time.

"We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all"

This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About

2008-01-03T01:29:00.000-08:00

in seven hours i will be venturing into the unknown with my friends nick and travis. i am both terrified and thrilled at the same time. our destination is over 400 miles away and we dont have a vehicle, much money, or expectations. whoever says that hitchhiking is outdated has yet to live. we dont know what will happen and frankly we dont care just as long as memories are made along the way.

"they say right when they flood the house and they tear it to shreds that, 'destruction is a form of creation,' so the fact that they burn the money is ironic. They just want to see what happens when they tear the world apart. They want to change things." - DD

Riot On An Empty Street

2007-12-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

it bugs me sometimes when i see how dependent i am on the things of this world. i expect food to be in my stomach at least 3 times a day, people to reply to my messages/texts, and that im going to have enough money to make it through the month ahead. ive spent the last two days with my dear friends travis henry martz and nicholas james fetner spending around two american dollars for each meal or even searching for food in dumpsters behind grocery stores in the middle of the night. we have reached all these food destinations via scooter, bicycle, or even walking on our own two feet. its so much more fun than driving.

ive been living at both of their houses during these adventures and we cant stop talking about living the simple way. the life of the simple way is the story of the struggle to love and to be loved. the most radical thing you can do is choose to love each other... again and again. next summer travis is riding his bike across the country to miami, FL where he will then fly to india to do whatever it is God is calling him to do. thats love.

Keep It Like A Secret

2007-12-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

i am beginning to hate holidays more and more as the years go on. my parents always expect me to dress nice. you might be thinking that that shouldnt be too much to ask, BUT considering i dont own any shoes that dont have holes or stains on them, i wear only two different jeans, and i feel naked without a hoodie on...this might be tough. my first semester of college turned me into a dirty person. i wear clothes more than twice without washing them, socks dont seem to matter anymore, and my hair was washed about 3 times last semester. i kinda like this transformation actually. it means ive been spending a lot of time around a dear friend named carter williams. miss you right now buddy, but i know you wouldnt want to be anywhere else in the world than with your best friends in kansas for break.

my blog titles are some of my favorite albums of all time in case you were wondering. hopefully you like them, hopefully you hate them, hopefully i'll ride my bike across the country someday with the girl of my dreams, hopefully i never stop believing in neverland...

Commit This To Memory

2007-12-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

its been a little over a week since i got home from college. im already sick of the hustle and bustle of living in the good ole county of orange. everybody is always on the go and its almost like they actually want to turn into an exact clone of LA county. traffic has gotten much worse, smog is more prevalent, and the snobs in their seven series beemers seem to be multiplying faster than ever. i grew to love the little residential town of la mirada while at Biola. the only things keeping me here in my hometown of SJC is my friends, my church, and my lack of money to live somewhere else with my some of my close buds. i guess i dont have it so bad. my parents still support every decision i make, my mom goes out of her way to buy pita bread and hummus without me asking, and my bike still takes me to uncharted territory when life begins to overwhelm me.

today i was thinking back to about the first week of september when i was hating school. a young lad came to the door of my dorm room to take a survey. he first asked me if i played a musical instrument, and i said, "yes sir, i play the guitar." then he asked me how many hours a week i played my musical instrument. i replied with, "about 14 hours." my roommate can vouch for me on that. he then asked me how many hours a week i study. i felt really bad because i started laughing when i thought of the answer in my head. i replied with, "about 4 hours a week." he looked at me awkwardly and then said, "thank you for your time." i couldnt tell if he was looking at me awkwardly because he studied more than that in elementry school or because i laughed really hard while i said it. anyways...i passed all my classes for those of you wondering.

Sing, But Keep Going

2007-12-12T23:32:00.000-08:00

just finished my first semester of college. 1 down 7 more to go, or at least i hope so. a lot of things i experienced reminded me of high school, however other things showed me how much different it is living away from home. once again i have another chapter under my belt and i dont regret anything. sure, better decisions could have been made along the way (i.e. better study methods, better ways to prioritize my time), but overall i have learned so much and even though i have only been home for two nights i cant wait to do better in those areas next semester. BUT...in the mean time the next six weeks are going to be filled with fellowship, freedom, and fun. i cant wait go up to the mountains with my buds from home. i missed them so much over the last 4 months. you guys are so steezy. you know who you are. nobody ever asks me why i have so many bracelets on my wrists, and the truth is that each one represents a different friend from back home. even though i dont physically see you guys everyday, i see my bracelets and say a prayer for each one of you keep on keepin' on. never lose sight of the goal. God has given each of you specific talents, therefore use them to bring Him glory.

dont think i for a minute that i forgot my friends back at school. i have learned so much from you guys this semester. the first month of school was one of the hardest times in my life. each of you reached out a hand to pull me up in one way or another. im really going to miss all of you. again, you know who you are. see you soon, hopefully.