A Different Type of School Shooting

School shootings have gone from rare, individual incidents to becoming a more recurring theme here in America. As sad as they are, this blog is about something completely different... a girl being shot JUST FOR WANTING TO GO TO SCHOOL!

Malala Yousafzai looks like a normal enough kid.

Malala grew up in Pakistan under Taliban rule and when she was 11, she started blogging for BBC Urdu describing her life under the Taliban. 

In Jan. 2009, she posted about how the Taliban had decreed that girls were no longer allowed to attend school and how afraid she was even though she kept going. They also banned shopping by women but Malala wasn't worried about new shoes, she wanted her education.

She began writing anonymously for fear of violence or even death from the Taliban and later in Jan. 2009 posted that her school had been closed. Her family fled the area until later that year when the Taliban had been driven back and began appearing publicly to push for female education. 

Malala is currently recovering after being shot in the head and neck earlier this week by a Taliban militant which has sparked a growing sense of concern in the Pakistani government about addressing the issue of female education and will hopefully one day mean Malala and other girls in Pakistan can get the education they deserve.

Halloween Costumes That Rock (And Roll)

It's still almost a month away but by now most everyone has started putting thought and maybe some preparation into a Halloween costume. Whether you're brainstorming ideas, growing your hair or beard, saving money, or building it yourself there's always some prep that must be done.

For ladies, most store bought Halloween costumes are slutty versions of various things:

For the guys, there's much more to choose from but they usually stick to something funny or embarassing:

But when it comes to kids, those were the days. Dressing up as your favorite action hero, princess, cartoon character, or one of the Halloween essentials like ghosts or witches:

But something I never considered over the years is how traditional costumes don't work for everyone. I saw an article today about Halloween costumes for kids in wheelchairs and they are freaking AWESOME! Things like the Flintstones car or Mario Kart or the Batmobile or even a DJ Booth can turn a wheelchair into a Halloween costume like none other. Check these out:

Every one of the parents or guardians or whoever took the time to create these costumes for these kids (and any others like them) should have a parade in their names!

Weenie Roast 12

This past Sunday was the Weenie Roast 12 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte and what a hell of a way to wrap up the summer!

For those who don't know, Weenie Roast is a big end of summer concert that's been going down in Charlotte since the mid 90s. This year was the first in a few years and you could tell the rock fans were ready for a show.

We arrived a little late and missed local rockers VESS but did see a few songs from Eve 6. We also missed Evans Blue and Anberlin's sets but were able to hear most of them as we wandered around the venue or waited to meet bands. The Offspring headlined the main stage along with Garbage, Flogging Molly, Coheed and Cambria, Switchfoot, Anberlin, Our Lady Peace, and Eve 6. Our local boys Paper Tongues closed out the side stage with Foxy Shazam, Evans Blue, Drop D, and VESS.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Foxy Shazam, Our Lady Peace, Coheed & Cambria, Paper Tongues, and The Offspring. They were all nice, Foxy was crazy, Coheed was nerdy, Paper Tongues were all hugs and stories, and Offspring were nice but kind of stand offish.

If I had to pick a favorite band from the day, it would be a tie between Foxy Shazam, Paper Tongues, and Flogging Molly. Fozy Shazam has one of the most amazing live shows I've ever seen. My girlfriend describes it as a carnival freakshow and it's pretty spot on. Paper Tongues' set was great and filled with new music added to how nice these guys are makes them an unforgettable experience. Flogging Molly are legends in the punk world and rock in general but I had never seen them live until Sunday and, along with the rest of the crowd, was speechless as they rocked the stage!

It was a great day and a great concert and possibly the best way to wrap up the summer that I can think of!

Scripted Reality

I've been an outspoken hater of most all Reality TV but lately it's getting to a point that just blows my mind.

Reality TV is defined as a genre of television depicting SUPPOSEDLY unscripted situations. The word supposedly is in there because most anyone who can count to 10 knows that reality TV isn't real. It's scripted. People are pushed into certain roles and situations and video is edited to depict certain characters in certain ways (i.e. villains, heroes, mean, nice, etc).

Reality TV to me is the new generation of soap operas. For a long time, reality TV stuck tightly to celebrities and rich people showing off a life that most of us will never live. As much as I hated it, at least it could be looked at as a cautionary tale of how money and power can change people. Now the new trend seems to be to find the most pathetic people they can and shine a spotlight all over them.

We have shows like Swamp People and Redneck Island and now this Honey Boo Boo thing. Why? My theory is that by looking down their noses at these people, the ones watching the shows feel better about their own lives. How messed up is that?

I have, do, and will always hate reality TV. Even when it was sort of real back in the old Real World days it still got old fast. If I want to watch TV and movies, I either want fact like a documentary about some major event/person or fiction where I can get lost in another world. If I want reality, I turn off the TV and walk outside. THAT is reality. Totally unscripted, unsponsored, and unpretentious REAL reality.

(De)Classified

Should our government keep secrets from the public? It's a huge question with tons of consequences on either side. Here's my thoughts:

On first thought I'd say no, they should be open with us about anything and everything that may effect us on any level. Then when I stop to think about it, maybe there are somethings we just don't need to know. 

The reason it's even on my mind started with this book No Easy Day that one of the members of SEAL Team 6 wrote about the mission that ended with the death of Osama Bin Laden. Like most Americans, when this all first happened I wanted to know more. That sadistic a-hole killed hundreds of innocent people and I wanted to see him suffer like they did. Once things calmed down though, I was fine knowing he was dead and didn't need to know the details. Now this book is coming out that tells everything which I think is a bad idea. Not only will we as Americans get to see what happened, our enemies will as well. The details in this book could fuel another group to start conflict with the US or even give details on how US military operations are coordinated and executed putting current and future troops in more danger.

Another bit of info that's been made public lately that I'm baffled by is the Secret Service's codenames for those they protect. For example, President Obama is "Renegade", Mitt Romney is "Javelin", and so on. What is the point in having codenames if EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE! In normal every day situations, it won't make much difference but if something does go wrong and someone needs to be discreetly moved from one place to another, they wouldn't even be able to use their codename without everyone knowing exactly who they were talking about!

I'm all for open government and people being informed about what happens on Capitol Hill, but I think it's safe to say that SOME things just aren't meant for the public. The problem is, who decides...

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Most everyone has heard of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. If not, the Hollywood Walk of Fame is an area in Hollywood where 2,400 five pointed stars are embedded in the sidewalk as "public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry" for famous actors, actresses, musicians, producers, directors, theatrical groups, fictional characters, and more.

This morning I saw a story that made me angry, confused, and sad all at once... Kim Kardashian wants a star on the Walk of Fame. Really? Don't get me wrong, I love to look at Kim and her ass... actually, let's do that for a minute...

Alright, now where was I? Oh yea, so this chick thinks she deserves a star among the likes of Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, John Williams, and other legends of the entertainment world? The only thing bigger than her ass is her EGO!

She justifies this idea saying "reality TV is still a new form of entertainment" and people don't understand it. So let me get this straight, being rich and spoiled and having cameras follow you around makes you an entertainer? I thought it made you a rich spoiled brat that had cameras following her around.

She went on to compare reality TV to rap music because people didn't understand rap at first either. So now she's saying she's as talented as Jay-Z or Dr. Dre or her new bedroom buddy Kanye? Negative madam. 

The big difference here is that people who are on the Walk of Fame did something special and were recognized for it, Kim Kardashian just lives her pampered life with cameras in tow. If anyone deserves a star on the Walk of Fame, it's the people behind the scenes at reality TV shows for making these bottom feeders look like real people.

Encore... Or No Encore?

The subject of bands doing encores at concerts has come up quite a few times in my own personal conversations as well as the media lately so I figured it was time to share my thoughts on the subject. Most people get angry when there isn't an "encore" because they feel like they got screwed out of part of the show. I use quotation marks back there because, in my opinion, it's not an encore if it was planned all along.

Dictionary.com defines encore as "A repeated or additional performance of an item at the end of a concert, as called for by an audience." To me, that means an encore is when the band does something extra at the end of the show because the audience demanded more, right? Then how can you call it an encore when a band has been planning it since the tour started? 

There are a few bands out there who just don't do encores. System of a Down has ended their shows with no encore both times I saw them. A few other bands I've seen also ended sans encore and it was great. Now I don't mean hit the last note of the last song and the band hauls ass. Take a minute, thank your fans for being there, have the whole band come to the front of the stage and take a bow, or whatever. I just don't understand why we HAVE to have a 5-10 minute pause near the end of every concert before the last few songs.

Now I'm not saying I'm against encores, honestly I think they are one of the coolest things about a live show. A true encore happens when a band has finished and is heading to the tour bus and the roar of the fans is so overwhelming they decide "Fuck it, they want more, we're giving them more" and go back on stage to have fun. 

When an "encore" is part of the schedule, there's nothing special about it... it's just part of the show.