Busting It Wide Open

And so...it's been more than three years since I've written one of these.  I guess I just haven't had a lot to say.  That and I've been busy buying a house of my own and trying not to burn to death in the South Carolina sun.  Things have been hectic, sure, but now I'm back and I have a lot of things that I need to get off my chest.  The things I am going to say are gonna blow a lot of things wide open, but it's been weighing in on me for a long time.  Recent events have forced my hand, and I think another one of my mad tirades is in order.  If you're a pansy-ass who suddenly becomes emotionally wounded just by the sheer hint of a colorful four-letter word, you might wanna close this up right now.  The rest of you, stick around, strap your asses in, because you're all in for it.

My entire life I've known that I was different, not only from my family, but the entire region I was born into.  Noble County, Ohio is a land that time forgot, where racism is okay, where ignorance is the status quo, and everyone thumps their Bible so hard they might as well put a fucking hole in it.  It is a region that the closest thing to anything festive every year is a county fair with one of the main events being a demolition derby that I and people like me have less than zero interest.  It's a region in this country where if you were born there, it's dead-end enough that you are, chances are, gonna be stuck there, and more than likely, will die there.  Where country music, mudding, deer hunting, and a country festival that kicks off with a "Redneck Run" is considered a high form of art.  This is where the differences between this area and myself come in.

During various times in my life that I have either came back to this place to visit, or even live, for that matter, I honestly feel that I was treated differently, and it was because I knew I WAS different.  I was completely bored by the region in general, even though it was always nice to catch up with those whom I felt most dear.  Every time I stepped into town I felt I was never truly allowed to be myself.  I I never felt I had the opportunity to truly be myself, to find myself in a way I only knew how.  This is me in a nutshell...I've been a comic book geek since I was 3 years old, a diehard professional wrestling fan since I was the age of 10, I was never TRULY a religious man, and a through and through metalhead to the core.  I'd head back home for the summer, or go for a random year of high school, and what the fuck did I hear?  "Rasslin's fake, you shouldn't watch that stupid stuff."  "Them funny books are for kids, they're stupid."  "That mumbo jumbo music you listen to is devil music, you shouldn't listen to that shit."  "You should go to church every Sunday and read nothing but the Bible."  So...what do you expect?  Should I be nothing more than a stereotypical redneck, allow myself to become dumber by the day with the environment, the music, and inherent lack thereof?  Where consistent yardwork, bailing hay, chewing tobacco, and occasionally watching a shit-ton of cars turn left for 500 fucking miles be the extent of my fucking enjoyment?

I don't fucking think so.

I think it's time for me to retort, the only way I know how, and expunge 38 years of frustration.

I'm not a religious man.  I never was.  Chances are I never will be.  I'm not a church goer, I never wanted to, and truth be told I only go a couple of times a year in support of my wife and what's important to her.  Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having a devout belief in Jesus.  But if it's to the point where you think that anything and everything not having to do with the Bible is the devil, or you think you're better than everyone who doesn't have that degree of faith, then it's a huge fucking problem.  I believe there is a god out there, yes, but I don't have any idea what that is.  And I won't know until I die, and I am in no rush to find out.  Wherever I go, whatever I do, I don't expect to be preached at.  I don't need saving, I already know how to be a decent human being, and I know because my parents raised me right.  And I always say, if you raise your kid right, they'll do right things.  If I wanna be preached at, I'll go to church a lot more regularly.  Stop trying to save me, stop trying to convert me, and don't say I'm going to Hell just because I don't have the Old Testament shoved up my ass.

"Fake."  I have always hated that term when people use it to describe pro wrestling.  I find it to be a complete belittlement to not only the people involved, but a slap to the face to any fan of the sport.  I know what it is, and what it isn't.  In my 28 years as a fan I've done my research, and I know what is involved and what isn't.  If a non fan disrespects it in any way in their attempt to belittle it, chances are, they are wrong.  And with doing research being pretty much my thing these days, I will not hesitate to not only set the record straight, but I'll make them look as stupid as possible in the process.

Those "funny books" that you mention?  Guess the fuck what?  Those helped me learned to read when I was 3 years old.  Three.  FUCKING THREE.  The Greeks in ancient times had their mythology, and in modern times we have comic books.  I learned a lot more in comic books than I ever did out in the sticks.  No they are not for kids.  Look up stories like "Watchmen," "300," "V for Vendetta," and "The Dark Knight Returns."  Would you let your kids read any of those?  I sure as hell wouldn't.  By the way, it just so happens that the one movie that grossed $1 billion faster than any other movie in history happens to be a comic book movie.  So guess what?  You're wrong again.

I've always been a fan of rock music in general.  First it was the grunge period of the 90's.  Then it spilled over to classic rock of the 70's and 80's.  Finally now to the symphonic and progressive subgenres of heavy metal.  Forms of music that was not only sweet to my ears, but stimulated my brain as well.  The forms of metal I listen to were always known for being the music of the thinking man.  Country music never had done anything for me, it never has, and it never will.  If anything, I always felt a little dumber for having heard it for any period of time.  There is a small subcategory of metal that is, in fact, satanist in nature, but that's not the kind of metal I listen to.

Couple all of these things together, and put it with the fact that my education was top notch my entire life, the fact that I have traveled the world twice over AT LEAST, been exposed to cultures all across the globe, and I honestly feel that, to a degree, just about everyone in that Podunk, hillbilly town were threatened by me.  I spent my first half of high school in Japan sitting in schools run by the Department of Defense.  By the time I got back to the States I needed one credit...ONE CREDIT...to graduate.  I was bullied, I was belittled, and I was shunned because not only was I different, but because I was BETTER.  I was above it all, and I was goddamned if I was gonna stay stuck in that dead-end town for life.  I got out.  I visit here and there, but I would never in a million years live there.  There was one time I wanted to, just because it was my hometown.  But my hometown failed me my entire life.  In short, I was right, about everything, my entire life.  And nobody was ever able to handle it.  Nobody was ever able to come up to me and say "You were right all along."  I never once heard those words spoken to me, no matter how many times I've proved it.  But now I'm screaming it.  If I could climb to the top of the highest building in the world and scream it through a fucking megaphone, I would.

Wherever my parents got stationed in the world, I was able to truly be myself.  Wherever I myself went in the world I was able to be myself.  But back in Ohio?  Not a chance.  I felt I had to conform to the backwoods ignorance of the region, and I honestly felt like I was treated differently for refusing to do so.  I still go up there to visit every now and then, but it's never truly the same, for although I was born of that environment, I have never been, nor will I ever be, a product of it.  Does it sound like I look down on the whole country lifestyle?  You're damn right I do.  After 38 years of being on this planet, and after all the shit I've had to deal with in my life, I think I've more than earned that right.  I've taken a lot of shit in my life because of where my interests and my personality lie, but no longer.  I'm my own man, more intelligent than I probably believe, and I now stand on my own.

...by the way, I'm not watching my fucking language anymore, either.

 - Miller

Blowing the bridge to Hell

This time around, since I actually have stuff to say this time, I'm gonna touch on a number of things.  So grab a snack, maybe an alcoholic beverage.  Hell, even do a dramatic reading for comedic effect.  I don't give a shit.  But at the end of this thing.......ohhhh boy.

- And so, with the wife's family reunion over and done with, as of last weekend, I can gladly say that I had a great time.  The food was great, the people were great, and good times were had all around.  At the campsite where we stayed, we were even able to rent out a cabin that I could practically bring forth the Polar Ice Caps.  I mean, sure, the wife was complaining that it was too cold in our room in the cabin, but for someone like me, it was juuuust right.  My only gripe about the whole thing was that with it being in the state of Georgia, it was way too hot out for my tastes, with 100+ degree temperatures and climbing.  I'd say I wished we had an indoor venue for the reunion, but the place that we all checked out was just too small to accommodate everyone.  All things considered, it was a blast.  Just keep throwing food at me, which is exactly what happened.  There goes the weight I lost.  Now I lament.

- Since 2010 with the release of their The Final Frontier album, I have been a huge fan of Iron Maiden.  Earlier this year I got word that lead singer Bruce Dickinson may have throat cancer.  While the prognosis looked good, I was still concerned, not only as a fan of the band, but as a man who knows the effects of cancer all too well, with my grandfather passing away from the disease five years ago.  Taking me as the fan out of the situation and speaking in terms of me as the person, cancer is a bitch, and whether best friend, family member, or sworn enemy, cancer is definitely not the way to go.  It would have saddened me to see someone like Bruce Dickinson die in that matter, whether I was a Maiden fan or not.  So you can imagine my excitement and elation when I found out in the past couple of weeks that he has a full, clean bill of health, a new album is on the way in September (a DOUBLE ALBUM nonetheless), and a world tour starts next year.  I'm excited for Bruce Dickinson as a human being, as a singer, and as a member of one of my favorite bands.  Up the Irons, indeed.

-  April of last year, my wife and I moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and as I've predicted from the beginning, things are coming together for the both of us, not only as a married couple but as individuals as well.  She's working full-time at one of the schools in the area as the attendance clerk, and I've been slugging away at Harris Teeter, one of the major grocery chains in the area.  I knew from the beginning that I picked the right place to work, and that notion could not have been any more evident than the week I've had so far.  After a little over a year of working up here, hitting the ground running, and just busting tail in general, it all paid off.  What happened?  Simple.

I was given full-time status and a raise.

When I was interviewed by one of the managers a year ago, he had asked me what I wanted to get from the company.  I told him that serving in the Navy taught me about respect, Publix taught me about having a strong work ethic, and maybe Harris Teeter could teach me something completely different, and I was looking forward to it.

What was I taught?  That hard work really DOES pay off.

...

...Now this is where my tirade begins.  There will be a lot of foul language, so if you're a pansy ass, you might wanna close this thing out now....

AHEM...

- I was really gonna just let this go but I can't anymore because of how things have been going up here.  So here goes...They say that you should never burn bridges, but what you're about to read is me blowing this bridge straight to Hell...

Seven years.  SEVEN.  FUCKING.  YEARS.  At my (P)revious employer, I saw a LOT of moronic decision making.  I've seen good managers demoted after coming back from vacation.  I've seen good people fucking FIRED WHILE ON VACATION.  I've seen a guy with TWO COLLEGE DEGREES working as a bagger, because no one else wanted to hire him.  I've seen someone being told by a store manager that they were never getting full time no matter how hard they worked.  I've heard that same manager tell my department that she didn't care how short-handed we constantly were, we just needed to suck it up.  For seven years, I did everything I could to move up, to be promoted, and help make positive changes in the workplace everywhere I could, and I finally realize, now more than ever, that I was hitting a glass ceiling, and I was being held down, no matter how hard I worked.  It got to the damn point that I was outworking the full timers at my fucking store, as a lowly part timer.  We were under a Division Manager that I legitimately wanted to beat the hell out of because he made it clear to everyone that he didn't give the slightest fuck about us.  I worked, I toiled, and I busted my ass, really, for no reason.   What do I have to show for it?  The wasting of my late 20s-early 30s?  A body that's in constant pain?  That's about it.  And why?  Because I refuse to be the kind of person to kiss ass.  I've never been the person to play any kind of political games in the work place.  At Harris Teeter, it was simple.  Store manager asked me if I wanted full-time, I said yes, end of story.  I accomplished, in ONE FUCKING YEAR, something that my (P)revious employer refused to even let me so much as sniff in seven.  Last Spring, I did technically retire from that company.  I sold my shares and ran with it, sure.  But let's face it, and call it what it really is.  I FUCKING QUIT that place because no matter how hard I worked, no matter how often I had to carry my department on my goddamned back, that I was never gonna get the recognition or respect I knew I deserved.  At that place, hard work sure as hell didn't pay off.  But here?  Where I am now?  It sure has so far, and this is only the beginning.  Would I ever go back to my (P)revious job?  I would rather be either living in a cardboard box in downtown Charlotte than go back to that place.  I will never forgive that place for not only wasting seven years of my life, but breaking my body in the process.  It's common knowledge that I wasn't too happy working in the Navy either.  But at least, with the Navy, the redeeming quality is that I had the opportunity to serve my country and do it proudly.  With this place in question, however, although I made some many great friends along the way, there was no redeeming factor.  I'm happy where I'm at, and my position in this company, and like I said.  This is only the beginning.

Miller

Things that annoy the piss out of me

The preceding video cracks me up every time.  I love this guy.  Moving forward....

Well, don't I just about suck?  Three months ago, I post me year end blog talking about how I should post more of these more frequently, and look at how long it took to write my first blog of 2015.  Simply baffling.  Let's try this again...I'll be more frequent in my postings this year.  Nuff said. 

This time around is gonna be another one of those "Random Thoughts" musings, aiming mostly at a lot of things I see on Facebook that just irk me to no end.  Continuing on...

 - Overly political posts.  I get it.  You hate Obama.  Maybe cuz he plays too much golf.  Or because he's black.  Or simply because he's not Republican.  Or maybe you're close minded enough to think that just because his middle name is Hussein that he's a terrorist in office.  Me?  I'm not a Democrat.  I'm not a Republican.  I'm not even Liberal.  I'm an I Don't Really Give a Shit. 

 - Overly religious posts.  Trust me, there's nothing wrong with having a devout belief in the Almighty.  There really isn't.  But there's really no need to be preachy about it.  I was raised Methodist, and while I consider myself "on the fence" on whether I believe or not, I don't believe in putting someone down because they DO have a devout belief.  BUT, at the same time, I don't need to feel like I'm being preached at.  If I wanna be preached at, I'll go to church.  It's Facebook, not a Cathedral.

 - (something happens) and You Won't Believe What Happens Next posts.  How's about I don't care what happens next?  Stop it with the click bait bullshit.

 - Hashtags on Facebook.  This ain't Twitter, and you're not 12 years old.  Next.

 - Overly vague posts.  You know what I'm talking about.  The one where you post your status and someone else comments on it asking what's wrong.  And then a response of "It's nothing" or "I don't wanna talk about it."  Well if you don't wanna talk about it, don't mention it.

 - Recipes.  Yes seeing these annoy the almighty horsepiss outta me, but actually to be fair...some of 'em look pretty damn good.  So we'll give this a cautiously optimistic free pass.

 - Barely readable posts.  And by this I mean the blatant misuse of basic grammar and proper spelling.  At least make it look like you're intelligent.

 - "I'll bet you can't name a (thing) without the letter (insert letter here) in it" posts.  Yes I can, yes I have, this is stupid.

 - Selfies.  Say that word as though you're mentally challenged.  That's how I feel about that word.  Why not just call it what it is?  "I'm gonna take a picture of myself."  It's that simple. 

 - The "I don't eat meat so that means I'm better than you" posts.  Excuse me while I take a bite out of this huge-ass burger.  And smile about it.  Being a vegetarian or vegan doesn't make you better than everyone else.  That's like me bragging that I'm left handed.  Guess what?  So is 15% of the world's population, so I'm nothing special.

 - The man-hating "All guys are the same" posts.  I get it, you're pissed off and hurt because some doucheneck broke your heart.  Guess what?  That just means you picked the wrong guy to begin with.  And if that's the only type of guy you end up getting with, then that's your problem.  I, myself, am happily married.  And why is that?  Because I'm NOT A DOUCHEBAG TO MY WIFE!  So here's an idea, stop complaining, find yourself a good man that you WON'T, for once, be inclined to slump into that bullshit "Friend Zone" and you'll be a lot happier.  And no, not all men are the same, thank you very much.  Just hearing that offends the shit out of me to no end.  Quit bitching about "boy troubles" and find yourself A MAN!

That's pretty much it this time around.  Some of you readers will agree with me.  Some of you will not.  And most of those who won't agree with me will be simply because of who I am.  I'm okay with that.  Wouldn't be the first time, and it sure as hell won't be the last.

The End of 2014

What a year it's been, right?  Starting it all off earlier this Spring with moving to Rock Hill, SC, to be closer to our families.  Couple that with a job that I can finally, FINALLY say, I'm truly happy at, it makes for some good times.  Celebrating my first year of marriage only made things that much sweeter.

I've said many times, that at Harris Teeter, I have never once felt that I waste my time.  Not once have I felt after a shift at work, that all the hard work I do on a nightly basis was for nothing.  At Publix, that's all it was.  At my first Publix store, I'll have to admit, I don't think that I was all that great of a worker.  After transferring, however, I learned what a true work ethic really was, and I went from being a shitty worker, to a damn fine one, to being the hardest working guy in the entire building.  Sad to say, all of my hard work went unnoticed.  No promotions, no advancement, no growth as a worker whatsoever.  I was regularly outshining every full timer on my crew and it just didn't matter.  I never once felt that any of my hard work was appreciated, and that was the reason why I left.  And that's the reason I will never work for that company again.  At Harris Teeter, I know I still have a ways to go, but I know that my hard work is appreciated, and I am working towards a purpose.  Honestly, that's all I need.  And that's all I will ever need.

Over the past year I have been extremely vocal about a lot of things I feel strongly towards.  I feel that family should always be first and foremost, and nothing should stand in the way of that.  I've been vocal on my stance against bullying, how unforgiving I am towards it, and my personal experiences with it.  I've also been adamant about my support for all branches of our military.  Even though there are a lot of things they do that I don't agree with, I do fully support them.  I speak as a Navy veteran that I say that our active duty and veterans deserve better than what they have, and I feel that upon entering civilian life, that they deserve the best life that the rest of us as a country can give them.  One of the biggest things I've been outspoken about, however, is my complete contempt and hatred for the police.  Look no further than incidents such as Eric Garner, Waldo Florida, and an incident in Orlando where a military MP was unjustly beaten by local police while being called a "stupid motherf**ker."  Yes I know that this is not how all police officers are, but it seems to me that in this day and age that seeing a "good" police officer is slowly becoming the exception, and not the rule.  This upsets me, it angers me, and it further feeds into my distrust.  With all these things, I feel that I am 100% right in the things I've touched on.  I may have come off as brazen and insensitive, but I know that I'm not wrong.  I stand by everything I've said this year, and I'll continue to speak on these things until I'm blue in the face.

Now on to one of my favorite subjects, music.  Here's some random thoughts about this year...

- I used to be a big fan of Paramore.  Their first two albums, I'm a huge fan of.  Never got the chance to hear their third one, but their self-titled album from this year has been some of the worst stuff I've heard in years.  I feel that the band as a whole have sold out, and I hope that they one day go back to rocking as much as they used to.  Speaking of selling out....

- Taylor Swift.  Holy shit.  Her country music was terrible, as all she would sing about, and I mean ALL...SHE...WOULD...SING...ABOUT...is some douchebag celebrity ex-boyfriend who broke her heart.  She really was, for all intents and purposes, a country music cliche wrapped up in a brain stuck eternally in high school.  Now with her new album,  1989, she goes pop.  Everyone knows how I feel about pop music to begin with, but that's what stupid little teenagers listen to these days, an that's where the money's at.  So guess what?  We have a sellout on our hands.  Oh goody.

- Meghan Traynor, ah,, what can I say?   Her (s)hit song, "All About That Bass" basically says in the lyrics that thin girls are shit.  I think a youtuber I listen to on occasion called it "skinny shaming."  Doesn't help the fact that she's pulling that doo wop sounding bullshit accompanying a dance beat that makes my ears bleed.  Hey, I hated it when Amy Winehouse was kinda doing the same thing, and I hate it now.  Sorry, but that kind of music went out of style over 50 years ago.  Only with Meghan's song, all it talks about is how great fat chicks are.  Not much substance there, sorry.

- Imagine Dragons is not a rock band.  I don't care what anyone says.  Nuff said.

- I legitimately want to punch Jason Mraz in the face.  Nuff said there too.

- Honestly, I feel that being a talented musician trying to make it big is looked down upon in the music industry as a whole.  Now, I think that it really is all about looks, or what the mouthbreathing masses will fall for.  I feel that these days, if you wanna find a talented musicians, then genres such as hard rock, prog, and heavy metal are the places to look.  Not Nickelback though.  They've always sucked, and they're always going to.  I'm talking bands like Rush, Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Yes, and Queensryche.  Not pop, not country, sure as HELL not rap, and definitely not dance music or dubstep.  Yes I know that there are exceptions to the rule, but I'm sorry, I'd rather listen to recording artists who actually CAN play a musical instrument and actually CAN sing.  Just about any others can kiss my ass.

That's pretty much all I got this year.  To all of yas, stay safe this New Year's Eve.  Don't drive drunk, keep your loved ones safe, and above all else, just have fun.  Thanks to whoever reads my blogs, I hope to have more fans in the future.  Comments, as always, are welcome.

Ranting and Raving

Four months have gone by since I was first hired at Harris Teeter, pretty much doing the same job I was doing at Publix.  I'll have to admit, I've gotten to the point where I love my job again.  Just about everywhere I worked in my life, I never really did have that feeling, at least not since my teenage years when I was teaching English in Japan.  In the Navy, I was treated absolutely horrible by my peers and superiors.  I always felt like the odd man out, and that doesn't really rest well on a person's mentality, especially since I never wanted to be IN the Navy in the first place.  Office politics and rank pulling was a big thing, and I always lost out, and I always got the short end of the stick, no matter how deserving of better treatment I was.  Post Navy it was Publix, and it had gotten to the point where I was the best worker in my department, sometimes doing the job of two or three other departments because other people couldn't handle it.  I busted my ass there for seven years, and it got me nowhere and it got me nothing.  More often than not, I felt like a day at work for me, was a complete and utter waste of time.  Like there was no purpose in what I was doing, and no matter how hard I worked.  I can honestly and truthfully say that I don't feel that way working for Harris Teeter.  I work with a good group of folks, they all pull their weight, and we work as a team for better or worse.  There has been no wasted movement, no waste of time, and everything we do every night served a purpose.  That is all I ever wanted in a job.  A good team of guys all working toward a goal.  I'm happy with what I'm doing, how I do things, and with how well I get along with my coworkers.  The stars have aligned finally, and I'm happy in life and profession because of it. 

Lately I've been outspoken about a lot of things.  I don't apologize for being so outspoken.  There are certain ways that I feel about certain things, and I'd like to think I'm the kind of person that will say things that no one else has the bravery to say.  I'll talk about how bullies are the lowest form of life on Earth, or how everyone should avoid going to Chuck E Cheese at any and all costs, to even saying that kids are evil little bastards these days because parents aren't allowed to whoop their kids' ass anymore (there are many exceptions to that, by the way).  Hey, I've had my ass whooped on occasion as a kid, and I've earned every one of them fair and square.  I'll talk about how if a fad is a fad, and it'll go away soon, because I've always been against fads or things that are deemed "cool."  I've always been against trying to be something that you're not, be it trying to be ghetto when you're the whitest person in the room, a person who follows fads and nothing but said fads, to trying to be a Barbie doll, to a bunch of various other things.  To those people I will say this:  Seek help, and lots of it.  There are a lot of things I don't like, and there's a lot of types of people that I don't like, and I don't feel bad for any of it.  I feel that most pop music is absolute garbage, no matter what era you're in.  Case in point, the only reason the Spice Girls were as big as they were in the 90's, was because some music producer in the UK wanted to prove that even the most talentless human beings on the planet can be a big hit.  And guess what?  All the teenyboppers of the time fell for it.  I don't fall for things.  I try to stick to things that have staying power, and not something that's gonna be here today, gone tomorrow.  

Bottom line:  Don't be a sheep, don't be a follower.  Be true to yourself and to others.  And have respect for yourself, and others.  It's not that hard.    

I'm a firm believer that if you ever do wrong to somebody, that you apologize to that person for doing so, and you do what you can to make amends with them.  I've done my best to do that with people I've wronged over the years, but I feel that I have not really had the same benefit from others.  From school, to the Navy, to Publix, it hasn't really happened.  I'd like for that day from MANY people to come.  Just to throw that out there. 

There are quite a few things that I am strongly for, against, or an advocate of.  For one, I am a strong advocate of our military and our veterans.  I may not agree with a few of the things they do, but I respect those who serve or have served, even if that kind of life wasn't my kind of life.  I feel that our veterans deserve a hell of a lot better treatment and job opportunities than they get these days, for I feel they're earned it by risking their asses for our freedom day in and day out.  I'm extremely against bullying, and it's something I have no tolerance for forgiveness for.  That's been well documented in my blogs so I won't divulge further into it here.  I don't feel that there is any situation that calls for a man to hit a woman, no matter what.  If you're an abuser of any kind, take a spot in the line to Hell right next to all the bullies, killers, and rapists.

I'm also a strong believer in having respect for one's religious beliefs.  Years ago, I was pining for a girl who one day I had this exact conversation with.  I said that no matter what a person's religious beliefs are, whether they're in line with yours or not, that you should respect that, and let them do their thing peacefully.  Her response?  That her religion does not believe in religious tolerance.  What was she?  Lutheran.

I'm a strong fan and advocate for professional wrestling.  People will say it's fake and this and that.  Here's some names to validate my stance though: Kurt Angle (1996 Olympic Gold Medalist)...Mark Henry (Olympic weightlifter)...Bobby Lashley (MMA fighter/pro wrestler and current TNA World Champion)...and Brock Lesnar (former UFC and current WWE World Champion).  Ask THEM how fake it is.  I'm not saying it's 100% real, cuz I know it ain't, but trust me, they're getting hurt out there. 

Of course it is inevitable that one day my wife and I will start having children, and when we do, there are some lessons that I would want to instill upon them...
   - Hard work pays off
   - Be thankful for any good deed anyone does for you
   - Have respect for others, no matter what.
   - No one is better than anybody.

I think I'll end my tirade(s) here.  Thanks for reading.
Miller

Rest in Pieces

What I am about to say is going to sound extremely insensitive, callous, and altogether wrong in just about every way.  But based on the news I heard last night, I feel that it has to be said right now.  They say that sometimes the best way to cope with past bullying is to talk about it.  This is the reason I'm taking to Blogger, here at 5am.

There was a kid in Caldwell, Ohio I knew in the 8th Grade by the name of Josey Clark.  He was a bully.  On a daily basis, he did everything he could to make my life a living hell.  From being a complete waste of a human being to me, to pushing me, picking fights with me, and even attacking me just because he could, I experienced just about all of it due mainly to this kid.  For the most part, I succeeded, until one day came that he pushed my buttons one time too many and I placed him in a side headlock, leaving him completely defenseless, until another one or two students pried me off of him.  He didn't bother me for the rest of the year.

Fast forward to my Junior year in High School.  Within days, he remembered who I was, starting his shit up with me all over again.  Only this time he would pass me in the hall and randomly call me a faggot.  Which I wasn't and still am not now, as I'm married to a beautiful woman a year and counting.  One day, I had enough, and after yelling "Faggot" at me one more time, I punched him in the back of the head.  It only got worse from there, all because I stood up for myself.  I would be ganged up on by his circle of friends on a daily basis.  Shit would get thrown at me.  More shoving.  More of me enduring acts of physical violence, sometimes right in full view of various members of the faculty.  And then, the conversation that took place that inspired a story from a previous blog from last year, as follows...

 - Age 17, an old bully that I had when I was still in 8th grade came back to terrorize me some more, as he was still pissed off at me after three years for kicking his ass when he tried to bully me the first time.  It got to the point to where he threatened me by saying that he was going to get his friends together to beat me to the point of being put on life support, and then break into my hospital room to pull the plug.  This was the ONE time that something was actually done, as my principal and grandparents put their heads together and put a restraining order on the son of a bitch.

From that day, not only was I afraid for my physical safety on a daily basis at school, but literally enough, I was honestly afraid I was going to die on any given day.  Even with the restraining order, things never changed.  The harassment still took place.  I still looked over my shoulder, and I still feared for my life every day.  Nothing was different.  And because of that, I left my hometown, not wanting to deal with it any longer.  It was a decision that broke my heart, because I had begun going to that school knowing in my heart that I wanted to finish high school at the one place in the world I had called home.  But due to the fear instilled within me because of Josey, I made the mistake of tucking my tail and running.  It's a decision I regret to this very day.

The last words I ever said to him were, "I'm above you.  I've traveled the world twice over, and I'll do and see more in the next ten years than you will the rest of your life.  You're going to end being stuck in this dead end town, and you'll die here."

As of yesterday morning, that's exactly what happened. 

I got word right before I went to work last night that he had died in a car accident on the most dangerous roads in town.  The sadness I felt for him was completely non-existent, and I do not feel bad for saying that.  What I feel bad for, is that I never got the chance to punch him in the face one last time.  I've said that if you've ever, EVER, been a bully at any point in your life, you're automatically a piece of shit in my eyes.  And in this, a moment of true tragedy for those who actually loved him, I stand by my previous statement.  Josey Clark was a miserable, worthless, piece of shit of a human being.  If there was any redeemable quality in him as a person, I was never witness to it.  All I was witness to, in the years that I had known him, completely sucked as a human being, and I saw absolutely no good in him.  I will not miss him, I will not mourn for him, and I will never forgive him for the way he treated me.  I'm glad he's dead, and the world seems a little brighter knowing he's gone.  I keep hearing stories that he's changed since High School, but I could really give a shit less whether he did or not.  If he was so different, he would have gone out of his way to make peace, not only with me, but with the countless others he had terrorized along the way.  But in the end, turns out I was right all along.  I just didn't think that it would be so soon.

Rest in pieces, you son of a bitch.

Cheerleaders, Tourists, and The Great Khali

Aaaaaaand so.....

We are roughly a week and a half into our new life in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  Road trips galore, a lot of traveling, a lot of visiting family, and a lot of moving furniture.  My wife, yesterday, brought to my attention that while we've been getting settled up here, that I seem a lot happier.  Truth is, I am.  In Florida, we were close to almost no members of our respective families.  That made for a lot of lonely, and often frustrating days.  With Heather's family just a little over 5 hours away, and mine about 6 hours away, that can make for a lot of weekend trips, and overall, it would make our holidays a lot more easier to handle.  On top of all that, almost all we need is right here in town.  Ten minutes away or less, and I can't complain about that.  Even Charlote, NC is only about 15 minutes away.  Of all the places I actually HAVEN'T visited in this world, Charlotte is near the top of that list.  I'm excited to see where things take us while we're here.

Now if only I can find a karaoke bar, I'd be set.

Switching gears right now, as I kinda rant and ramble a little bit.  And I've got a short list this time around.  Starting with.....

- Cheerleaders. 
Yesterday on Facebook, I said the following about cheerleaders, "Ya know....with the exception of my mom and my niece, I never met a cheerleader I actually liked. In my experience, it's like it's been engrained in their system to have the ability to treat people like shit."

My wife swears up and down that every cheerleader she met in high school were nice, considerate, top notch human beings.  To that I say "Consider yourself lucky."  Everyone knows how I feel about bullying and how unforgiving I am to anyone that does it.  In my experience, and in the schools I've been to ALL OVER THE WORLD, mind you, had been just as bad, and sometimes just a tad worse, than your typical bully.  I know from my experience that any cheerleader I ever encountered (with very few exceptions) treated me, and most others dubbed "beneath them" like absolute pieces of garbage.  It's like they know they're popular just cuz they wear a skirt, and now they can be a bitch just for the hell of it, and having a brain was optional.  Jocks were just as bad.  Only they'd kick your ass.  I can honestly say that when Heather and I have kids, I would want them to be able to do whatever they want in school, be it sports, yearbook staff, honor society, student council, whatever.  Just not a cheerleader, because I wouldn't want them to fall into the same category as I just mentioned.  "But I'm a cheerleader?"  So.  F#$king.  What.


- Tourists.
I've ranted and raved over the years about people I've worked for over the years at Publix.  All stories 100 percent true, and some things I didn't mention here, as there were too much to touch upon here. But one thing that has ruined working there, for me that is, was the constant influx of tourists and out of towners that would come in to shop.  I've learned that that tourists, for the most part, are the absolute dumbest human beings on the entire planet.  They've been loud, they've been obnoxious, and they evidently leave their manners at home.  That is not how I was raised.  The way I was raised consisted of the following:  Respect for others, know the meaning of a good work ethic, and be thankful for any good deed by another person.  The people I've described had none of that.  Up here, in Rock Hill, everyone is friendly, full of respect for themselves and others, and a willingness to go out of their way to help a stranger in need.  Case in point, a couple days ago, Heather and I were trying to move a couch out of our Uhaul into our apartment, and some random neighbor out of nowhere came over and helped me move it in with no problem.  Most of the tourists I've encountered in Florida wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire.  No tourists here, no stupidity, no rudeness.  So just based on all that, this town is A-OK in my book.

- The Great Khali.  
I've been a wrestling fan for roughly 24 years, and if anyone wants to put that down and talk about how fake it is, well #1. Go fuck yourself.  #2. Ask a guy like Kurt Angle how fake it is. Who's Kurt Angle, you ask?  He won a Gold Medal in the Olympics in wrestling in 1996.  He did it with a broken neck, and after wrestling professionally for 15 years went on record to say that pro wrestling is just as physically tasking, if not more, than any professional sport.  He's had more injuries in his pro career than I care to count, and realistically should have retired a couple years ago.  But I'm not here to talk about that.  I'm here to talk about The Great Khali.

The Great Khali, from India.  7'3" and weighing 350 pounds.  And quite frankly, the biggest waste of a WWE paycheck I have ever seen.  He can't run the ropes, he can't sell getting hurt, and most all he does is slap his opponents' chest.  It pisses me off.  Dude can't even speak English so there's no way he can get any kind of character over, he just mumbles in Punjab or gibberish.  Just a couple weeks ago, he showed up on NXT (WWE's minor league.  They send big name guys down there every once in a while to help the younger folk out.)  Of ALL the top notch talent they can send to your friggin' farm league, you send THE GREAT F'ING KHALI?!  The least talented person on the WWE's payroll?!?!  And to think that at one time, they booked (scripted) this talentless moron as World Heavyweight Champion!  The only thing worse I can think of was when David Arquette won the title back in 2000.  Seriously, WWE...PLEASE fire Khali.  Please ship his ass back to India, cuz I don't wanna see him on my TV anymore.  Like ever.  


That's about it this time around.  I'm now gonna go do something stupid to a stupid person.

Miller

It's Rock KILL, South Carolina!

Two weeks....

Two weeks and Rock Hill, South Carolina will be the new home of Scottish Killer and the wife.  Had a visit from the mother in law all this past week, and it's been a whirlwind week to be sure.  It's been a good week, getting a lot accomplished, and even hit some of the Disney parks for the last time.  I'm not, however, gonna miss this state, not for a second.  Too many tourists, too many people actually trying to be pains in the ass, and they are everywhere.  I'll gladly take the South over sunny Florida any day.  A new chapter in my life begins in two weeks.  I can't have it any other way. 

Wrestlemania is this Sunday, and I've seen every single one of them up to this point.  This is going to the the 30th event to bear the name.  As always, I'm excited.  Most dumb jock sports fans will say their biggest day of the year is the Super Bowl, or when the World Series begins.  Or the start of the NBA Finals.  For me, it has been and always will be WrestleMania.  My only regret is that I won't be in New Orleans to see it, but I'll be watching it via the WWE Network. Which I am pretty much an addict of since February.  Usually, I would go to the Wing House to see it with some of my closest friends, my wife, and a couple hundred other drunken 'rasslin fans.  This year, it's the Network with some friends and the wife.  What more can anyone ask?

2nd Chance CD of the Week
Aerosmith
Nine Lives (1997)

Tracklist
Nine Lives
Falling in Love (is Hard on the Knees)
Hole in My Soul
Taste of India
Full Circle
Something's Gotta Give
Ain't That a Bitch
The Farm
Crash
Kiss Your Past Goodbye
Pink
Attitude Adjustment
Fallen Angels

    Truth be told, I've always liked Aerosmith.  Catch me at the Retro Room singing "Dream On" at Karaoke Night, it's a blast.  The band from Boston had been on a major roll since their comeback album, Permanent Vacation back in 1987.  Ten years after that comes this, one of the best albums to come out of the 90s.  In my opinion, I always saw Nine Lives as a comeback album of sorts.  After 1993's Get a Grip, I was actually starting to get tired of Aerosmith.  That is, until I heard "Falling in Love (is Hard on the Knees)" on the radio for the first time that year.  It took me roughly three years before I got the opportunity to hear the rest of the album, in full.  First question that popped in my head upon hearing the 63 minute classic album was "What the Hell took me so long?" Even worse, the copy I had, I ended up losing between moving several times in the ensuing 14 years.  However, after rediscovering it just a couple of weeks ago thanks to Spotify, I fell in love with the album all over again.  It begins straightforward immediately with it's first, and title, track, and doesn't let go until the album's closer, the 8 minute epic "Fallen Angels."

The song, "Pink" won the Hard Rock Grammy award that year, although I would have to respectfully disagree. An award like that I would have given to "Taste of India" or my personal favorite of the album, "Hole in My Soul."

Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and company are in full force and in proper form from start to finish with this album.  I feel that if Permanent Vacation was their big comeback album, then Nine Lives was the sequel.  I can't think of a single person who has not heard this album, or even heard OF it.  But if you haven't, I suggest you fix that right now.  You won't be disappointed.  I mean come on, how can you go wrong?

It's Aerosmith.

Thumbs up.

Let Us Burn

Earlier this month, the wife and I made our first trip to Rock Hill, South Carolina, pretty much to just take a look at the area before we move up there in a couple of months.  I can honestly say, despite the cold weather, I was really digging it.  The fact that we ended up finding a place to live less than ten minutes away from my aunt and her family was an added bonus.  The wife has a new job lined up already, and I'm still looking, as well as there being a few good looking prospects for me when we get there.  She's been pretty stressed out a lot over everything having to do with the move, but as it turns out, it's all going to work out.  I knew it would, and I had a plan from the very beginning.  It just looks like pieces of this particular puzzle have begun fitting in place.  I almost feel like a mad scientist, come to think of it lol.  Needless to say, the excitement has really started to set in lately, and I love every minute of it.  I am, for once, not afraid of change, as I welcome it with open arms.  

As badly as I talk about things down here in Florida, I can still say that there are a few things, and a few people, that I will miss once we're gone.  As far as places and things to do, I will miss our occasional trips to one of the Disney parks.  I'll miss the trips to the Retro Room for their Karaoke nights, which I absolutely love doing.  I'll miss the fact that my first true place to live on my own was right here in this state, and memories were definitely made there.  I'll miss my trips to Universal Studios where they used to (and still occasionally) have TNA Wrestling events.  Sure, I'm a WWE guy from start to finish, but I've come to love other professional wrestling as well.  As far as people...I understand that I've rubbed some people the wrong way in my years here, but I also have met some great people down here as well.  Some of the people I've met and worked alongside at Publix, some friends outside the workplace too.  I also know that I have forged some great friendships down here as well.  One friendship that I hold to the highest regard is a man I met mere months after moving here in 2007.  That man's name being Chris Buzzo.  In the years I've known him, I've come to consider him my best friend, in a lifetime that hasn't really allowed me many of those.  We've laughed, we've argued, agreed, disagreed, and everything else under the sun.  My regret is that lately our schedules haven't really clicked, therefor not allowing a whole hell of a lot of time to hang out, throw back a couple beers, joke and shoot the shit like we used to.  My hope is that now, near the end of my run, that can be rectified somewhat.  Chris, if you ever get the chance to read this, I want you to know that you are one awesome son of a bitch.  I love how much happier you've been in the past few months, and I, for one, am rooting for you.  That's real talk right there.  Of all things I'm going to miss, I'll miss our occasional hangouts the most.

2nd Chance CD of the Week
Within Temptation
Hydra (2014)

Tracklist
Let Us Burn
Dangerous
And We Run
Paradise (What About Us)
Edge of the World
Silver Moonlight
Covered By Roses
Dog Days
Tell Me Why
Whole World is Watching

Radioactive
Summertime Sadness
Let Her Go
Dirty Dancer

     What can I really say about this album?  Well, I'm going to give it a shot here.  Three years ago, The Unforgiving hit shelves all over the world which was universally praised for its ambition, its bombasity, and diverseness.  Never before had this symphonic metal band from the Netherlands tried to put forth a concept album, but for me it just clicked.  I know that there are a lot of WT fans that didn't particularly care for The Unforgiving, but I absolutely adored it, and to this day I think that was their masterpiece.  But now the question arose...how does this band follow up such a masterpiece?  Simple...they strip back from the concept album formula, and proceed with a straightforward rock album for the ages.  And straightforward did they head, indeed.  The opening track Let Us Burn signals the return of Within Temptation in a big way.  As an aside, almost half the album features a guest vocalist to accompany lead singer Sharon den Adel.  Some of said diverseness is retained here, as you'll hear singers such as Dave Pirner (from Soul Asylum), Howard Jones (no NOT that guy in the 80s, I mean the one formally of Killswitch Engage), Tarja (formerly of Nightwish), and Xzibit.  Yes, THAT Xzibit.  His song, "And We Run" was kind of a headscratcher for me, as I initially didn't care for the track.  It has since grown on me a bit, however, and I can honestly say the parts of this song where Xzibit raps are the highlight of the track itself.  You'll hear Jones on "Dangerous" and the song just works.  Not one of the band's best, but it will still kick your head off.  Hearing Tarja share vocal duties on "Paradise" was a breath of fresh air, in my opinion.  Tarja's operatic styling pairs up with Sharon's angelic voice any day of the week, and this song shows.  There IS a second disc to this album, mostly of covers from other bands, and Within Temptation proceed to make each cover tune hundreds of times better.  Case in point, they remake Lana Del Ray's "Summertime Sadness," and I hate Lana and the song.  But with WT reworking it into their own, I love the song now.  As long as the band performs it.  The only track I thought sucked was Enrique Iglesias' "Dirty Dancer." Yes...they even do one of his songs.  And I'm sorry, the spirit of Freddie Mercury himself could have come down from Heaven to sing this song, it's still gonna suck. But I won't let that one little blemish ruin it for me.  You know what I'm gonna say about this, as far as a recommendation goes right?  Is it any doubt.

Thumbs up. 
Miller
 

Tear Down the Wall

After a successful Christmas for me and the wife, the year starts all over again.  A little closer every day until Moving Day, and the possibilities are endless.  And with all the changes going on at my store, it looks like I will be ending my Publix career on a high note.  Our new Store Manager came in to start with us last week, and so far this guy is a hit.  He's been doing everything possible to make the employees at my store feel like they are actually part of a team, and not just us working for him.  On top of that, he's been taking the initiative to help out just about every department in my store, working side by side, doing the down-and-dirty work that the rest of us do.  That's a little thing I'd like to call leading by example.  Seems to me that he's in the mindset of "I won't have my employees do something that I won't do myself."  Something that our previous Store Manager was unwilling to do.  She didn't care about any of us at all, even going so far as to tell our new Grocery Manager that she didn't care that my department was shorthanded.  In my opinion, our previous manager had no business running a beat-up, mom and pop, hole in the wall gas station, let alone a grocery store that's part of a multimillion dollar company.  So, to my new store manager, welcome.  It's good to have you aboard.  Moving along with said changes, it appears that our Division Manager is gone as well, and that is even better.  In the time that he has run this division, he has unjustly fired or demoted several people I've had the pleasure to work with or know.  Every time he has come to my store to "visit," he's threatened the jobs of several workers, very good workers, and pretty much just threw his weight around just because he could.  He always did everything he could to make my department's job as unnecessarily difficult as possible.  He was a bully, a piece of garbage, and I cannot be happier that he's gone.

Instead of a Second Chance CD of the Week this time around, I give to you...

2nd Chance Concert of the Week
Roger Waters
The Wall: Live in Berlin 1990 
 
A couple weeks ago I was able to pick up a DVD copy of Roger Waters' "The Wall: Live in Berlin 1990" concert.  I had seen the show for the first time about ten years ago, and I forgot how much that show gets to me.  It took place at the former site of the Berlin Wall, almost a year after it came down, and is a performance, from beginning to end, of the classic Pink Floyd album "The Wall."  I've reviewed that album before, and when you get down to the meaning of the 1979 album, you know how close it hits me.  This performance featured guest performance by several of the most popular bands and artists from the time period, such as Cyndi Lauper, Scorpions, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams, and Sinead O'Connor.  In front of the crowd of over 350,000 Germans, The Wall was made from a simple concept album to a full-on rock opera.  It's only appropriate that German natives the Scorpions opened the show with the album's opening track "In the Flesh?" With every subsequent song played on the album, a wall is being constructed little by little, representing the metaphorical "wall" being built around him by the main character of the original album representing the several tragedies in his life.  The entire performance is accompanied by the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir, The Band, and the Scorpions themselves.  The emotion induced by many of these performances are sometimes staggering.  Most notably, during Sinead O'Connor's rendition of "Mother."  No matter how many times I hear it, no matter how many times I see it, once the guitar solo kicks in, the tears are flowing.  Same goes for the concert's closing song, "The Tide is Turning," sung in part by every previous performer on the show.  Some of my favorite performances shown here are "Another Brick in the Wall, part 3" sung by Roger Waters, "Young Lust," by Bryan Adams, "Hey You" by Paul Carrack from Mike + the Mechanics, and "Waiting for the Worms," by Scorpions and Waters, where Waters is dressed up like a dictator at a rock show.  He was showing how the main character of The Wall was so deluded at that point that he thought he was a fascist dictator and not a rock star.  And I cannot forget "The Trial," performed by Tim Curry, Marianne Faithful, Ute Lemper, Thomas Dolby, and Albert Finney.  The whole production ends with, appropriately, the "wall" on the stage tumbling down.  An interesting note on Bryan Adams though.  On the subject of "Young Lust," Roger Waters originally wanted Rod Stewart to sing on it, but finally settled with Adams, admitting that he felt Adams did a better job on the song than Stewart would have.  This concert, hell, the original Pink Floyd album itself, is essential for any true music fan.  I can't stress that enough.  See?  I'm not ALL about metal, you know?  In any event, next blog I'll go back to reviewing a favorite album.

Miller

2013: The End of the Florida Exile

As this year comes to a close, several changes loom on the horizon for me, as some changes were made this year as well.  In June I got married for a second time, and even in the short six months Heather and I have been married, I can already tell that things are gonna be a hell of a lot smoother than my first marriage.  I've come to know my newly found siblings a lot better, and I feel that my sister and both brothers have my back no matter what, the same way I would have theirs. 

 A true test, and a true sign of things to come, saw light just under a month ago, where an old friend of mine offered me a potential spot in his band as their lead singer.  I never got the chance to formally try out, but I made it known that I could work with the material they had, and they equally made it clear that they wanted to work with me.  Unfortunately, I never got that chance, as that band split up before things could get going.  I was not angry, nor am I bitter or resentful of the former band or the situation, but I feel fortunate that I got to meet a group of some pretty cool guys.  But I digress.  I bring that situation up because Heather was more than supportive of even the idea of me fronting a band.  As a matter of fact, she's surprised I had never even been in a band before.  Jenn on the other hand?  She made it clear to me many times in our marriage that she didn't want me to be in a band, or even pursue music in any way, shape, or form.  Almost that alone makes me feel that much more fortunate of the fact that I married such a wonderful woman this time around.  She's made it clear to me that no matter what goals I have in life, she would be in my corner no matter what.  Be it music, writing, or even something to do with the world of professional wrestling, I know that she would have my back no matter what.  This, above all else, is what I'm thankful for this year.

Another change for us is going to be our move to North Carolina.  Heather had lived down here in Florida her entire life, and I've been here almost seven years.  My final day with my company will come on March 14 of the coming year, and Moving Day will be on May 1.  Since June 9 of 2007, I have gone above and beyond my duties as a grocery clerk, I've trained and work in several other departments in between both of the stores I had worked at, and I can happily say that I've busted my ass, and did it with integrity.  I can even go so far as to say that since being at my current store, I've evolved by leaps and bounds as a worker, and developed a work ethic I never knew I had before.  Unfortunately, it has gotten me nothing, as I am still in the same situation I was when I started.  Couple that along with a couple of good coworkers being wronged by the higher brass, the backwards thinking, and the horrible no-brainer business decisions made over the past several years I have plied my trade, and I feel that it's time to go.  No transfer, no nothing.  Just pull in whatever is in my retirement fund and use that money for moving expenses.  That, and we would be closer to both of our families, and all of my families lol.  It's time for me to move on, and time for us to move on as well.  Wherever I go, I only hope that my talents will be met with recognition and appreciation, two things that I should have gotten here.  I will not miss this place, and I will not be sorry to see it go.

2nd Chance CD of the Year

Rush
Vapor Trails: Remixed (2002, 2013)

Tracklist
One Little Victory
Ceiling Unlimited
Ghost Rider
Peaceable Kingdom
The Stars Look Down
How It Is
Vapor Trail
Secret Touch
Earthshine
Sweet Miracle
Nocturne
Freeze
Out of the Cradle

  This album was originally released in 2002, and was basically the big comeback for the Canadian rock trio, although, looking back at the original, I don't think that it was the comeback that Rush was looking for.  That would come five years later, with the album Snakes and Arrows.  With Vapor Trails, the original mix sounded clunky, crowded, and distorted in most songs, if not all.  This is a remixed version of the album, released earlier this year, and needless to say, it sounds a lot smoother, a lot cleaner, and seems a lot more put together.  But other than that...since I'm a lazy son of a bitch, I'm gonna cut and paste a review of the original album onto this review...

- From June 28, 2006...
Yeah, you freaking know it.  The almighty power trio from Canada had to come into this whole thing some time or another, right?  Right?  Well, obviously, yeah.  Namely this little tidbit of music from the wrongfully-ignored Atlantic Records years.  I mean seriously, after Rush left Mercury, it seems that everything from 1989 on up to the present day is, as a whole, forgetten by music fans everywhere.  Yes I do think that is wrong.  I just bought a copy of their Gold compilation, and what the bloody hell is on it?  Just stuff from the Mercury Record era.  Don't get me wrong, anyone who has ever heard 2112 or Moving Pictures will know that what we have there is some pretty legendary shit.  But alas, the Atlantic era gets no love, and Lord knows it should.  Case in point, Vapor Trails.  After a lengthy absence from touring and recording, mainly due to drummer-songwriter Neil Peart's bouts of personal tragedy, Rush make their triumphant return to the music scene with this album.  Rush had never been a band that cared about how popular they were, or how many records they sold.  They had always cared about putting on the best shows, the best records for their fans, as possible.  The lead single, "One Little Victory" is a perfect way to start off a Rush record, with Peart's off-the-charts drumming.  While that may have been the only single to come from Vapor Trails,  the greatness does not stop there.  Sixty seven minutes of a triumphant and defiant Rush album proceeds, with songs like "Vapor Trail," a song about the end of the world, and "Earthshine," an ode to the moon. The most heartfelt and personal of the thirteen tracks, at least in my opinion, is entitled "Ghost Rider."  It is a five and a half minute tune about Neil Peart himself, losing his wife and daughter and riding a motorcycle cross-continent to do some soul searching, soul searching that allowed Vapor Trails to see the light of day.  

This is pretty much my last blog of the year.  Questions and comments are always welcome.  Everyone have a great Christmas, and you will hear from me next year.

Miller

"B.A. Star" My ASS! Bullying in all it's glory...

What you're about to read is NOT a sob story by any means.  Just throwing that out there...

Oh, where to start, y'all, where to start?  Lemme lead off by discussing the story I heard about a few days ago.  An ex-Mairine, I forget his name, was going along just doing his own thing when he saw a group of three young guys bullying a fourteen year old boy in broad daylight.  Being the Good Samaritan that he was, he rushed over to the commotion to break it up and save the kid any more grief that was already caused him.  But that wasn't enough for these pricks, as they then turn their aggression on the Marine, to the point of driving him unconscious, breaking a bone in his face near his eye, in the process.  The Marine had to have stitches put in his head and his face was severely swollen as a result.  Thankfully, the Marine came away from the whole ordeal with no further injuries, and is expected to make a full recovery.  Even better, his attempts at saving the boy were not in vain, as he was spared as well.  This Marine has been deemed a hero in his town, and well-deserved, if you asked me.  And if you're wondering, the three young men responsible for this attack were arrested and they now face charges of aggravated assault, normally a misdemeanor.  Those charges were bumped up to felonies due to the severity of the Marine's injuries.  Now, you ask, where does this all lead?  Well lemme continue before I go into this tirade of mine...

For the past year, maybe more, the WWE has been on something called the "B.A. Star Campaign," to raise awareness of bullying in schools across the nation.  On paper, it's an excellent idea, and I wish something like this was being done while I was in school, or even members of my family as they went to school as well.  It's an anti-bullying movement, encouraging tolerance and respect among all students, and forgiveness and understanding of bullies as they change their ways.  I'm sorry, but that last part, to me, is a complete and total load of SHIT.  As some of my friends and most all of my family may know, I was bullied pretty much from Kindergarten all the way up to my High School graduation, to some degree, in some shape or form.  Here's just a few examples of the things I've had to deal with throughout those years...

 - Age 9, my left hip joint became horribly inflamed to the point where I could barely walk.  I refused to miss school that day, and as a result, my biggest bully in my Third Grade class noticed I was limping throughout the day, tripped me, and as I was down kicked me straight in the thigh.  As a result, I spent four days in the hospital.

 - Age 14, as I was walking to the bus to head home, someone poured barbecue sauce down the back of a leather jacket I was wearing.  A jacket that was given to me by my (now dead) grandfather.  I could have kept that jacket for years, and even now to this day, but because of that, I had to toss it.

 - Age 16, I came back from a class to my locker, only to find that the lock was cut, my locker broken into, all of my stuff strewn throughout the hallway, and my school books stolen.  I went to the principal at the school, but nothing was done about it.

 - Age 17, an old bully that I had when I was still in 8th grade came back to terrorize me some more, as he was still pissed off at me after three years for kicking his ass when he tried to bully me the first time.  It got to the point to where he threatened me by saying that he was going to get his friends together to beat me to the point of being put on life support, and then break into my hospital room to pull the plug.  This was the ONE time that something was actually done, as my principal and grandparents put their heads together and put a restraining order on the son of a bitch.

 - Here's my personal favorite..."You should kill yourself so everyone else can have better lives."  I heard that last one ALL THE TIME.

I was bullied for many things in my life.  For being scrawny.  For being a nice guy.  Because I didn't like sports.  Because I'm a wrestling fan.  Because I'm WHITE.  Because I wasn't country enough.  Because I never took drugs.  Because I read comic books.  Most people don't realize how debilitating bullying really is, not just in the past, but now as well.  I never felt safe going to school, and it really wasn't til my Senior year that it all pretty much just faded away.  As a result of all these incidents and more, my confidence level suffered, and it still does to this day.  Bullying crippled my self esteem, and I've only just recently started getting it back at the age of 33.  I've suffered years of depression as a result, and I'm happy to say I've beaten that too.  There wasn't a single day that I actually looked forward to going to school, and graduating in 1998, to that point, was the best day of my life.  I left my very own hometown of Caldwell, Ohio, when my heart KNEW that I should stay, just because I was afraid, sometimes, literally, for my life.  Now I know, that people change since years of going to school, and I understand that, but there are some that don't change no matter what.  And that would be every single person out there who has ever been a bully in their lives.

There are three types of people that I have absolutely no respect or tolerance for, and that's murderers, rapists, and bullies.  And what I'm about to say right now may be unpopular, may even be wrong in some cases, but I really don't care at this point.  If you are, or ever were a bully in your life, at any time, for any reason, you're a piece of shit.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  The things you do to others can drive people to some serious depths.  These things force others to live in fear, and there is no person that should ever live in fear for ANY reason, for ANY given amount of time.  Children, past, present, and future, deserve to be carefree, to actually BE kids, and not EVER have to ask themselves, "How many times am I going to get my ass kicked today?" or "How is my life going to be a living hell today?"  No reason, no one, EVER.  I didn't have that luxury.  My family growing up, they always did their best to protect me, but when school was in session, forget it.  There was nothing they could do Monday through Friday, for 6 to 7 hours a day.  Bullies, past and present, I have absolutely no respect for whatsoever, and nothing anyone in this world can convince me any different.  I know that some past bullies would confront their victims years later begging for their forgiveness, but if that ever happened to me, I would tell them, "You want forgiveness?  Pray to God, 'cuz you're not gonna get it with me."  And if something like that ever were to happen, I would more than likely give them the worst beating of their lives like I should have in the past.  The things I've endured in the past I have never been able to forgive, and I never will.  I'm not even going to try.  For the last thing those bullies, or any bully in the world deserves, is forgiveness.

 - Miller

Cruises, Batman, and the VMAs

And sooooo....

We are a little over two weeks since we got back from our cruise with Royal Caribbean.  To say that it was a resounding success would be somewhat of an understatement.  The wife and I had a blast, to say the least.  From the various shows they had in the ship's theater, to the several games we got to play with the ship's staff and other passengers, all the way to the Bahamas, even.  And the food.  Ohhhhh, the food!  Breakfast buffets, lunch buffets, a sitdown dinner that was, even I'll admit, a little too high class even for me, and then a midnight buffet?  I don't think I've eaten so much in my life.  It's pretty safe to say that I would highly recommend going on a cruise to ANYONE, and I know that I sure as hell would go again.  There were also pictures a-plenty.  Just a good time all around, and I think it was a perfect fitting to a honeymoon.  Hey, if the wife's happy, then I'm happy. 

So MTV just had their Video Music Awards this past Sunday.  And where was I?  At work.  And you know what I say to that?  I've read about Miley Cyrus's performance with Robin Thicke, and how horrendous it was.  Naturally I had to see it for myself.  BIG mistake, because that was, as I swear to all things holy, the absolute worst thing I have ever seen in my entire life.  Here's the thing:  Miley Cyrus, you have absolutely NO talent whatsoever, and you're not hot by any means of the imagination.  If anything, you look like a chipmunk with a bad haircut and Downs Syndrome.  Hannah Montana was a piece of shit show too, and the movie based on that show was one of the worst I've ever had the displeasure to sit through.  It is to the point where all the VMAs are, is a once-a-year happening in which MVT pretends to care about music.  It's not the MTV that I grew up with, where almost all they showed on their channel was music videos.  Sure there were shows like Remote Control, Just Say Julie, Singled Out, Beavis and Butthead, and one of my favorites, Pirate TV, but those were just minor occurrences.  But now?  It's just reality show after reality show after reality show.  I think that the absolute last time I truly watched MTV was 2001's VMAs, and after that atrocity of a show it's gotten worse and worse.  The very little music they DO show isn't true music.  It's like the "artists" of today have forgotten that true talent, artistry, and the ability to write a good song.  Even Fuse has gotten worse by the year, and for a short while, I would live and die by that channel.  This is why I stick to channels like Palladia and VH1 Classic.  And I'm always going to. 



Ben Affleck has just recently been cast as the new Batman in the Man of Steel sequel that's set to hit theaters in 2015, and a lot of people seem to be pretty angry about it.  They remember movies like Gigli and Daredevil.  Now granted, I've never seen Gigli, but it has been universally panned as one of the absolute worst movies ever made.  Besides, any movie with Jennifer Lopez has gotta suck right?  In my opinion, she hasn't come out with a good movie since Anaconda.  And for those who remember Selena, that came BEFORE Anaconda, if I remember right.  And then there's Daredevil, which a lot of people hated too.  I didn't.  I won't say that it's the greatest movie of all time or anything like that, but I will say that I very much enjoyed it.  AND I keep hearing that the Director's Cut was a much better movie than the one we all saw in theaters.  Here's my opinion on the whole thing....from what I hear, Ben Affleck has come a LONG way since those films, and even got to direct some damn fine movies as well.  Hell, remember when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman?  Or when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker?  Many people weren't happy about that either.  Until they saw the films for themselves,  and they were AWESOME!  So don't give up on Ben Affleck just yet.  Give it a chance, go to the theaters in 2015, and hope to be pleasantly surprise, like I was with Keaton and Ledger.

2nd Chance CD of the Week
Iron Maiden
Dance of Death (2003)

Tracklist
Wildest Dreams
Rainmaker
No More Lies
Montsegur
Dance of Death
Gates of Tomorrow 
New Frontier
Paschendale
Face in the Sand
Age of Innocence
Journeyman

   The comeback of the legendary British metal juggernaut was in full swing.  With the success of 2000's return-to-form album Brave New World, the (now) six piece band looked to continue the momentum with 2003's Dance of Death.  I say now a six piece because back in the 1990s, longtime guitarist Adrian Smith had left the band, and was replaced with Janick Gers.  With the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, Smith had also looked to return to the band as well.  But he didn't replace Gers, for they liked him so much that they decided to keep him in the band, making the dual guitar lineup a three guitar, along with co-band founder Dave Murray.  And to Janick Gers's credit, he wasn't just a guitarist for hire, as he had a hand in writing a couple songs on this album, such as "Gates of Tomorrow," as well as the album's title track and centerpiece, "Dance of Death."  The latter is a huge favorite of mine, and I often list it as one of those songs I wish I had written.  Listen for yourself....

With Dance of Death, Iron Maiden had begun making the move towards a more progressive metal approach.  I've always been a sucker for that sorta thing.  I feel that progressive rock and prog metal has been where the true talent is.  A lot of metal fans get labeled as Satan worshipers, idiots, and brutes.  Most think that the only kind of music that metal fans listen to is basically just a guy burping and growling into a mike talking about killing people.  This is absolutely, 100% not true, as I consider myself a metal fan.  Iron Maiden doesn't have a singer that burps into a mic, as a matter of fact, many of Bruce Dickinson's vocal performances are almost operatic.  They sing about the trials of war, finding oneself, battles between good and evil, Greek mythology, and Alexander the Great, for Christs' sake!  Dance of Death is an example of just about everything I just said, and then some.  From the kick in the face, road trip-esque opener "Wildest Dreams," onward to the album's final track, the acoustic "Journeyman," this album is a must-have, and one of the few CDs in my collection that I an listen to, from beginning to end, without skipping a track.  Give it a shot, why don't ya?

Thumbs up.
Miller

Family, boats, and vacations

And so, with another stretch of work in the books, in what felt like an eternity, even though it was only for the past month, I find myself back on vacation once more.  Only this time, it's step 2 of this whole wedding process as my wife and I set sail on our honeymoon cruise tomorrow.  In my first marriage, we never had a honeymoon, as a matter of fact, the day after, I was shipped off to Camp Lejune, North Carolina for a training mission, where I spent a couple weeks there.  So to have a proper one this time around, with the RIGHT person this time, feels pretty good.  We'll be hitting the Bahamas sometime during our cruise, and other places I can't quite recall right now.  My goal is to pretty much eat as much as possible in those four days.  And if anyone knows me well enough, they know that Scotty likes his eatin' lol. 

I've pretty much decided that March 28, 2014 will be my last day working at my grocery store.  My entire department, hell, my entire store and I have been through so much that enough is enough.  I've been busting my hump for the past 6 years, and it honestly feels that I have accomplished nothing.  Sure I've been given raise after raise left and right, when the truth is I should have been moved up through the ranks.  I feel in my heart that there are a lot of things that go on with my company that are just simply wrong, and I was consumed with the goal of being promoted through the years to the point that I can right those wrongs, and make things better, not only for my store, but for the company in general.  I've always been content to just say, "I'll just bust my ass, and let the hard work speak for itself."  And I've become the most improved, fastest, hardest working associate in my department.  But as a whole, it's gotten me nothing.  And there's one thing that I refuse to do no matter what, is play politics.  I'm not an asskisser, I don't play games.  I never have, and I am never going to.  So...in that case, my lease ends next May, I believe, and a month before I will quit my job.  To pack this place up, to move to wherever the hell it is we're moving to, and that will be it.

In my last blog, I touched upon meeting for the first time, a family I never really had before... 

...As a disclaimer, I will say that the family I grew up with, all facets of it, mean the world to me, and they always will. 

What I'm talking about is a set of siblings, as well as my biological father.  These people took me and my wife under their wing without so much as a hitch, and with wide open arms.  Of my siblings, I feel that I've been drawn the most to my sister, Stacy.  She was the first of the three that I got to speak to, and the first one that I had the chance to meet: last year, a couple of days after I proposed to Heather.  Her husband, and her three children, have really taken to us as well, much to the point of surprise, and believe me, kiddies, nothing really surprises me anymore.  They have all been extremely good to us, and she and her family have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome into the family.  And it falls into my direction, as well.  When we first started talking back in 2011, I pretty much took her in and accepted her as my sister as if nothing happened.  For me, it was immediate.  And I was instantly happy that I had.  I know that we are technically half siblings, but I don't see it that way.  I feel in my heart that once you're family, you're family for life, no matter what.  I've always had one major regret in my life, and it's that I never was able to gather up the courage to approach Stacy while we were both still in high school, 17 years ago.  If I had, we would have forged that long-fabled brother/sister bond long before we have now.  You know what they say though, the past is the past, and it's the new memories that we can make that matter to all of us the most. 

I think that's pretty much it this time around.  No reviews, just a couple videos, a little rambling.  Pretty straightforward this time around.  See ya after the cruise.

Miller