viva la hampshire!

i'm almost a month into my second year of college and i can't believe how much has changed and how much has stayed the same and how much more acclimated i am to this environment.  so so so much work.  so so so much pressure.  but, i think it's safe to say that it's only beginning.

also, i've been exploring a lot.  hence the nature photograph.

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there really are no words. 

rip 9/11/01

spark

i don't have a memory that krystal isn't in the background of. i don't remember a time without her. she was a part of our family for sixteen years of my life, and now she is gone.

the veterinarian put her to sleep at 5:20 p.m. on august 30. one moment she was looking right at me and thirty seconds later her head was rolling to the side and she was asleep. dead. asleep then dead. it took me a while to gather the energy to walk across the room and touch her. she felt exactly the same except she wasn't pushing back against my hand.

and that's when it clicked for me. the dog lying on the floor wasn't krystal. yes, it was her body and yes, a few minutes prior it had been a part of her, but it wasn't her. she had been released. i don't know to where and i don't know by what -- or, for that matter, if there even is a destination or an organizer -- but i know that she was gone from her body and no longer suffering.

i don't believe in much, but this has reinforced my belief in spirit. i watched her slip away and i know that a spark like she had couldn't have just fizzled out. rest in peace, krystal. you will be missed and loved always. <3

a basterd's work is never done

go see inglourious basterds. right now. it's amazing. leave it to quentin tarantino to completely fuck with historical accuracy and still create a film so convincingly authentic. you won't even remember what actually happened in ww2 once you step into tarantino's version. after all, who says hitler didn't attend movies virtually unprotected during the climax of the war? ww2 would've been crazy had it actually gone down like this.

"you probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' nazi business. and cousin, business is a-boomin'." -lt. aldo raine (played by brad pitt)

fart nuggets

i grew up listening to blink-182.  they were the first "angsty" music i listened to and, in some way, created a bridge from the "bubblegum pop" i had been spoon-fed to "pop punk" -- the first step towards all that is my current musical taste.  their hit list is staggering -- dammit, what's my age again, all the small things, adam's song, the rock show, first date, stay together for the kids, feeling this, and i miss you -- and each song on it can take me right back to age 14, 15, 16...

blink-182 was formed in 1992 by mark hoppus (vocals/bass), tom delonge (vocals/guitar), and scott raynor (drums), who was replaced by travis barker in 1998.  unfortunately, they split in 2005 when tom left the band.  for a while, all three members worked on other projects -- mark and travis formed +44 and tom fronted angels & airwaves -- but on february 8 of this year, they announced on their site, "to put it simply, we're back.  we mean, really back.  picking up where we left off and then some.  in the studio writing and recording a new album."

so they got back in the studio and took to the road.  and the welcome they have received is amazing -- blink has been missed.  and for good reason.  while all three members are amazing musicians in their own right, together, they form a group with universal appeal.  not only do they deal with real issues, they do it while telling fart jokes and saying "fuck" a lot.  and who doesn't like that?

needless to say as soon as tickets went on sale i bought mine.  it was amazinginfgidsnfoinhifo words can't describe.  even all the way in the back where i could just barely see the stage if i stood on my tip toes, the energy was insane.  at one point during the encore travis barker was lifted up on a round platform and spun around to a 90 degree angle to the stage... all while doing a drum solo.  unbelievable.  

they played all of their hits along with some of their older tunes, yet, amazingly, not one song lagged behind the others.  and, as per usual, there were fart jokes.  at one point, mark asked tom to say something "smart and witty," to which he replied, "...fart nuggets."  blink is back in full force.