I Like Today... It Was Good...

i've had a very successful and enjoyable evening under the full moon.

This past weekend while cruising around on the Vespa with my special lady friend on the back the seat lock button went flying off (for reasons unknown to me) with spring loaded force. The plastic lock piece was then run over by a few SUV's, karma possibly for all the shit i give them. This resulted in some serious deformation of the square shaped button. Buying a new lock would mean a new key for the seat and the same old key for the glove box and ignition. i hate carrying keys so the thought of adding another one to the ring was motivation enough to put some work into a repair job.

This afternoon i dismantled the seat and seat lock and, with the help of a dremmel, i ground down the square peg to fit into it's square home. i locked the pieces back together and she's back in action (the Vespa that is, not my special lady friend). i now can access the gas tank so all's well in the world of the PX150. Just in time for a beautiful weekend.

On top of all that great Vespa news i also received in the mail today the vegan friendly gloves i ordered online. They should keep my mits warm and protected as fall comes knocking on our door.

Tonight also marked my return to the soccer field. It's been over a year since i played last and it felt great to get on the pitch (indoor that is) again. i got to play goal, which is my favorite position, and was oh so close to getting a shut-out with a score of 5 or 6 to 1. The one i let in was a 2 on nil situation so i can't feel all that bad about it. Man, i forgot how bad my goalie gloves smelt though. You can't wash that shit off, it lingers on your hands for days.

Today was important for my sense of balance. i need something physical to help balance the mental stresses of work. Fixing things, scooter rides, and soccer games are great physical outlets. Heartfelt compliments from my special lady friend don't hurt things either. Big Lebowski references are always fun as well.

Hardcore Punk... Before the Monk

i'm currently enjoying the book "American Hardcore: a tribal history". It takes me back to my teenage years and the music i still love today.

Being the age that i am, i was too young or not born during the initial punk movement. The 'punk' i grew up with was the second wave, the 'hardcore' era. In time i reverse engineered my way back to the roots of punk.

After listening for years to bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat (and later Fugazi) i was finally introduced to The Ramones. At first they sounded like Beach Boy punk compared to what i was listening to. Joey Ramone's easily enjoyed vocal sense of melody is what first hit me until i realized that he was singing about beating a brat with a baseball bat. They quickly won me over.

Later i was introduced to The Clash and found were the politics met the punk, an important root in the development of the hardcore i was most attracted to. So driven. So determined.

Hardcore and skateboarding are wild bedfellows. What attracts me to skateboarding is also what attracts me to hardcore punk. Being a skateboarder growing up in the 80's and early 90's it was almost impossible to not end up listening to hardcore. Simple acts like walking through the halls of school, walking home after school, or just walking anywhere for that matter, became a potential fight. To dress or behave different from the status quo during the Reagan/Bush Sr era opened you up to public ridicule and abuse that seemed supported (or at least blindly ignored) by adults.

Eventually, if you didn't want to give up your beliefs you had to get tough. The bright colors and fun styled dress of skateboarding quickly evolved into a functional and intimidating punk look for many of us as we struggled to defend ourselves against the small minded (but large bodied) jocks, rednecks, and/or whatever you have in your own town.

The music unified us. We realized that we weren't alone. There were many of us, just separated in small groups across the country. We wore our boots, carried rolls of quarters to hold in our fists in case a group surrounded us (and they only really picked on people who were alone at the time, they never said boo if a group of us were together) and shaved our heads with clippers plugged into random outlets at the local mall (mohawks just gave steroid using football players something to grab onto in a fight).

Anger, like all emotions, is felt for a reason. When you've got to hold your ground against a bunch o' tools much larger than yourself you need something to draw strength from. When kept in check anger can have it's benefits, as all emotions serve an important purpose at various times. The discipline of hardcore, the outlet of those shows, and the feeling of not being alone were valuable things at a crucial time that have helped me become the person i am today.

Hardcore punk combined the energy and attitude of punk with an internal strength, intimidating style, and a self-correcting sense that has kept it from ever becoming corrupted by popular culture. In this day and age where any jack-off can buy a CBGB t-shirt and say they're punk, it's nice to know that Fugazi never made merchandise.

Orange Tree

Sometimes things are the right thing at the right time. The 'Dude' for example was the right man for his time. Seinfeld: if that meaningless shit was ever produced at another time no one would have cared... actually i don't understand why anyone watched that at ANY time. It's the television equivalent of the "Barenaked Ladies". But i had a point going here.

This weekend i saw the movie "The Illusionist". It was the movie i needed this weekend. Ed Norton is one of those short list of actors that i'll go to a movie to see just because they are in it. With the exception of "The Italian Job" he has yet to lead me astray, but with movies like "American History X" and "Fight Club" we can easily forget one such movie.

This was a great movie about love finding a way to overcome (at the expense of an evil dictator none the less). With the news getting more and more depressing it was nice to be reminded what really matters and that small personal victories are possible. Ed Norton performed so well you forgot that he isn't actually the illusionist, but an actor. The leading lady was easily believable as someone worth risking it all for. For a period piece the costumes were well done without being over-done. You really forgot about them as they just seemed like what these people wore on a daily basis... not over the top as too many movies tend to do.

Once again, where would we be without our art. It's amazing how that which defines our humanity is always the first thing cut out of school budgets. Tucked away in that dark room, with the warm glow of the projector, i regained perspective. i can't help but wonder what kind of a country we'd have if we spent more time in art museums and less time watching the news.