Well damn, it's been quite awhile since I ventured towards this little corner of the web - hell, the last time I even considered writing in this I was broke, jobless, homeless, and had totally lost all interest in furthering my education. People have come and gone, many mistakes have been made, illnesses have scared the hell out of me, and now, I've come out on the other side.

Where does the time go?

Strange to think that now I'm making good money bartending, spending a good chunk of time doing designs for Shadowmind, and actually looking to buy my first home / loft relatively soon, and not too long ago had abandoned the hopes of actually doing something productive with my life. At least I still haven't sold out, still keeping true to...though I'm not part of their bullshit "scene"...a set of straightedge ideals (well, at least the no smoking, drinking, drugs thing).

I'm pretty sure this is the last time I'll ever write anything in here...I mean shit, there is really no point at all - not to mention I'm almost certain that few if any will ever actually come across this post. If anyone does happen upon this, I give you my best wishes and do have a wonderful life.

I shall bow my head and bid you all a fair adieu.

Peace,
Twitch

The amount of time I have spent at Atlanta's The Drunken Unicorn borders on obsession; fawning over whatever band (the genre of whom almost always includes the term "Post") with an almost childlike resilience. Always impressed but whatever headliner I have come to see and normally surprised by the openers of which I had previously been unaware of their existence (either that or been entertained by their hysterical reach for "indie cred" or whatever they try to do). Though throughout each endeavor, I have yet to see a perfect show; whether the mix was squelched due to an excessive amount of reverb, band cancellations, and the normal opening band catastrophe (though humorous as previously mentioned, it gets old rather quickly, the joke fades, and then boredom sets in). This seemingly meandering diatribe about what could be my favorite venue does have a point. The Sunday, March 19 show at The Drunken Unicorn was perhaps the first perfect show I have ever been too.

After a previous encounter with Shock Cinema (Big Business / The Blood Brothers) which was killed by an awful mix and out of tune vocals, I was not as enthused as I probably should have been for the openers (so much so that I ended up arriving a song or two into their set). Wrong in my expectations as usual, I quickly regretted my tardiness upon arrival. Immediately enticed by their beautiful front woman and further impressed by their very cool brand of post punk, Shock Cinema defied my expectations, blowing whatever sort of post-rock wankery I was expecting right out of the water. The Kubrick / Hitchock montage playing out on a screen behind the band worked surprising well, considering the fact that I've only seen it work for Red Sparowes and Neurosis.

Though this was my first experience with New York indie rockers Rahim, I was not expecting too much. Once again, previous experience has shown that at least band at every Drunken Unicorn show would be sub-par. Wrong once more (I'm starting to see a pattern in my assumptions), I was enamored by their startlingly unique brand of etherial post rock (think more Bound Stems than Explosions in the Sky). Rahim unleashed a solid half hour set punctuated with cameos by Thunderbirds are Now! playing air trumpet (no joke), wonderful vocal melodies, and simply cool synth lines, and definitely left me both impressed and a fan (actually their 'Jungles' E.P. snuck its way into my top 10 favorites of 2005).

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for, Thunderbirds are Now!. The band ascended to the stage and imediately broke out into their patented dance punk spasms. Definitely living up to my personal expectations (hey, at least I got one thing right), they lit up the stage with thier antics (wrapping thier keyboardist in toilet paper) and perfect mix (their sound guy was dead on). Sadly, the set ended up being cut short due to the destruction of their guitar amp (approximately 45 minutes into the set). Still, Thunderbirds are Now! stand as one of the best live acts I have ever seen.

On a lighter and much less emo note, a buddy of mine and I are about to open an online business called TheHonestStore.com (which is paid for, but the banner won't go away for some reason)which speciallizes in greeting cards. Just trust me, they are at least somewhat amusing. We have everything bought, we're just not done with the script for the page. Also check out the myspace for it. Hey, I personally don't have one, but it just seems like a good idea to have people check it out. Though I don't think any of the photos are up yet, but it will be worth the wait.

I really don't know why I ever write in this thing. Thankfully, my life has been rather boring: nothing depressing (no one has died in a bit over a year, a new record!) or overtly interesting. I've been doing nothing but listening to music, chilling with friends, helping with the renovations (which are moving along rather nicely), doing school work, and spending time with Haley. Life is good; boring, but good.

Went to see 'Hostel', if you feel the need to do so also, pass on it. Wait for it to come out on DVD. It was funny as hell though, unintentionally of course. Speaking of movies, never ever watch 'Blood Gnome'. Wow.

'Fight Club' sucked.

Despite my disdain towards modern video games (and video games in general), once in a while I will go back and enjoy certain games (well, basically just Final Fantasy VI and Vagrant Story). I guess that I am in one of those moods now. After coming across a copy of Valkyrie Profile, my interest has once more been piqued (though I assure you will die down within oncoming days). Now I am guarenteed that, when I am home, that my nights will go sleepless.

Thankfully most of my gifts have been purchased (nix one), and everything seems to be going well.

That and I've been busting my ass moving Haley into her new house (your welcome).

In my attempts to find any sort of scholarships I have failed thus far, causing me to second guess my previous decision to turn another down. Perhaps trading a more academic path for one of culinary pursuits actually was a mistake. Those thoughts are quickly removed though, leaving me to my continuing search. The bleak sounds of Godless North have shifted into the powerful riffs of Silent Force, thus starling me in my already trance like state. My continuous work on the house has somewhat taken a toll on my mental state, never ready to sleep or relax, in constant expectations of being called to duty. I have thought about what would have happened to my mother if I had not taken this year off to give her the aid she needed. I'm sure Jon would have done fine by himself, but I can't stop thinking that, even though I am here for the good of the family, I have somehow let them down due to my current state of non-academic.

Oh well.

I will be aquiring this somehow, someway. Best bonuses ever.