So I just don't blog here as much as I should/could/want to. I'm rather busy. Work, friends, soccer (my body aches), and church all take up a substantial portion of life. The other portion is dedicated to a game called Gears of War.

Anyways...I just returned from Cornerstone, a huge Christian music festival, with hundreds of bands. Basically a week long Warped without the drugs and foul language. Main stage at C-stone was brilliant, got to see my favorite, Anberlin, as well as some other greats (Skillet and Family Force 5 were nice).

I've noticed alot of complaining about Gamespot lately. Really? I mean, come on, I was just as upset about Jeff as the next guy, but people still bring it up on ocassion. Seriously...I know Gamespot isn't the most amazing site on the planet (www.anberlin.com might be), but they're trying. Honestly, give em a break. I can't imagine how hard it must be for them to review all these games, post all these news updates, go to all these gaming conventions (ah, E3, we shall never meet...*sigh*), and still manage to have lives. So I appreciate Gamespot's work, and I sincerely hope I'm not the only one.

I'm excited for quite a few things in life right now. Soccer, for one, which I love. My new school, Bloomington High School South, which will be nice, because I was stuck in a private Christian school the past two and a half years, which was not exactly the greatest (don't get me wrong, I love Jesus, it's just...my school was a little uptight). I'm also excited for Gears of War 2, Diablo 3, Warcraft 4 (it hasn't been announced, but let's be honest...it'll happen), The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace, and New Surrender, which is Anberlin's new album.

I shall be posting another blog soon hopefully. Until then, p-sowt.

-john

Happy belated easter everyone! Yeah for Jesus! And candy. But mainly Jesus.

So yesterday, I attended my church's Easter service, and it was one of my personal favorites. My pastor's words just rang true in my ears. I suppose you guys don't really care about what my pastor said, so I'll spare you today a preaching.

And finally, if your kids got too much candy, please, take it. I swear, the most annoying thing on this planet, apart from Nickelback's music, is little kids who've had too much sugar.

That's all. Peace, and again, Happy Easter!

-john

Here they are, my picks of 2007. You may not agree with me, but fortunately, you don't have to.

10. "Five Score and Seven Years Ago"-Relient K. This band sets a high bar for pop/punk music, and avoids all the tired cliches. And the epic 10 minute closer track will leave you speechless.

9. "It Won't Be Soon Before Long"-Maroon 5. Maroon 5finally returns, and it's obvious that the wait was well worth it. Cathcy beats, perfect synths, and of course, Adam Levine's perfect-for-pop voice make this an excellent choice.

8. "Neon Bible"-Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire's sophomore effort is one for the record books. By combining thought provking lyrics, a tenor whose voice is just made for show, and an astounding combination of bass, drums, and guitar, you need this CD.

7. "Icky Thump"-White Stripes. Jack's excellent guitar skills combined with his wife's drumming makes for another of the year's best. And it sure doesn't hurt that the songs all have a catchy, pop/rock feel to them-and yet the duo manage to make it sound unique.

6. "Favourite Worst Nightmare"-The Arctic Monkeys.Alex Turner'svoice is great. And the guitarsplay off each otheroh so well. But the best part of thisband is the percussionist. Wow, in a word.

5. "Graduation"-Kanye West. Love or hate him, there's no denying his brilliance as a producer. Every single he lays his fingers on is amazing. "Stronger" is one of the best rap songs of the year.

4. "Remedy"-David Crowder Band. After 2005's "A Collision" (which won them MSN artist of the year), I couldn't help but wonder if Crowder and Co. could have another slam dunk. I never should of doubted. Crowder's lyrics are sung with passion, and "Glory of it All" is probably the most astounding worship song of the year. Great guitars, experimental synths, and made-for-worship songs make this another must have.

3. "Oh! Gravity"-Switchfoot. Technically, it was released on the 26 of December, 2006. But I counted it here. Switchfoot has always been one of the best alternative rock bands around, and their newest release shows that they have no sign of slowing down. Soaring anthems, brilliant lyrics, and Chad Butler's great drum work all add up to make what could be Switchfoot's best CD yet.

2. "Riot!"-Parmore. Yeah, I like Paramore. And I have good reasons. By taking the best of bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and The Rocket Summer, Paramore has crafted an excellent album for many reaons. Hayley Willaim's has a very strong voice, and the guitarists are nothing short of great. And the drummer plays double bass on a few songs, which makes me happy. But it's the way all of this meshes together that makes this such a great album.

And now...the big one.

1. "Cities"-Anberlin. Anberlin's previous two releases were good. But Cities takes this band from good to beyond great. SoStephen christian's voice is one of the best I've heard in a long while, and can bring chills to your spine (in a good way). Nathan's drumming has also improved, and he might be one of the best alternative drummers out there. The guitar section is almost too good-the two guitarists play off each other, and the bassist plucks those bass strings like a bow. Every song is catchy in it's own way, and the amazing "Unwinding Cable Car" is emo stripped down-and it's GOOD. Tracks like "A Whisper and a Clamour" and"Hello Alone" glimmer, but thebest of the bunch might bethe beautiful, soaring "Dismantle. Repair". The song has great contrast-the band effortlessly changes from soft to loud. And "Inevitable" can't be described with words, but I can honestly say it's beautiful. All in all, you owe it to yourself to buy this CD.

Thanks for reading. I understand if you don't agree, but please don't flame.

Hey, guys, not much time to talk. Tomorrow or Wednesday, I will be posting my Top 10 Album list of 2007, along with why I bleiev the albums belong there.

Also, please check out an organization called To Write Love On Her Arms. Here's the website..www.twloha.com. They're such an amazing organization...and no, they're not televangelists, and they aren't trying to get money from you. They want to help. I cn't really say anything else. Just do it.

I'm out. Oh, and I finished finals today. So that's nice. Peace.

John

Love is the movement.

So it's 2008, and it doesn't feel any different. Thought I'd say that. Sure, it's a new year. But people will still fight, wars will still be fought, and the cake will still be a lie.

Also, I'm sixteen. Again, I dno't feel any different. Maybe slightly more mature, though...and I will say it seems life is going too fast. God knows I wish I could stop it all.

Finally, my Christmas was great, thanks for asking. I love Christmas...even though, sadly, I had to work on Christmas day (movie theatre stops for no one, people).

One more thing-do yourself a favor, and go buy the CD "Cities" by Anberlin. If you have it, good job. If you don't....wh are you still reading? I thought I said go buy it!

Love is the movement

-john

Also, I made a New Year's resolution. New blog every week, at the very least. Be happy.

Seeing as I'm sick today, I decided to stay home. Fever does that to a person.

Anyways, I get on GS this morning, only to hear that Jeff Gerstman has been fired. Three letters came to my mind. W. T. and F. Seriously. I mean, Jeff Gerstman is a great guy, and he's sort of the "face of the site". I just don't understand how someone like him could be fired, and from what I hear, from pressure from Eidos. Corruption? I believe so. I just can't believe this happened. Honestly. I don't know what else to say, except that CNET better realize their mistake, or else there going to have a LOT of people very pissed.

In other news, I'm getting a 360 Friday, and Live, and the Orange Box. Boom.

Also, Level 25 is quite nice.

Finally, life is going pretty well...so thanks for reading, and have a nice day and such.

-john

So now I'm level 24. I want some sort of reward, or cookie, or something. Also, my g/f broke up with me a few weeks back, and I finally found out why. Apparently, I creeped her out when I wrote a song for her. Wow. Not even gonna comment. *rolls eyes*. Ok, I will comment. That's just stupid. Ok, done now, peace.

I know a guy who plays World of Warcraft every spare second he has. This guy literally has no life. He lives in his own world (of Warcraft), and he's really like a zombie. Which I guess is cool, if you like that thing. But here's the issue-he doesn't even like WoW. He does it because he thinks that somehow or another, he'll be a better person by crushing every paladin that comes along (he's got a level 70 Tauren, I think...or something like that). I just can't get this...I mean, what's the point of gaming if you don't have fun. What's point of racking up those Achievment Points if you can't show em off to your friends(also, Jeff, you rock my sock for doing the whole achievment thing. Talk about dedication) Why play games if you don't have anyone to play them with?

I play Guild Wars. Alot. It's the only game I play regularly (though more recently Half Life 2 Deathmatch has been pulling me away from my social life as well as Guild Wars). However, I never play alone. Always with a friend or guild mate (and I have some friends in my guild). My best friend has a Wii, and we play it alot. He can kick my butt in Wii tennis (I swear, he cheats), but I have fungetting my butt whooped. I'm not that great of a gamer. Honestly. I'm good at very few games. Most games I play I suck at. But I don't really care.

I occasionally play Counter Stirke. When I do play, I am attacked for pretty much everything. Buying the wrong gun, accidently teamkilling (and no one likes a tker, but I do it VERY rarely...usually I kill myself on accident)...everything. Let's be honest-unless you're, like, Jesus or Chuck Norris, you've messed up in life. And even Chuck Norris messes up. If we mess up in life, I'd assume we might mess up in games too. No one's perfect, but for some reason, gamers (not all, but some to be sure) seem to think that if you can't play a game perfectly, you can't play. And that's the biggest load of bull ever.

Let's say you ARE one of these flamers. And you like eating noobs for breakfast. A noble pursuit, you would say. Just remember, you were a noob once. You were a level one nublet. And others crushed you. And you hated them for it, because every time you tried to off them, they'd laugh and crush you (in game-in real life, I DO NOT condone offing others). Gaming these days is pretty much an a-hole party. Honestly, I can rarely play most games without some sort of flaming. We're not going to draw in any support for our industry by pissing everyone else off. If we could justput aside our differences, then maybewe could make the gaming world a better place for everyone, and not just the level 1,000,000,000Crushers of Doom.

For my final point, I will say this-gamers can have lives and still be gamers. I have a life outside of the world of games. And though I may suck at most games, I actually kick a fair amount of butt in Guild Wars. So it's possible to be a gamer and have a life. There's a pretty amazing world out there, and people who devote every second of their lives to rotting in front of their PCs, and TVs are missing out.

And that's my view on the subject. Peace.

Well, I know the new iPhone is coming out, and I'm not going to buy one. Apple's getting old. They keep on putting out new versions of everything. First the iPod, then the iPod Nano, then the iPod Mini, then the iPod Shuffle, then the iPod Video, and now, the iPhone. I have nothing against people who buy it, but I believe Apple is trying to make people feel discontent with what they have, ad so instead of spending money on more important things, people go and buy the newest Apple product (and this doesn't only apply to Apple, other companies do it as well). Now, if you don't own any of the iPod series, this isn't really directed at you. But if you own every iPod type, think about where all that money could have gone. Hmmmm...starving kids in Africa.....the Boys and Girls club....the fight against AIDS....we're spedning our money on things unimportant. Yes, we do need money to survive. No, there's nothing wrong with having material things. But wasting money and being content should be two different things, though in our culture they aren't. I'm not saying it's wrong to want something, nor is it wrong to get something. But rememer-you're not any better than anyone else just because you have an Apple whatever, or any other gadget, gizmo, playtoy, or anything else. We're all equal, and we should all be content with what we have. There are people who would give anything to have what we have. Did you know that only 9% of the world's population owns cars? Think about all the people who own cars...and that's only 9% of the world's population. We're so blessed, and we should be grateful.

 

Also, on a less serious note, I'm working at the movie theatre now, which means free movies for me and anyone I care to invite (read: me, my girlfriend, some friends, and, on occasion, my family). Still have to pay for popcorn though, which I usually don't do, because it's so damn expensive. Ok, that's my rant for the day, peace.

-John

Well, I broke down and watched the MTV movie awards, and I was not shocked with all the results. The more important thing from those awards is this-Will Ferrell and Borat made out! Now, I'm not homophobic, but that was sick (and I found no humour in it). I lookat that and can't help but wonder what this world is coming too. When two dudes kissing wins the best kiss, then somethings wrong. Now, I believe love is between one man and one woman.I know many people disagree with me (though they're actually disagreeing with God, because I just stated what Biblical love is), and I just hate to see America's downfall. You and I both know America's going down, and its taken a turn for the worse. This may make some of you mad that I'm saying this, but I feel that someone needed to say it.