Always at school.

Well, its live and learn I guess. Through out my many years, life has given me a bunch of lessons. Some things I learned the easy way, and some others I learned the hard way. Usually, the hard way makes the lesson last longer, and make up far more interesting stories. So much so, that I decided to make a short list of things I have had the fortune to learn walking the long way.

Thinks I learned the hard way:

-The sweeter the drink, the stronger the hang over.
-If you let them dry, blood stains will NEVER come off.
-Don’t fight a cop (even if you kick his ass).
-Be patient.
-Don’t expect anyone to support you.
-Never pour Scope into your drink. If so, seek medical help immediately.
-Fire. Careful with fire.
-Good ‘ol tequila is no friend of yours, no matter what nationalistic propaganda claims.
-Never assume you know what a girl wants.
-Actually, you don’t know shit about women. You can be married for 40 years, and still, you won’t know shit about women.
-Some turtles CAN bite.
-Yoghurt seems to turn poisonous after expiration date.
-Fibre. For the love of god, fibre.
-Raw meet is usually not a good idea.
-Some things smell foul and yet, taste awesome.
-Not all things, of course.
-A car with all doors and windows closed will float for about 5 minutes.
-Aim and THEN shoot.
-Try.
-Go easy on the super spicy stuff. All you eat, you will shit later.
-Flammable and inflammable both mean that it WILL burn. Go figure.
-Do not pierce the empty can.
-Some dogs bark and bite. And some bite without barking. Motherfuckers.
-User friendly my ass.
-When firemen run, run in the same direction.
-You are not Rambo, so shave with a razor.
-There are no perfect plans.
-Your mom can tell. ALWAYS.
-Ponies are evil.
-You can get high on cough syrup.
-Love can hurt. A lot.
-Books are not bullet proof.
-Spare tires have a purpose.
-Moist powder can ignite.
-So can moist magnesium.
-Gasoline is not a pest control tool. Nor an alternative to the land mower.
-Sunlight is your sworn enemy.

And what did you learned the hard way?
The list will (maybe) go on tomorrow. Or later. Who knows?

Also, I know I’m not updating this as often as I used too. But I wears them glasseses now! So now that I have the smart (or, the OMFGsmartsorz) looks I may be too smart for a blog. Ha, yeah right. No, really, there is more to come.

Cut the crap.

THE POST WAS REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR. HE FELT IT WAS A VERY STUPID, UNTRUE, DRUNK AND ANGRY PIECE OF SHIT. SO, HE TOOK IT OFF AND WROTE THIS INSTEAD. ALL CAPS, SO IT LOOKS LIKE A LEGITIMATE SELF-LOADED TEXT. YES, THE AUTHOR IS VERY SMART.

Bla bla bla.

Mainstream (rant)

I have long been fascinated with the concept of mainstream culture. It is quite interesting, if you give some thought. The mainstream is the concepts we all share, the things we all do. Or, at least, what the vast majority of people think. Now, focus than on popular culture. A lot has been written here about pop culture, and old time readers should remember. Anyway, in a board sense, pop culture is mainstream. Or the other way around, you can say that the mainstream is the set of general values, world views, aesthetics and conventions within the popular culture. But then we hit a road block.

What is exactly pop culture? Take pop music for example. Half a century ago, back in the dawn of Rock & Roll it was considered what we would now call alternative music, perhaps even experimental music. It was against the mainstream, it was the indie tunes of it’s day. Then it was marginally accepted, then fully embraced by mainstream media and the sight of Elvis shacking his butt was no longer scandalous. What once was indie, became profitable enough to be added to the pop culture. As long as something remains indie, just a small amount of people will know about it and it will be ‘unpolluted’ by commercial interests.

So Elvis was mainstream, right? But then in the 70s new music appeared, and Elvis-listening parents freaked out listening to –I don’t know- say Black Sabbath. Then it was also accepted marginally, then fully embraced. Or punk rock. Now most people wont tell the difference between pop and punk rock. And many bands live in that haze.

Basically things stop being indie once they have access to mass media. Then again, we hit a road block. Because now everybody has access to mass media. Of course, not everything you publish online will have a buzh-fuckin-illion readers, but you can say whatever you want, in a (still) relatively uncensored stage. So we are all indie. How come?

Well, since so many people are producing material (written, recorded, filmed and what not) it is becoming more and more difficult to tell what is popular and what is alternative. Even the most obscure band has a website with a forum with at least some rabid fans/detractors. Now, in a way internet (or as you 733t-shits say, the OMGWTFLOL internetsplz- and all those horrible memes) is still a second layer media. The (so far) unchallenged king of media is still the TV. And even there, digital television is giving a chance to small networks and even lonely channels a chance to access all that audience.

What is the greatest band of our times? Do we have a cultural lighthouse like The Beetles were to our parents? Is there still a mainstream or is it too fragmented to tell? Most importantly; why should we even care? I can live in a world of endless micro-cultures. I think we already do.