Dichotomy...

Where did November go? Tomorrow is the first day of December. I think I have a grand total of 4 memories from November. Visiting Emily in Atlanta for John's Eagle Scout Ceremony, being sick and missing work, getting my ear bitten by a ferret on Thanksgiving, and writing this post (Simpsons reference not included). Seriously, where did the month go? On the other hand, it's only 2.5 weeks until Emily's graduation! Less than 8 days of class remain, then final exams, then commencement! I'm excited. I'm sure Emily is too, but currently just too stressed out to realize it yet. =( The end is nigh, just hold on a little longer, then you'll be all smiles for 24 hours straight. =) Okay, back to work, maybe I'll make some more memories today.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's that time of year again: Help Gabe and Tycho make the holidays a little brighter for sick kids everywhere, donate time/money/gifts to Child's Play.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments

The problem with 4 day weekends is that they totally screw up my sleep schedule. I woke up early this morning but couldn't force myself out of bed, so I rolled in to the office at 9:30 instead of 8. *shrug* Not really a big deal, except that I'm still soooo sleepy and it's not even anywhere close to lunch time yet. Oh well.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Nightwish - It's what would happen if Verdi and Slayer had a kid who grew up around the ancient vikings.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

Oh how I wish I wasn't a prisoner in my own apartment... But I have been sitting at the computer for 5 minutes and have seen the same car on the street outside move from the absolute right of my vision to the absolute left during that time. This is a distance of perhaps 50 yards. This is the traffic leaving the mall. Oh how I loathe this time of year when it comes to mall traffic. It wil be nearly impossible for the next month to leave my apartment without cutting someone off or being a jerk or causing an accident. Whee!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Congratulations are very much in order for Mr. Jerry Holkins and his wife Brenna on the birth of their son Elliot a couple days ago.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

This Flash game is way more fun than it ought to be. Thanks to Tommy for the hookup. My score so far is 67324 after 17:25, but I haven't died yet. Also, from Tommy, in the zombie genre, check out Urban Dead. It was kind of frustrating at first, but now I'm totally hooked.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

SNOW!!! =) No, really, it's snowing!
It's sticking a little bit to trees and cars, but the ground is still too warm. Grass, a little, roads, not one bit, it seems to be melting as soon as it hits. But still, it's exciting! We had snow on Thanksgiving once before that I recall and we went sledding at the Catholic school near my grandmother's house and got absolutely drenched. Looking at the radar, this won't keep up very long so even if it starts sticking to the roads, it won't be enough to accumulate, which I suppose is good news for all the holiday travellers. I love the first snowfall of the season. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's so easy to lose track of time when no one else is in the office. Here it is almost 1:45, and I still haven't done anything about lunch. I think I'm just going to rummage in my desk for some leftover bags of kettle chips, reeses pieces, and a take 5 pack. Mmmm, healthy... At least this way I can bill more time today since I'm "working" while eating.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Baths are possibly the greatest invention of all time. I'm not sure who I owe credit to for them. Either the Romans or the Turks probably. Most likely the Turks, and then like all good empires, the Romans stole the idea from them. Either way, I feel like a million bucks right now, just in time for a good night's sleep.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Okay, time to go home. I need more drugs and I'm getting a headache. On the plus side, I caught a major bug in some display code today that our two pro Java-coders missed. Go me!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Apologies for the rampant football posting recently, but there's been a lot going on and it's getting to be an exciting time of the season when games are running out to make a statement and post-season positioning begins. I've already stated my desire to play O'Leary's UCF Knights in the the Liberty Bowl. However, should we beat UGAg this weekend (quite unlikely, but not out of the realm of possibility with our defense), I think we have a legitimate case for the Peach Bowl (unless FSU wins the ACC tournament). Unlikely an outcome though it all may be, we'd probably face South Carolina, which I think would be a good game. You know how I love beating up on SEC opponents. ;) Unfortunately for GT, we usually get the royal ACC screw job when it comes to bowl invitations. The Tangerine Bowl hates us for some reason, and we played there last year, so maybe Charlotte or one of the spots vacated by the sucky SEC, Pac-10, and Big XII who can't meet their commitments. I guess we'll just wait and see. Things should be much much more clear after this weekend when all that's left is conference championships.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Fresno State may have lost, barely, to USC, but they played damn hard. They made a few mistakes at the beginning of the second half, but even when USC crammed scores down their throats, they kept right on fighting and had a chance even down to the last 90 seconds. Oh well. Note to future USC opponents (UCLA, probably Texas): - watch tape from this game. It's the first game I've seen that someone really took it to USC and had a shot at winning without USC making a bundle of their own mistakes.
On the plus side, it will keep GT's win over Miami as the lead sports story from Saturday. Despite shooting ourselves in the foot a couple times and some absolutely attrocious punt return mistakes, we managed to win, of course because of our defense. I think it's a huge testament to Jon Tenuta that we stacked up against the number one defense in the country and managed to come out on top, holding Miami to something like 30 yards rushing.
It wasn't the best game we've ever played, but it's certainly one of our biggest wins in recent memory. I just wish we weren't such an inconsistent team. We lose bad to UVA one week, then go down to Miami and come out with a win. We get blown out by VT, give away a win to NC State, and yet manage to beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare. Go figure. One of these days, we'll beat FSU. Probably the week before or after we lose to a Div-II team. Now that's Georgia Tech for you. In any case, a good win, and it should improve our bowl situation.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

My previous post may be a bit premature as Fresno State is currently imploding and USC is taking advantage of every bit of it. We'll see how the rest of this game plays out, but I would just be so excited if Penn State could get to Pasadena, where the Big Te(leve)n champion belongs.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

With Miami's loss at the hands of the Yellow Jackets, and with USC n the ropes at home against Fresno State, things are looking rosier for the Nittany Lions. They're currently 4th in the BCS. Miami was 3, but will drop. Texas's remaining game and Big XII championship will likely push their computer rankings up (assuming they win). Penn State is currently ranked 3rd in the computer portion of the BCS and will definitely pass USC if the Trojans lose tonight. I find it difficult to believe that any other team could catch them. True, VT has a shot, but they need to beat UNC and FSU, which won't help them much with the computers. LSU would need to beat Arkansas and UGA which also won't give them much of a boost, but probably more than VT. Because of this, the votes would probably fall out evenly among those two, USC, and Penn State. Since USC would have lost near the end of the season, people will count it more against them, even though they lost to a hot team and LSU lost to a terrible not-even-bowl-elligible Tennesee team and VT got reamed by Miami. Whatever. In my (admitedly gross) estimations, a USC loss tonight means Penn State should be in the Rose Bowl. Here's hoping!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

I was going to stick this at the end of my post abotu PSU, but it really deserves it's own post. Joe Paterno - Coach of the Year? It's tempting, but really, I think you have to give credit where credit is due: George O'Leary at UCF. Last season - 0-11 and the only team in Div I-A with no wins. This year 8-3 overall and 7-1 in conference to clinch their division, probably the conference regular season title, entry into the CUSA championship game, and a likely appearance in the Liberty Bowl. OOO!!! With so many other conferences failing to provide enough bowl elligible teams and the ACC bursting at the seams with them, who wants to see a GT/UCF matchup in Memphis? Former GT headcoach vs. his former school. Remember all the hype of the Florida/South Carolina game now that Spurrier is coaching the Gamecocks? This may not be quite as big a deal, but it's pretty close. I'm drooling over simply the possibility!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

Also, happy big scary b-day to Jenn out in SF!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Congratulations Penn State! I'm not sure that anyone (including the man himself - though you can see the joy behind those coke-bottle glasses) is happier for Joe Paterno than I am. When everyone else had given up hope on Penn State and the greatest college football coach of all time, I always kept saying, no, he's not done, he's still great. Finally, vindication, as Penn State cliched the Big 10 title (shared with, grrr, Ohio State) and a BCS game tonight by beating Michigan State. My dream scenario? FSU wins the ACC championship and proceeds to the Orange Bowl. Because the Rose Bowl is hosting the National Championship, the Big 10 representative will be displaced. How awesome would a Bobby Bowden/Joe Paterno matchup in Coral Gables be? Win totals be damned; the coach who leaves that game with a victory (Joe Paterno) is the undisputed all-time-winningest coach. If my fall back career of being a college football coach ever comes to fruition, it will be because of JoePa's influence on my love of the game.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Things just go from bad to worse with GT athletics... You'd think we were Miami...
As if my outrage over Gailey's contract extension isn't enough, a federal court has said that Rueben Houston must be allowed to play football again after being kicked out of school for conspiring to sell 100lbs of marijuana on campus. The court holds that the school can't treat Houston any differently than any other student because he's a football player. No better no worse. I disagree. The minute you put on a GT uniform and play in front of thousands of peopel in Bobby Dodd Stadium on ESPN, you are different than an average student. You are in the spotlight, you are a role model, you are an ambassador of the university. You screw up and it hurts the whole university. I screw up, probably no one is going to hear about it. No one gave me a free education at one of the top schools in the country. You are different and deserve to be treated as such. I don't know how many students faces felony charges every year, but I think being kicked off the team and off campus is a perfectly reasonable disciplinary action by the university. Obviously, the courts disagree. I guess it's okay to sell pot now.
Then, GT's self-imposed probation for playing academically-inelligible athletes in football, track & field, and swimming turns out not to have been harsh enough for the NCAA. They've decided to restrict our scholarships and recruiting and put us on a two-year probation that doesn't include any playing or television restrictions. And want to know the kicker? We've been required to vacate our football team's performance in all games from 1998 through 2004. Huh. Wait, what? That means that, officially, there is going to be no record of us having even played football for 6 years. I've joked about our 41-17 loss at Duke a couple years ago not happening, but now, it actually didn't happen. Duke didn't actually tear down their goal posts. Joe Hamilton wasn't actually a Heisman finalist. We didn't actually get our asses handed to us by LSU in the Peach Bowl. This seems an unusually harsh penalty when you consider that it only involved 8 athletes in 4 different sports. Last I checked, none of our players killed anyone, gang raped anyone, spouted racial slurs, proclaimed themselves warriors, took recruits to strip clubs and bought them "favors". Marcus Vick is a local hero at VT, and he was kicked off the team for a year, and now he's starting. FSU has more legal problems than Michael Jackson and OJ Simpson combined. Colorado? 'nuff said. Either there is more going on here than we are being told, or the NCAA is trying to make an example of us.
You know, for as much as I love GT Athletics, they continue to dissapoint me, but I always come crawling back for more. I complain about our coaching and our mediocrity. But I do love being part of the ACC and a Div I-A school. We might not be the best team around, but I like to think that we're a clean program (especially compared to FSU and Miami). The NCAA and the federal court's rulings are completely contradictory and they cast shame on the entire school. I have never been more dissapointed to call myself a Ramblin' Wreck, and it's not anything I have any control over. Both decisions will be appealed, though I doubt much good will come of it.
GT isn't a school of quitters (if you disregard the "look to your left, look to you right, one of you won't be here in 4 years" speech at convocation...). We will continue playing our sports regardless of probation and sanctions. We will continue to collapse at inopportune times. We will continue to be a medicore team in a great conference. I will continue to root for my Yellow Jackets, but I will do so with a heavy heart, knowing that every team we play from now on will be looking down their noses at us and making claims that our wins against them won't count because we're cheaters.
I would like to make this point very clear: Georgia Tech is a hard school. We don't offer big dumb jock majors like "Professional Golf Management" or "Family and Consumer Sciences". Even our liberal arts programs are hard. If you, as an athlete, in an "easy" major, with mandatory study halls, tutors, and tons of help, can't pass your classes, you don't belong here. Regular students have a hard enough time passing their classes without all that extra help. If you love GT, and you find yourself academically-inelligible, stop playing until you are. Buckle down, get your ass in gear, and study. And if after all that, you still can't hack it, get out of my school. We are not a school of cheaters or a school or bending the rules. You are not better than me because you're an athlete. You don't deserve special treatment. You are a student first and foremost, and if you fail as a student, you don't belong here, regardless of what else you do. For you to continue cheapens my degree and that of all other Tech graduates.
I understand that this applies only to a very small minority of student-athletes. But even one cheater is one too many. I only hope that the insane NCAA sanctions and the absolutely retarded court ruling will have their desired impact without any further negative repercusions. My pride in my school has been damaged enough for one week thank you very much.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

At least according to WebMD, I probably don't have strep since I'm not running (much of) a fever (I'm at 98.8, which is high for me). And I do remember my neck being more sore when I used to get strep all the time in lower school. So maybe I just have some sort of a cold that hasn't manifested itself in my sinuses yet (curiously unusuual, but possible). I guess I'll see what tomorrow brings.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

It is now pitch black outside and quite a lot of wind. Fortunately for me, I was just looking at the radar, and it appears the bulk of the storm passed us by to the northwest and is continuing to track northeast now. I expect we'll still get some heavy rain and more wind, but I think we dodged the brunt of the storm. Minor victories are all I'm looking for today. Yes, I'm still at work and have been too busy to call the doctor. I feel okay other than my throat, and I can't tell if that's getting worse or not. I think I'm going to skip poker tonight though and take it easy at home. Some soup and tea perhaps. I have a mandatory all hands meeting for work in the morning, so if I feel crappy still when I get up tomorrow, I'll call and schedule an appointment before I leave for after that meeting. Whee...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm sick now... I managed to hold out all weekend, but as soon as I got back to Fairfax, I started feeling crummy, and now my throat feels like I swallowed a rusty ball of steel wool. Usually this is a sure sign of impending sinus infection. Goody. There's always my childhood ailment of strep throat to hope for as well. Bring on the penicillin! Maybe I should just go home and take a block of cheese out of the fridge and let it sit out for a couple days and see what kind of medicinal properties it acquires...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

********DISCLAIMER********FOOTBALL RANT********DISCLAIMER********
WHAT??? Why?? Son of a bitch. We're likely going to finish with 6 wins again and wind up in a mid-level bowl again where we may finish the year out with 7 wins total. We have only one quality win, and it's over Auburn. We didn't even play like a Div. I-A team in Blacksburg when VT trounced us. We blew a winnable game at home against an awful NC State team. We were our inconsistent selves against UVA last weekend. Miami is going to destroy us. I hate the thought of UGA coming into Bobby Dodd and crushing us at home again, but it seems rather inevitable. Despite being ranked 23 in the BCS last week, we're probably going to finish the season 0-3. When the bowls start sending out invites, how is that going to look? We'll be lucky to go to Charlotte. Clearly, reading Braine's comments, the problem goes higher up than Gailey. You heard it here first folkes, Dave Braine is mentally unstable and probably on drugs. I've normally stood behind his decisions, but yikes. I even like Gailey, but he's not producing. Had we beaten UVA last weekend, I'd let him slide as we'd at least have a shot at an 8 win season. GT can win 9 or 10 games? Really? Why don't we fucking do it then Dave? Because we don't have the talent we need? Coaching. Because GT is too hard academically to get good players? Didn't we win the National Title in 1990? Weren't we in the Gator Bowl and Peach Bowl my first two years at Tech? Wasn't Joe Hamilton a Heisman finalist? Is it because the players make dumb mistakes? Coaching. Because of dumb play calling that I can read from literally 600 miles away sitting on my sofa (3rd and long, we're going to run it. 3rd and short, time to pass - this is lunacy)? Coaching. I'm outraged that Dave Braine would offer Gailey a contract extension based on his performance thus far. We were ranked this year when we started 3-0 after beating Auburn, fine. Then we were out of the rankings until after we beat Wake to go to 6-2, which never would have happened had the hurricane not postponed the Miami game because then we'd have been 6-3 at that time. Gailey has not produced results. He's produced status quo. He's produced mediocrity. Oh. Well there it is. No wonder he got an extension... (Frankly, I'm surprised GT didn't ask for Coach Hewitt's resignation after playing for the National Championship two years ago...) Regardless of how we finish the season, even if we beat Miami and UGA and trounce our opponent in our bowl game, I don't feel that Gailey has currently earned an extension. If that all occurs, yes, we'd have beaten 3-4 quality opponents and finished with a 9 win season. Extensions all around. But right now? Hell no. I'm incensed.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Mmm, trail mix. Breakfast of champions.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

Those lost are never truly gone so long as they live on in our minds and hearts.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Adam and 5:30 am do not mix well. Kind of like water and Francium... I am so far beyond tired. I'm operating on fumes of adrenaline and that's all. Doing anything more strenuous than standing up or sitting down makes me really dizzy. I slept on the plane a little bit, but that's never restful sleep. I would love to jsut go hoem and take a nap for a coup[le hours, but I've only been at work for 30 minutes, and I have to make up this morning's time at some point. At least it's almost lunch time...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

I almost stepped on a chipmunk today. I was leaving my aparmtent to go to work and I stepped off the concrete and on to the grass and then this little brown rocket went flyign between my legs towards teh stone wall. It stopped just long enough at a drain spout for me to see it was a chipmunk before diving into the hole. I would have felt really bad crushing something as small and cute as a chipmunk. Emily and I watched one in Michigan for about 10 minutes trying to climb a grass-like weed with a berry or something at the top. Every time it would get close, the plant would fall over under the animal's weight and he'd fall off. Finallt he figured out that if he held on to it when he fell, he could reach the berry from the ground. It was pretty funny. Okay, back to working.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

I think I might be getting sick. Blech. =(

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

You know what record is really damn good? This Day Forward's The Transient Effects of Light on Water. The last I remember listening to it was driving home from work at Coke, so probably March or April 2003. I'm bummed it's been that long. When the record first came out, I was really into it. So much so that when I got an email from their frontman about their new album, I gushed and gushed about how great the band was. He seemed really humbled by the fact that anyone actually liked their music. He told me how much better their next album would be and I was super excited. Sadly, at least in my opinion, it wasn't, and I kinda stopped listening. But front to back, The Transient Effects of Light on Water is really well put together, a great listen, and a perfect companion for the disc it shares with Poison the Well's The Opposite of December.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

Have you ever been in an elevator minding your own business staring off into space when it stops on a floor that isn't yours? No, I didn't get off on the wrong floor. The guy waiting to get on the elevator seemed absolutely startled by the fact that someone was already on the elevator, or perhaps by the lifting technology itself. I dunno. It just struck me as odd that he would be surprised that someone else was already in the elevator that opened for him. Weird.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

I slept like crap last night. The wind was knocking the tree into my windows all night long. And if it wasn't that, it was stuff blowing over in my apartment or chinchillas tearing around their cage. I am soooo tired and I have so much to get done still before I leave for Atlanta tomorrow evening. Both at work and at home. *sigh*

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

When did it become 3:00?? I have way too much work to do for it to be 3 pm already... *sigh*

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Happy birthday to my brother! You were born on election day 22 years ago, and here it is election day all over again. Speaking of which, if you haven't already voted, go, now! And although I'm not going to endorse any one candidate over another here, I will say that you should maybe think about selecting a gubernatorial option who doesn't spend 95% of his campaign budget on smear ads of his primary opponent. *cough* Jerry Kilgore *cough cough* Tim Kaine *cough cough* Anyway, do some research - the internet is great for that sort of thing by the way - then go vote. Research first, make an informed decision, then vote. Not some other insane order. That's how people like Arnold get to be Governors and how conservative states get ludicrous laws passed, like Florida's "if you look at me funny I'll gun you down" law. Also, for as famous as Texas is for capital punishment, did you know that good ol' Virginia has had more executions that any other state/commonwealth? True, they've been around a lot longer, but still. More than Texas? Yikes...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

The writers for Arrested Development are absolute geniuses. That is all.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

It sure is depressing to leave work and have the moon already hanging high over your head...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

By popular demand:

You fit in with: Humanism Your ideals mostly resemble that of a Humanist. Although you do not have a lot of faith, you are devoted to making this world better, in the short time that you have to live. Humanists do not generally believe in an afterlife, and therefore, are committed to making the world a better place for themselves and future generations. 20% scientific. 80% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

!!!!!! There's an ÆonFlux movie coming out in December!!! With Charlize Theron and Johnny Lee Miller. Will it be as good as the cartoon? (Yes, MTV's put out a few things I don't hate.) Not a chance in hell. But I'm still quite excited. Giddy with excitement in fact. A few minutes ago I was practically squealing like a school girl when I saw the trailer.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yay for good news! The difference between now and this time yesterday is like night and day. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

In case I haven't said it before (I have), Dimmu Borgir is awesome. I now think that some of their songs sound more like the Batman score than Star Wars. But whatever it is, it's dark, and it's damned good.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

You're killin' me NSWC, you're killin' me. After today, I'm going to need a lot of ibuprofen and a cool dark room to take a nap in. Also, I might very well need my eyes checked. And as a result of today, Emily might get her wish and I might need to get glasses. I wish I had carrots waiting for me at home... Too bad I just went shopping on Monday. The last 24 hours really have not been as full of good news on all fronts as I would generally prefer.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

I could so go for a nap right about now...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

If there's anything better than a fresh bagel, I don't want to know about it. Especially when I didn't have to pay for it. Mmmmm....

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

Stretch's new album dropped about 6 weeks ago. It's gotten mixed reviews from some of my more trusted sources, but I found out the price just dropped to 9.99 at Best Buy, so I picked it up last night. It's a good record, but it's different. I dunno. Chris is still one of my favorite vocalists. There's just so much passion in his voice. But with a new lineup and on a new label, there's something different on this record. Maybe it's Ryan Greene's (over) influence. Maybe the band is growing up and writing differently. Maybe I was predisposed to not liking it based on the sticker that said it was "for fans of Story of the Year, NOFX, and Thursday", in that order. (Sidenote: NOFX, really? Why, because Ryan Greene did the mix down? I dare you to find a Strech song that is even remotely like a NOFX song. I agree with the Thursday part though, this record is somewhat stylistically similar to Full Collapse. And SOTY, I liked them better when they were Big Blue Monkey and no one else besides Kevin Wade had ever heard of them, but they're still a talented band, and a good fit for comparison. My only complaint is really that the record had a sticker at all.) Maybe it's a combination of a lot of things. Like I said, the album is good, it's gotten probably 20 spins by now. There's still lots of breakdowns. There's still energy, though admitedly toned-down like Engage's Black Clouds or Miles Apart. There are more vocal harmonies. The songwriting is still very creative and the flow is still fresh and unique. There's more singing and less screaming, but even the singing is still right on the raw edge of intensity. Here's the problem I think: I liked Revolution Transmission, I liked most of Engage, I have It Burns Clean on vinyl, though I didn't appreciate it at the time I first got it I now think Compassion Fills The Void is great, but Rituals of Life has become for me a sort of measuring stick by which every subsequent record (by any band) must be compared. The problem with this is that no record will ever measure up. Certainly better songs have come and gone, but Rituals Of Life is probably one of the most crucial albums in my collection. I found Stretch Arm Strong at a low point in my own life and Rituals Of Life turned everything around. It made it okay to be hurt, scared, and vulnerable; there was someone who understood, someone who didn't claim to have all the answers, but the simple advice to believe in myself and hold on to what I knew was right. It's why I could never write a review for it on punkrocks.net; it's too important for mere words. More so the emotional impact than anything else binds the record to my soul. No record will ever surpass its sentimental value. Free At Last is a good record, but it was doomed from the start for not being 1999, not having the opening to When Sorrow Falls, and not being eye to eye with the band at Under The Couch singing I'll Stop The World And Melt With You alongside My Friend Tim™.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Hooray for free Halloween cookies!! =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

This morning on the way to work I saw a 'burban with the license plate GODS MVP. Really? You? That's pretty conceited. I mean, unless maybe the Second Coming has occured and Christ has a thing for GM's gas guzzlers, but then, why not the big ol' Hummer? Even the pope-mobile doesn't say GODS MVP on it... I'm sure if you asked this person, they would say that we're all God's MVPs and that He loves us all equally. Well then what exactly makes anyone the MVP if we're all equal? By definition, "most" indicates more than anyone else. The mere fact that would would then claim to be the most valuable person to God is a clear indication that you have no understanding whatsoever of the most basic tenets of Christianity or Judaism.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments