The Return...

I will be coming back soon.

Cry Me A River

Something I can't stand is people that complain about life and the things in it. If you're going to complain about something, then make it legit, useful, and constructive. Don't just bring something up about your life and say, "Hey this sucks." Or bring up a subject you don't like and bash it while knowing little or nothing about it. I hear people all the time complain about the war, music, school, and church. Now not everyone complains about these things but these are what get me the most riled up. Music and church are the ones that hit me the hardest because they are so close to me. If you're going to complain about something, at least know what you're complaining about. Don't give one reason why you hate it or don't like it and that one reason is your own biased opinion. If you can't take the time to know what you’re bashing then you don't deserve a mouth to talk out of. If I am arguing/debating about something, I know what I am debating for and against. To bash your enemy, you must know your enemy.

Fight Songs

I don't know about you guys but banging my head is a cool thing to do. It goes along with the way I live: Long hair, heavy metal music. It can be a stress relief as well. These songs inspire me to hit someone extra harder on the football field or basketball court (yes I hit people during a basketball game). Here they are...



A Monument Encased In Ash-The Showdown

From the album "A Chorus Of Obliteration" I chose the first song off of the album. "A Monument Encased Ash" is a freakin sweet tune. The opening snare and bass kick gets me ready for the whole song. Then you have the intro for about a minute and a half. The song also has the three different vocal styles. You have a low, guttural growl, a kind of high pitched scream, and a singing voice. When I saw these guys in concert they said they wanted everyone to bang their heads till they turn green. You better believe I did. Every time I jam on my air-guitar, I end up losin some sanity and quite a few brain cells



Meaning In Tragedy-As I Lay Dying:

From the album, "Shadows Are Security" I have also chosen the first song off of this album as well. The song is named "Meaning In Tragedy". This Song is not for the faint of heart. The first time I heard this, I thought I was going to kill my teacher Mrs. Pero. I had uploaded the cd onto her computer. I told her I would take it off as soon as I had it on my Ipod. I didn't tell her I would give the class a little sample. Mrs. Pero was the closest to the computer, her first reaction was to put her hands to her ears and yell at me to turn it off. Luckily, she loved me so I didn't get in trouble. My classmates didn't seem to like it either. I've loved this song since I bought their cd.



I Will Be Heard-Hatebreed

I first head this song when I was a wee lad. I didn't quite know what this song meant nor did I typically like this type of music. I bought the song on itunes and couldn't stop listening to it. The song has a very nice bass sound to it. The screaming vocals of Jamie Jasta add to the heaviness. The song is short but it is effective when it comes to getting you good and angry for a fight. If you don't knock someone's teeth out after listening to this song you have problems.



The Enemy-Godsmack

When I first heard this song, I wanted to hit someone. My mom is lucky she makes my food or else she was toast. I immediately bought this song. I listened to it before a basketball game once and I absolutely creamed a kid. Luckily, The ref didn't see it or I might have been thrown out of the game. The bass in this song is also very good. Not many bands make it a point to make the base that audible but in this song the guitar doesn’t cover it up that much. The song is base driven and I love it.



This song is fast and heavy, Heavy enough to crush your mother and fast enough to travel time. The violent breakdown near the end adds the fight theme to it. I let my mom listen to his and she was disgusted. She told me I shouldn't listen to such garbage. I said ok...but listened to it anyway. I was on my way to a football game and was listening to this song on the bus. The dude that left with a broken ankle is probably scared of this song now.

This has been the list of my fight songs. I will probably post more later so keep all your teeth and don't break anyone's bones until I’m done.

Proud of My Students!

Well, I just have to post a blog about the wonderous students at ECHS. I am so proud of all of them. Brandon is a great example of the kind of big-hearted students I was priviledged to teach. I will forever be proud to say that I taught this remarkably talented bunch of kids! Bravo, Brandon!

Dreams

My report on the book about william powell called,"Clearview: America's Golf Course"

Brandon Slater
Mod 1
5/29/07
Bleak Dreams of a Black
Dreams can be as big as you make them. William Powell lived his dream and this inspires me to do the same. We don’t just get inspiration on demand. It comes to us when we witness something immaculate. Something that is so breath-taking that you never forget. It’s something that that sticks with you for the rest of your natural born life.
When you hear of someone being inspired, what do you think they are talking about? Being inspired by athletes, parents, or even teachers. Inspiration comes from seeing something you find amazing; a big NBA basketball player scoring forty points a game, a teacher retiring after forty years, or a cancer patient living through a brain tumor and still have full use of everything in his body. You can’t tell yourself to be inspired. You have to witness the amazing, observe the awesome, and peep impossible. To be truly inspired you must dream. Dreamers envision themselves doing what they truly want in those dreams. Dreams don’t just happen. Many dreams are crazy but all of your dreams can tell you something.
I am inspired by many things: God, music, athletes. This man’s inspiration came from a game he loved: the game that he was denied playing so many times because of his color, but did this stop him. You better believe it didn’t. Being tossed out of golf clubs did not burden William Powell. He did not let anything stand in his way from playing his game. He loved golf so much that he hiked twenty-one miles to play in a tournament that he didn’t even win. He came close to winning but he still did not win. I cannot even ponder how he felt on the twenty-one mile hike home. I could never hike twenty-one miles to play my favorite game. The sacrifice this man made for the game made him what he is today.
This book inspires me to keep on keepin’ on. The man this book is based on went through too many struggles to be where he is now. I will never struggle as much as he has. It makes me think of the petty struggles I go through. William went through war, racism, and designing and maintaining a golf course. I go through two-a-days. If I even attempted to do what he has, it would be like a llama eating a giraffe. His accomplishments out weigh mine a million to one. His life has been abundant with awards, achievement, and accomplishments.
Being a black man in William Powell’s day meant being stronger than any white man. What the white kids did, William had to do twice as better. This was told to him by his school principal. He did just that. He accomplished a feat that no black man had done before, he beat white guys at “their” game, and he has ran a golf course for, almost, the last sixty years.
William Powell was an outcast but he was never counted out and you can believe that. This man of color could and would do anything for his family, friends, and the game he still holds so dear. He rose through the ashes to give him the name he has today. In a word this man is…Amazing.

Coaches

Something that has been a problem to me of late has been the coaches that I have for the sports I play. Our basketball coach is being a really jerk as of late. It seems that since he has obtained the job for head basketball coach, his head has swelled into a big fat balloon. I don't like him very much anyway. It seems as if my hair prevents me from playing good basketball. His rule for hair is that it has to be above the eyebrows and above the collar. This angers me. Last year, the rule was that the hair had to be above the collar. I had gotten away with putting it in a ponytail. Now, Spurgeon has to be a Nazi and put the “above the eyebrow” rule in. His excuse for this is because it makes the team look bad. My argument with that is how about when Kellan Arick blows up on a referee when he doesn't get his way with a call. Or how about when Donny Crawford elbows someone in the face on purpose. What does that show? I guess my hard work and effort is cancelled out because of my preference for long hair. It seems as if that I can't play as well as the stars of the team because of my hair length. That’s awkward because it seems to me that I was one of the leading scorers and I probably had the best free throw percentage. I had to be a good player for the fact that I started just about every game. So, my question to coach Spurgeon is why he would incorporate this rule. If I can play just as hard as the “stars” then what is the problem. Well, I’m done for now.

Okay, onto happier posts...

So, I had a graduation party on Sunday. Brandon was one of the illustrious attendees, and I was thrilled to celebrate with everyone. It had me thinking about God and his celebration of the accomplishments of his children.

We celebrate our victories, but he celebrates the victories we do not. He celebrates when we make a good choice. He celebrates when we tell others of his blessings. He celebrates when we conquer, through His strength, a sin that has plagued us.

God, our Heavenly Father, celebrates his children and their lives. We are not perfect, but we are his, and he celebrates us!

When Did Free Speech Become An Annoying Thing

I seem to have a critic to my blog. This angers me a tiny bit. I have zero tolerance for people critisizing my work. Especially when it's someone who doesn't have the guts to tell me who they are. This person who I only know as "Semisweet" has had something smart to say on everything i have written in this blog so far. If you don't like it then leave. If you don't leave then have the cahoneys to tell me who you are. Don't beat around the bush and then not tell me. I realize you are a girl but step up and be man and not a little pansy for once in your sheltered little life. If you have a problem with every little mistake I make on an ONLINE journal then you must have no life at all or your life is so boring you have to poke at everyone else's to make you feel better. You said you cry alot so my guess is that you're part emo and thats really stupid. If you can't handle the heat I bring or if you just don't like it then go away never talk to me again and we will have no problems. But, If you do have a problem...SUCK IT

Florida Follies

Well it seems as if the trip went as fast as I thought it would. I wish it would have been longer or slower. I enjoyed every minute I spent down here though. The first day we went to Islands of Adventure. It was totally awesome. The rides were really fun and the lines weren't that long. The best ride had to be the Spiderman. It was a 3-d ride where you were being saved by Spiderman. It was really cool. I can't help but sound like a 12 year old when I write this but y'all can deal. Well, most of you. But anyway, the second day we went to universal studios. It wasn't as great as I thought it would be. The actors seemed very amateur and not convincing. The best ride though was the Mummy. The pyro was incredible. There was fire on the ceiling and 3-D spiders that freaked everyone out. The picture was also worth a thousand words. Me and Matt's expression was priceless. The next day we went to downtown Disney which was also a disappointment. The Virgin Record store was not what I was expecting. It was very unorganized and everything was grouped together. I saw a megadeth and Moby album in the same rack. I was supposed to buy about 5 cd's but on purchased one and that was a Prong CD, Which is quite good. Well that's about it. The bus ride was a bus ride. thirty some people one bus for nearly 24 hours, what would u expect. So yeah it was a good trip over all and I shall write more in a few

Introducing the newest contributor to your local blog...

Hey there! Today is my first contribution to this fine blog. I wanted to start of with a bang--you know--something controversial, yet not trivial, something exciting, but not irrelevant, something important, but not boring, so I bring to you a post about study halls. Yes, study halls. As a student teacher, I have come to the belief that study halls are a waste of time (yours and mine). Students neither study, nor hall.

As a Christian teacher, I find myself using study halls as a time to get to know my students and let them know I care about their concerns. My students use the study hall to talk, yell, bicker, laugh, throw things, annoy each other, annoy me, and create general chaos.

Have mercy on your study hall teachers! Bring something to study--perhaps your Bible? We might not be allowed to read in front of you, but we would find encouragement watching you read in front of us!

That is all--now leave me! :)

Satanic Music Is The Worst

Something I'm trying to dabble into is more secular metal music. I have received some music from jay and it is good. Something I can't stand is satanic metal. It is terrible. Every song sounds the same and they have nothing better to sing about than killing Jesus or Heaven burning. I was flipping through itunes and found a band called Deicide. They are one of the worst bands I have heard. They have no talent. They may be able to growl and scream till their throats bleed but they suck royally. They can't come up with a song about something other than death to Christians or bashing the bible. It's like they can't or they are too stupid to know anything else. I'd like to see them make a Christmas album. Yeah that would be funny wouldn't it? They are also some of the most fake people ever. They act all tough on stage but in with out their masks and make up they are a bunch of pansies. They talk about Christians being fake when they are just as fake as some of them. I would like to meet one of these bands to see if I could outsmart one of these bad boys of metal. Now, I know a lot of these guys burn churches and all this stuff but I could care-less. A lot of these guys could be tossed through a window and break every bone in their body falling into a big air mattress. They are really wimpy and small. The only thing good I can say about them is that metal wouldn’t be where it was without them. Well there ya go. If you don't like it...SUCK IT

What I Believe Part 1

I believe that their is a God that has created us and cares for us like his own children. I believe he created us in a way that we were meant for something. Whether it is to cure cancer or to make people smile. He created us to preach his word to the lost. I'm not saying that Christians are perfect little angels who don't do anything wrong. It says in the bible we follow that nobody is perfect. I also believe that people have their right to choose. I may not agree with what it is but I guess it’s your choice. By this I mean, I think that it's stupid that guys wear girl pants, I think homosexual people have the choice to be gay and as my religion says and what I believe in, homosexuality is a sin. Not that it’s any worse than murder or lying but its gross and wrong. I have a problem with homosexuality not homosexuals. I also believe that if you have sex before you’re married and get pregnant, that you have full responsibility of that child. You were the careless one that either had unprotected sex or was too eager to wait to have sex. That kid is yours. As soon as the baby is conceived it has DNA. It’s already alive. Abortion is homicide. It is killing a baby which is murder. If you’re too much of a coward to accept what u have done, then you are a loser. Something else I believe is that Christian culture is very much different than what it was a long time ago. I can wear black and listen to heavy metal music and still be a Christian. I can wear what I want to church and still be a Christian. Appearance is not what matters. It’s what in your heart not on your body. I also believe that people who judge the music I listen to (Christian Heavy Metal) are ignorant of this music. They take no time to listen to it or even make an effort to listen to it. You people that listen to 30 seconds of a song and say it’s stupid or gay are very ignorant and shallow. Well I shall have more at a later date good bye for now

Problems In The World Of Worlds

Have you ever had those people that come up to you and tell you how to live or bash the way you are? I get that all the time. People will say things like,"Hey you're a Christian you shouldn't listen to metal music. You should be listening to Point Of Grace and Bill Gaither." Now Billy G. is a great artist but he doesn't tingle my taste-buds when it comes to musical style. I like the heavy, loud, bang your skull on desk, kind of music. I like most forms of rock: Metal, Hard rock, Alternative, classic, just about anything you can think of. Except for alot of the stuff that Micah (former blogmate) listens too. He's into the Indie scene and I'm not. Anyway, alot of people at my school think that to be a Christian band you can't scream, jump around on stage, or talk about other issues besides God and Heaven. Well I have news for you people. About 99.9 percent of all Christian metal, rock, punk, emo, bands sing about drugs, sex, drinking, partying, and even cutting. They also sing about their creator and salvation but its sporadic or in metaphors. Most Christian rock artists have the nuts to sing about these things. In The Showdown's new record, they say the word, Whore and Bastard. Does any one doubt their faith? I don't. The song 'Fanatics and Whores' talks about people that "sell" Jesus and make money from him. Let's take a look at the word "whore" for a second. When somebody calls someone a whore, they are saying they do 'it' too much. I think whore means someone who does 'it' too much for their own satisfaction. Hmm, these people that 'sell' Jesus do it too much (sell Jesus) for themselves (make money). Well, to me this song bashes the 'whores' of Christianity. Let's examine another song by these no good Christian metal bands. Living Sacrifice was a pioneer of Christian metal. They had numerous albums finishing with greatest hits. A song off of that greatest hit was a song called 'In Christ'. The song talks about being a part of Christ. Here are some of the lyrics, "I am in Christ, the son of God, I am in Christ, No longer condemned, I am in Christ the son of God, I am in Christ Resurrected" Well I don’t think this is satanic or not Christian in anyway. Even in the Bible it says to worship God in song. In Psalm 150: 3-5 it says," Praise him with trumpet blasts; Praise him with harps and lyres. Praise him with tambourines and dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him with loud symbols; praise him with crashing symbols." The last time I checked a guitar is a stringed instrument and a drum kit has loud, crashing symbols. These men and some women are only doing what their God has told them. If you can't handle the metal, stick to Rebecca St. James and Point Of Grace.
Some people make fun of the way I live. They think because I have long hair that I am a female. I can assure you that I'm not. I have the video tape of my birth. If you would like to see it I will gladly let you borrow it. You can see my unit quite clearly. I am not by any means a girl. If you don't like my hair, my hair doesn't like you. You can SUCK IT. If you think your all big and pick on me we'll see who's big on the field or on the court.
If it's so wrong for me to wear black, have long hair, and listen to uplifting metal music then this world is gonna turn into another Nazi nation. If you don't like the way I live then you sir can...SUCK IT

It's Called Being A Kid Not Ignorance

I have noticed over my teenage years that the older generation has not taken a liking to some of our lifestyles and the things it has to offer. Let's take the heavy metal lifestyle. What does it consist of: Long hair, black clothes, and loud music? I like it. Jay likes it too. It's how we live. If you were to tell me or jay to change our clothes because it's the color of Satan we would tell you to stop wearing rainbow colors because it's the color of gay people. Or maybe something like,” You can't listen to Akon because he talks about sex." How does that grab ya? If I can't listen to Killswitch Engage then you can't listen to Justin Timberfake. I would love to fight someone on the topic of music or attire. Especially in school. People always ask me why I wear religious shirts to school. I do it because none of the other the "Christians" at my school don't have the balls to wear anything of that sort. They will get a t-shirt from a youth retreat and that's it. Nothing that says 'Virginity Rocks' or anything like that. It's almost like you guys wear Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle like it's your job. You should be getting paid to wear their clothes except it's the other way around. They butt-rape you with their sky-high prices and you go along. They have their designer jeans that have holes in them. I got my knock-off brand that had holes when I got them at Good-Will. I think the people that don't wear that stuff should get a medal for not falling for the gimmicks. Well I think this is it for this post. If you can make an argument against this, you can SUCK IT

Not Gonna Be Like Micah

Welcome to the next best blog in a 38 mile radius. I didnt have to work hard for the title but o well. My internship at the best blog in a 38 mile radius was up so I created my own. I hope you enjoy what i have to say but if you don't like my rants about music, politics, daily life of a highschooler, or anything else you can...SUCK IT