My Favorite Things 2009

Movies:

Inglorious Basterds

District 9

The Road: My favorite of the year


Albums:

(no order here)

Thrice- Beggars

Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Jay Z- Blueprints 3

William Fitzsimmons-The Sparrow and the Crow

Fun.- Aim and Ignite

Fiction Family-Fiction Family

The Avett Brothers- I and Love and You

Anchor & Braille- Felt

Relient K- Forget and Not Slow Down

Gasoline Heart- Nostalgia What It Used To Be: My favorite of the year.

KCMO GIRLS

I feel like this city is just covered with artsy or scene girls, who are all the same. They all love: fall, owl jewelry, taking pictures of themselves using Photo Booth, and they wear plaid button ups with stocking caps. This gets old. Sometimes I just want to talk to a girl who doesn't wanna hang out in a coffee shop and who doesn't love Zooey Deschanel movies.

I am starting to hate coffee shops, indie music, and quirky comedies where boy meets eccentric girl.

I wanna hang out with one who enjoys summer and doesn't always wear dresses but sometimes does. These are really just the ramblings of a lonely old fool.

We Are Not Losers

The Lasers Manifesto
THE L.A.S.E.R.S. MANIFESTO

To Every Man, Woman & Child...

1. We Want An End To The Glamorization Of Negativity In The Media.

2. We Want An End To Status Symbols Dictating Our Worth As Individuals.

3. We Want A Meaningful And Universal Education System.

4. We Want Substance In The Place Of Popularity.

5. We Will Not Compromise Who We Are To Be Accepted By The Crowd.

6. We Want The Invisible Walls That Separate By Wealth, Race & Class To Be Torn Down.

7. We Want To Think Our Own Thoughts.

8. We Will Be Responsible For Our Environment.

9. We Want Clarity & Truth From Our Elected Officials Or They Should Move Aside.

10. We Want Love Not Lies.

11. We Want An End To All Wars. Foreign & Domestic (Violence).

12. We Want An End To The Processed Culture Of Exploitation, Over-Consumption & Waste.

13. We Want Knowledge, Understanding & Peace.

14. WE WILL NOT LOSE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOSERS, WE ARE LASERS!!!

Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.
Lasers Are The Future.

We're Not Losers...We Are L.A.S.E.R.S.!!!

Love Always Shines Every-time Remember 2 Smile!

-LF

Undeclared Dreams pt.3

It is funny how fast things can change. I have decided to stay in Kansas City for another season of my life. I love this town and am starting to get involved around here. I am starting to realize that sometimes I don't always understand what God is planning to do in my life. If you look in the Bible Jesus was always repeating himself because no one understood what he said the first time he said it. This still happens, I think that is why I am becoming more and more hesitant to "blame" God for the direction I am in. Instead I just pray that I haven't misunderstood what I believe he is telling me. God is good and does not always tell you to leave where you are, even if you think that is what's happening. God is working everywhere not just where you want to be.

there is a love with no end or beginning, there is a flower without a thorn.

We try so hard to be righteous by our own flesh and then we feel awful when we aren't. A friend of mine told me once that anything good and right he said was God through him and everything else that was wrong was just him. I think we give ourselves too much credit. I have been struggling with the fact that I am no better than those who wronged me or wronged those that I love. We are all nothing and we are all worthless without the truth of God. It sounds really simplistic and very sunday school, but how many of us really think that we are no better than the rest. I am really trying to see my enemies as my equals but it is not easy. God loves your enemies as much as God loves you which is hard to swallow, because we are always right in our minds. Let's practice true love together and realize if we get it right we didn't get it right.

There is no escape.

"No, there is no escape. There is no heaven with a little of hell in it-no plan to retain this or that of the devil in our hearts or our pockets. Out Satan must go, every hair and feather."
-George Macdonald

The End Of An Era

Scrubs is over and I am kinda sad... That show actually taught me many things, I could easily be lame and go into details but I will spare you. The last eight min. or so made me get choked up a little.

Love Is Blind

I have been really into William Fitzsimmons the past couple of days, maybe that explains why I am so angsty lately. This is a man who knows how to write depressing songs (they are simply amazing). I was listening to 90.9 the other day and heard about his past and how he learned music and it is sort of a contradiction to his style.

Both of his parents were (or are) blind and they taught Fitzsimmons to play and appreciate music. When I hear about his parents I cannot help but think of this truly happy couple who lived life and made music together even though the world viewed them as missing something. I see them wanting to teach their son the beauty of music that most of us neglect. I want to believe they had it all. They had passion, love, and a family, and in the end isn't that all we really need in this world.

just a thought.

The Ideal Angels Twist And Turn, Ask Forgiveness For Future Mistakes

Tonight was a pretty good night. I saw one of the greatest shows of my life which featured The Gaslight Anthem, Death in the Family, and Heartless Bastards down in Westport at Beaumont Club. The first two bands were really solid and played a couple of amazing sets, but after Gaslight Anthems set they are kind of a faded memory. The Gaslight Anthem put on the best set I have ever seen which included a Tom Petty cover during their encore. They are probably the best live band around right now, in my humble opinion.

I am rarely as happy as I am when I am at a show, especially amazing shows like this one. Life is good. Summer is here, and I have a feeling this is gonna be a good one.

I like this

"We did not sign up for a religion of acoustic guitars and nice buildings."

I don't really have a blog for this but my friend Adam said this last night at The Boiler Room and I really liked it. There is something about honest unplanned teachings that make an impact on me. I don't want a guy in a suit and tie with accreditation to teach me, I want honest friends who are truly living life to help me along this road. I want community.

Undeclared Dreams pt.2

So I was trying to keep this blog site sort of simple and not bring in the heavy stuff. With my last post I sort of realized that the heavy stuff is part of me so I should include it. Basically this one involves God, and what I believe to be True.

Last night I was talking to a friend about my future and about moving to Florida for school and what not, and he made me realize something. I had forgotten why I have these ambitions in the first place. It is kinda scary how easily that can happen. As people start to become complacent with a dream it is easy to gradually simplify it to where the definition is something completely different from what is was meant to be...

I have decided to go to Florida because it was not a decision, it was a step in a direction that I feel is greater than myself. If I am wrong then I guess I am wrong and am just hoping there is something down this path worth knowing.

In the summer of '08 I went to Guatemala with Faceless International. I was a scared kid who had no direction and no dreams, and this trip was the first time I took a step totally trusting in God. Through out my time in Guatemala I met some amazing people and built some lasting relationships, and most importantly really started seeing God in a real way. My life was drastically altered.

Later in the summer I went down to Florida and visited a friend I met on the trip. I stayed with he and his wife, and just spent four days and nights talking about life and what I wanted to do with mine and blah blah blah... The thing is, I truly felt at home, and not just in the comfortable since. I saw these people wanting to impact their community and care about similar stuff I cared about, and I saw the things God cares about being worked on out there.

Last night my friend here in KC told me something that really hit me. He told me that people a lot of time feel like they have to leave their home even their country to care for widows and orphans when really they just need to make an impact in their own town. He is right. This sort of beat me up and made me question my decision. Then last night at around 1 am I remembered something. I am not leaving KC because I don't think I have no opportunity to do the work of God. I am going because the first time I listened, truly listened to God, this path opened up. I just don't think I am at the end of it yet.


I wrote the following in the Tampa Airport (as it states) after that weekend.

Undeclared Dreams:

So here I sit in the Tampa airport eating an over priced muffin and drinking an over priced orange juice, already reflecting on my weekend here. It is crazy how much inspiration and motivation can be obtained from a four day trip. As weird and cheesy as it is to say, it has made me realize that it is so easy to limit life to what we know to be familiar, our own life, our own city, our own problems, even our own dreams. Dreams seemed to be a topic heavy on my mind this weekend and this summer. What are my dreams? What drives them? What kills them?

I was asked more than once this weekend, what I was majoring in and my reply was simply "undeclared". That word, undeclared, could very well define my future, but why? What happened to all those defining moments? What happened to all those dreams I had? Why am I so undeclared? I find myself asking "Is it more important to find out what killed the dream, or to apply lessons learned to your new dream in an effort to keep this one alive?".

This summer has been an amazing time of growth in my life, I have completed stuff of dreams. I have seen other countries, experienced other cultures, met some truly amazing people, and have seen changes in the person I am, furthering the person I am becoming.

At the beginning of the final week I was still lost about who I am, and I still am lost. I am starting to see I don't have to figure everything out, I don't have to know where my life is going. I just need a dream, something to work for. Something to motivate, I believe I am starting to see things differently, and my ideals are starting to shape into something new, which is a little scary, and exciting all at the same time. It seems at this point in my life nothing is permanent or declared, there are opportunities all around me, it is all about the drive and the dream.

Thanks to my friends new and old, you have made this a season which I will attempt to hold onto for as long as I can.

Plight of the Small Farmers

After Rome defeated Hannibal, Romes crops were destroyed because Hannibal salted the ground he took. This led to a bit of a problem because farmers could not produce crops and had to sell their land to big corperations who in turn monopolized the farming community in Rome. After this the small farmers basically started a mafia in Rome to make money because there was no where else to turn.

Tiberius Gracchus was a Roman nobel at this time. He came from a rich family and was considered in high regard. This was not enough for Tiberius, once while on his way back home from a battle he noticed large farms replacing the the small local farmers leaving them homeless and turning to crime. So he decided to run as tribune (which is basically a person who can introduce bills to be voted on) to change things and help the small farmers. Tiberius was elected and drafted a land bill to shift the land back to the small farmers, and limit the growth of giant farms owned by the wealthy. He had the senate angry because they owned the large farms and did not want to lose money. The senate decided to bribe this guy named Octavious to veto his land bill and take the fall so the senate would not look like the villain.

Rome had this law back then (even though they didn't write down their laws) that a person had to wait five years to run for tribune again. This would mean that the land bill would vanish unless Tiberius ran again. So he decided to break the law and run again for a back to back term. Next he decided to go for broke and impeach Octavious, which was also illegal. This way when Tiberius got re-elected there would be no opposition for his land bill.

This guy is so awesome, he sees corruption and does what it takes to get it taken care of.

As election day approached and it appeared the Tiberius would win, the senate paid to have him killed, thus ending Tiberius' political career. With Tiberius' death came the death of his land bill. His brother tried to get the bill accomplished after Tiberius but he was also killed as it goes sometimes. This is interesting because it is a shift in the Roman character because before this no one would stoop to murder a respectable man just for greed.

Tiberius Gracchus did what was necessary to help bring justice to the lesser knowns. He heard the plight of the small farmer and fought for them even to the point of death. I want that passion, I hate how often I turn a blind eye or deaf ear to the obvious injustices around me. I mean I work for a giant company where probably 95% of their merchandise was built on the backs of slaves, and still week in week out I work and collect a paycheck from the serpent.

It is unsettling to me how hard it is to make simple right choices, but I seem to fail daily.

Cookie Jars

I wish I had something that I collected. There was a time where I was collecting movies, c.d.s, and comics. As I became more and more broke I had to give up those collections that I loved so much.



I feel like everyone should have something that they collect. When one has a collection, he/she cares about it and has this motivation to keep it in good shape and continually grow the collection. It brings this since of responsibility to take care of something that one puts his/her self into.

I guess I just feel that a collection is good for the soul.

If I had more money I would build a pretty awesome shoe collection. I am a big fan of shoes so it just makes since that I would collect them if I had the means. Shoes are a pretty ideal collection because the massive variety that shoes offer. A shoe collection would be the best.

If not shoes than I would totally collect hats and ties. I was working in an apartment one time, installing a fan, and the old man who lived their had a massive hat and tie collection. He easily had enough of each to make a different combination for at least a couple months. That man must have gotten all the ladies at the early bird buffets, "every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man".

I think I might start collecting cookie jars.

Start a collection.

Super Late Night.

I'm Better Off By Your Side.

Mankind is more see through than we like to believe. We want others to see what we are dealing with. What makes us feel the way we are feeling. What our stories are.

How many times you have been in a bad mood and when someone asks all you if anything is wrong you reply with a lame attempt at hiding your issues?

This is no good. The whole purpose of having other people is around is to show that we are not in this alone. Life is not meant to be spent fighting on your own.

We all have this complex that where it is thought to be a sign of weakness to need help. Don't believe this lie, and don't let others. Be there for your friends just as you want them to be there for you. Mountains won't seem so high and oceans will seem shallow.

We are all here together. I believe there is a reason for it.




"Why pretend that your somewhere?

                                                           Just admit that your lost."
            -Gasoline Heart

Overthrow The Bourgeoisie!!!!

I know a lot of people are worried about the economy and what not, rightfully so. I decided to make a playlist to help everyone who worries. Here are some songs that to me apply to our current state. This is my Proletarian Playlist...


Proletarian Playlist:

1) Livin' On A Prayer (Bon Jovi, as preformed by Philmore)

2) Free Coffee (Ben Folds)

3) Consider The Ravens (Dustin Kensrue)

4) Meet Me by the Rivers Edge (The Gaslight Anthem)

5) Matters Of Blood And Connection (Dashboard Confessional)

6) Closer Than You Think (Fiction Family

7) Waiting On The World To Change (John Mayer)

8) Swim (Jack's Mannequin)

9) All Day And Night (Jakob Dylan)

10) 15 (Surrogate)

11) How Lucky We Are (Meiko)

12) Kick, Push (Lupe Fiasco)

13) Wash Away (Joe Purdy)

14) Salt Of The Earth (Lovedrug)

15) Overkill (Colin Hay)

This Ain't The Hot Topic Vampire Movie

So I finally got to see "Let The Right One In"

I have been looking forward to seeing this film ever since I caught the preview when I went to see"Milk" with my friends Micah and Josh. I am kinda a sucker for horror films, and especially ones that are declared to be the best in the genre. This movie really did not disappoint. 

The movie is Swedish so be prepared for subtitles, but the dialogue is simple and direct. It is a really interesting story about a boy who is bullied at school and kind of lonely. A girl moves next door and turns out to be a vampire. The film follows their growing relationship and how they deal with the obvious complications that comes with hanging around a vampire.

My favorite part of the film is that it did not turn its back on the classic vampire folklore. In the film cats hate all vampires, vampires cannot enter a room with out being invited, and they burst into flames if exposed to any sunlight.

I think the best way to describe the film is how Guillermo del Toro puts it "A chilling fairy tale. As delicate, haunting and poetic a film as you're ever bound to see."

This film is so unique. Though it is in another language, the emotions don't get lost in translation. This movie really delivers on the things that make a great horror movie, and is worth checking out.