Otto popped a binding! Total yard sale!!!!

The big news of the day is that new information on the Lawrence Arms' new 7" was made available to the world today. Yes, the track listing is now common knowledge. And you know what comes after track listings, right? Leaks do! And I desperately want to hear this album. It's all I care about, anymore! It's only four songs (five with the digital release) but I need to hear them! You don't understand! But I'm going to quit being a little fan boy, before I start having flashbacks to the first time I saw the Slackers on a boat in New York City, and made a fool of myself to Vic Ruggiero. Oh wait! It's too late for that. Here comes my embarrassing story!

So the Slackers are one of my very favorite bands. They write some of the catchiest music I've ever heard, Vic Ruggiero writes some of the best lyrics I've ever heard, and him and Glenn Pine have some great voices. I love them, for real. So as you can expect, I was crazy psyched to see them for the first time. Especially in their home of New York City, and on a boat. So I went up with my friend Ryan, and my Uncle Tom. The Slackers played two sets adding up to three hours of music, and it was honestly the best thing ever. I took about a million pictures, and had one of the greatest times of my life. Hell, they also had some decent food on this boat. I remember having a cheeseburger that tasted like a better (good?) version of a Whopper, and some really bangin' pasta. And I almost kept myself from embarrassing myself the whole time. Except for when I went up to Vic in between sets and decided to have a chat with him. I remember walking up with this big horse grin on my face, and doing all the normal fan stuff. Telling him that the set was great, and how much I love his music. Then I remember telling him that "he was a hero figure to me." Then I asked him for a picture which Ryan quickly snapped with me wearing that big, dumb smile, and beet red face, then I shook his hand, walked away, and waited for the second set. But ever since I told him that he was my hero, I thought that was the dorkiest thing in the world. Like I'm over it now, but still... what a nerdy thing to say. Ever since, I've gotten better at talking to the members of bands I've seen. But whatever, that's just one of many embarrassing stories I have. The Slackers are still one of the best live bands I've ever seen. And that show is still the only time I've ever seen them play Information Error, which was so good live. Okay. Fan boy time is over. Moving on.

So this topic was covered in a much more popular blog than this one today, but I'm going to throw in my two cents. Fighting over the internet. Best thing in the world. I love doing it, I love reading other people doing it, I just love it. The secret to getting into internet fighting and not being a total loser is realizing that it's pure entertainment. No, I don't fight with people on the internet with the intent of changing someone's differing opinion, or even making them look like a fool. I do it, because the back and forth of it all just cracks me up. Sure, sometimes these arguments are on some real issues with an actual bearing on the lives of others, but if you put the argument in an internet setting, it becomes a joke. I figure if these people actually cared about these issues, they'd be out trying to actually do something about it, and some of these people do, but somehow it still ends up on the message boards. And that's when a serious argument turns into a shit-slinging fest, and that's when I get to have my fun. It's really a freak of nature, the message board fight. I guess that's why it's so interesting to me. It just amazes me how fast they deteriorate. There's the back and forth of some actual points for a bit, then we move on to personal attacks, and right before the argument collapses in on itself and everyone loses, we have the ever popular "ignoring the argument to point out a grammar mistake." It happens the same way every time. I've seen these arguments go on over big issues like gay rights, war, abortion, and so on. And I've also seen them go on over things as little as boneless vs boned wings. (If you don't eat them boned, you're essentially eating chicken nuggets, you fucking wimp.) But no matter how big or little the debate, it always has about the same impact on anyone's opinion. None. And I just don't see how someone could not love the idea of that. Yes, the future of the world is in the hands of nerds arguing about catch phrases from Nickelodeon cartoons from earlier this decade. But remember, if you are arguing on the internet for any other purpose than for the sheer entertainment of it, you're probably very dumb. In fact, you're just about as dumb as the people not adding anything to my entertainment that just complain about how dumb arguing over the internet is. Guess what, great pacifier? Arguing that internet arguments are dumb, is just as dumb. Quit trying to ruin all of my fun, you big jerk! And sure, maybe I am a dork for arguing for the entertainment I get from it, but at least I'm getting something out of it.

Well the big show is tomorrow! Strike Anywhere, Polar Bear Club, Crime in Stereo, and Ruiner at Asbury Lanes in Jersey. I'm psyched for it. I need to do some preparing for it tomorrow before I leave, then I make the big, lonesome drive to Jersey. But I'm confident the payoff will more than make up for it. Not only do I get to see a show in a bowling alley, but I get to see it with my best friend. I'm looking forward to it. So I'm going to argue with people on the internet, and then head to bed. Get psyched for my adventures in Jersey, either tomorrow or the next day. It all depends on when I get home. Bye, friends!