I want to choke that bitch called rockstars

I met Russ Rankin once, and he was the weirdest person on the planet.

Don't get me wrong, I love his bands (Only Crime/Good Riddance), but the man has less tact than I do, and that's a pretty big accomplishment. I remember this one time, I made some friends of mine who were on a tour a big pan of spaghetti and a huge pan of house salad because I knew that the venue they were playing at was shady as hell and probably wouldn't have given them money for dinner. So, being a nice (and poor) college student, I made like 5 dollars worth of dinner and got into the show for free. And here, I met Russ Rankin. I went up to him to tell him that he and whoever else was playing with him, was welcome to eat whatever they like. And his reaction was pretty ridiculous. He literally sat there and stared and then said "okay" and then went right back to Sidekicking away. Not a thanks, nothing. That's just weird. Like really, someone comes up to you and is all like "hey I did something cool for you" and that kinda response. I mean, not that I'm all butthurt or anything (this actually came up as a result of talking with my friends who were on tour with him at the time), but I just think it leads nicely into the main point of this

I'll never take some of the best bands on the planet seriously.

For all of the talent that some bands have, I'll just never be able to take them seriously. Inflated rock star attitudes are just so difficult to comprehend. The only thing that separates us from them is a stage. Sure, some assholes have money, and cocaine, and lots of vaginas that you could probably go spalunking in, but aside from that, we are all the same. Hell, some dudes in bands that no one cares about even have this attitude, and it makes no sense.

How can we stop this? Stop the idolatry of dudes/chicks in bands. For real, they are just people who play music for money (or, in some cases, for no money). I know plenty of them (and I'm not just saying that to sound cool), and they are all fairly normal people. The mundane aspects of their life are no more exciting than the mundane aspects of our lives. There is no reason that musicians should be put up on a pedastle. Treat them like regular human beings and not animals, and there is a good chance they will be nice back. And if they aren't, and they do succumb to acting like some dick rockstar, they'll wash out in due time.

Anyway, here's some stuff I like:

Falaffle and Hummus Gyro
I had one of these for the first time in Gainesville this past weekend, and it was shockingly good. I thought all vegetarian food was supposed to be really not very good, but after trying one of these, I'm shocked how tasty and filling it was. Granted, I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian, but it's good to push your food boundaries and try new stuff. I would have never thought that I would have enjoyed it, but it was honestly one of the best new discoveries I've made recently.

Pabst Blue Ribbon
Old, but I just have to reiterate what an awesome beer this is. Really, for partying, it's hard to go wrong with PBR. Great for just drinking, or shotgunning, or chugging, or whatever.

Central Florida Future
It's UCF's school paper for those not in the know. And the only reason this is on here, is because the day after the election, there was absolutely no coverage of the election. However, there was a piece that came up with the observation that 2-6 UCF's hopes for winning the Eastern Division of C-USA was becoming slimmer.

Traveling
This reminds me. I'm going to a big party in Michigan this summer called Short Shorts/No Sleeves. Now, I'm not obviously going just for a party, but I also want to travel, and this at least gives me a good destination. My car can fit 7 people total, meaning I'm willing to take 6 others. Gas will be fairly cheap for a road trip if I get the car packed. Hell, even with 4 other people, it would be really easy. So, let's do it. I want to hit up Chicago and Cleveland along the way too. July 3rd. Let's do it.

-Joe