Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Faint

Artist: Linkin Park

Album: Meteora

Everyone has an angry song. This is one of mine and I needed it today.

Take your ideas about Nu-Metal or Rap Metal or whatever the hell you want to call it and piss off because Linkin Park is far more than the genre they were dumped into upon their debut. These guys are more than just posers like Fred Durst or kooks like Jonathan Davis of Korn. These guys are musicians, vocalists, an emcee's emcee and all together wicked. Accept it.

Faint pulls it all together and throws it at the world from the jump with a crashing drum beat courtesy of Rob Bourdon and crunching guitars that hit hard and fast and loud. It's vintage LP and it's fan-damn-tastic!

There aren't many vocalist on the male side that I like more than Chester Bennington and that is saying a lot. Dude just puts everything into every lyric, every song and every performance and that is part of what works here. Chester booming out the chorus at the top of his lungs with the passion and conviction he does not only fits the song to a tee, but convinces you that he isn't just singing a song. These are words he believes, 100%.

And then there is my man Mike Shinoda. Because Chester is so powerful and so forceful on every track, Mike S often is unfairly overshadowed. I say unfairly because if anyone was smart enough to go out and pick up his group Fort Minor's outstanding album The Rising Tied, then you know that the LP MC is pretty damn talented in his own right.

Factor in that everyone - EVERYONE - has felt like the lyrics of this song convey at one point or another:

I am a little bit of loneliness a little bit of disregard
Handful of complaints but I can’t help the fact that everyone can see these
scars
I am what I want you to want what I want you to feel
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe
this is real
So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got

I am a little bit insecure a little unconfident
Cause you don't understand I do what I can but sometimes I don't make sense
I am what you never wanna say but I've never had a doubt
It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear me out
So I let go watching you turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I've got

When you've had a rotten day - and I had a rotten day today - coming home, clicking on this track and letting it just belt on repeat is all that I need.

Oh yeah, the mash-up version with Jay Z from the Collision Course album, "Jigga What / Faint" is equally bad-ass, so you might want to go check it out too.

* * * * * * * * * *

One other song was in strong consideration... "My Ass Fell Off" by Dan & The Tobins.

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I Should Buy Shares In Chapters

The amount of money that I spend in that place is absolutely ree-dick-you-lous!

Our plan for the day was to head into school so Sarah could sort out her exam situation and then meet Chad and Jeremy - two guys from her nursing class - at Starbucks / Chapters for a coffee and chit-chat. Surprisingly, we were on time and that was even with a mid-morning nap session on the couch for the recuperating one.

We even got there before Jeremy, who arrived sans Chad as he apparently hit the bar somewhere around 1 o'clock... I knew I liked that crazy hippie for a reason.

Anywho, post Venti Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha, we trolled the aisles. A couple weeks ago, we picked up this free gift card that had a mystery value attached to it for you to redeem whenever you spent $50 plus. Since we're boarding a plane later this week, we decided to make this our in-flight reading acquisition day which means I was in heaven, free to spend copious amounts of money on my favourite addiction not named cigarettes.

After helping Jeremy find the Cormac McCarthy books - he too wants to give No Country a read before seeing the movie - I'm quick to grab the items on my wishlist. Always been a big fan of the James Patterson Alex Cross series, so finding a paperback copy of Cross with a 30% off sticker is a great start. Knowing that Sarah's Mom will be sending us money to spend at Chapters early in the New Year since our VanCity trip has was demo'ed by the whole appendix thing, I decide pleasure reading is the best course of action and opt to leave the John Prendergast / Don Cheadle Not On Our Watch on the shelf for later. Besides, who wants to read about the genocide in Darfur on their holidays? Not I for one...

So instead I snatched up the latest Kevin Smith offering, My Boring-Ass Life. Been wanting to read it since it came out but just haven't been able to justify dropping $20 on a collection of his blogs, until now, as it's the perfect book for a time like this. Not at all serious, easy to read and something I can put down at any moment without forgetting the plot, as there isn't one. Plus, I'm a devote View Askew guy and this is all about those boys, so it's a good call.

Also picked up Jamie Oliver's latest - Cook with Jamie - which is both cook book and How To manual. It was also 50% off... KA-CHING! Toss in the required nonsense reading for the plane - GQ with Kanye on the cover for me, gossip rag for Sarah, plus a new Marian Keyes for her and we're at the counter with a bag full of books. Seriously, one of the Chapters guys came over and handed me a bag.

Get to the counter and the cashier totally up-sells us and I can't blame her. There was no way we shouldn't have scored an iRewards card and I have a laugh in my head about how easy the sale was, knowing what it's like after shilling Rewards Memberships by the dozens at The Block. Total comes to silver shy of sixty bones, with something like forty bucks worth of savings after redeeming our $5 giftcard (not surprisingly), iRewards discounts and sticker promo savings. This is the most money I have spent in one sitting in quite some time that didn't involve me thanking a waiter for their service afterwards.

* * * * *

So I've decided that once we get back, I'm going to take the time to sit down with someone and hash out where I can save money as a writer. Since I'm certain there are tax loopholes that I can work in my favour, it'll easily be worth the afternoon spent in some office figuring out what I can call "work related" from things like rent, money spent at Chapters (research?) and my Internet bill...

* * * * *

The asterisk as page break thing is a direct rip off of my man Dan Tobin at Bugs & Cranks. He's our BoSox writer, which means he was an arrogant prick throughout October, but on the whole, he's aces. Writes a mean blog himself too. Anyway, I mention this because I told him a couple weeks (months?) ago that I was going to steal something from his site; namely his Books I Read This Year list.

Admittedly, his is far more impressive than mine will possibly be, but that's because Dan is smarter than I am. Though we both read Hornby - everyone should - he also reads Gabriel Garcia Marquez while I read Silent Bob...

Why am I telling you this? I've got two books on the go and two more ready to knock out, so I'm starting the list now.

* * * * *

Sarah beat me at Scrabble again and this one stings more than normal.

I started the game with Bingo. For you non-Scrabble geeks, a bingo is when you use all your letters to make a word, thereby getting an extra 50 points. So yeah, I was out to a nice little lead and she slowly but surely clawed her way back into contention before dropping QUIZ on a double word score right at the end of the game.

Final Score: Sarah 276, Spencer 256... at least I have Monopoly.

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Things I Learned This Week

1. This is the year I start to make a difference
So, if you've read the last couple posts, you know I've been in an angry / contemplative / advocate kinda mood and the thing is, I kinda dig it. Something about wanting to take action and be involved feels real good to me. With that in mind, the remains of this year and all of 2008 will be dedicated to getting involved whatever way I can. The time to start caring is now. Maybe one of these days I'll do what so many people predicted of me back in school and get political...

2. I'm done with the fake smile, pretend I'm happy bullshit
Work has sucked balls lately and with each passing day I get closer and closer to the end goal of being able to tell day jobs to go fuck themselves. As such, no more inter-office politics. If I'm pissed off, you'll know about it and if it's your fault, we can talk about it if you like...

3. Dan Tobin has funnier pretend conversations with his cat than most people have actual conversations.
Seriously - click the link on the left that says Surgical Strikes! and read the conversation between Dan and his cat Trout, about Watson J. Dog (aka Dog Mirabelli)... I nearly pissed myself.

4. The Boston Celtics really are making me look like a loudmouth jerkoff
KG & Company are 8-0 at last count and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. He's playing every minute of every game as if it's the final two minutes of Game 7 of the Finals. Except, the way he's playing, there won't be a Game Seven... it'll be done in four.

5. Barry Bonds did steroids.
Now, I had sorta known that for a while, but a big old Federal Indictment solidified that belief for me earlier this week. Charles Barkley is right, this is a witch hunt and Barry is being treated unfairly, but could somebody, anybody just please step up and finally fucking admit that Barry Bonds cheated and this isn't all just made up media bullshit? Chalk?

6. Wrong = Wrong
I know McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro and scores of other Major League Baseball players used steroids, the same ones Barry Bonds used. That still doesn't make what he did right, okay or acceptable to me. People break rules every day and get away with it, but the guy who gets caught can't just say, "Oh, well what about them?" That isn't a proper defense...

7. I Own A Lot of Shit Music
Since I've moved to the new computer - which is still goddamn awesome - I've been copying CDs to my media center so I can listen to tunes whilst working. The one thing I have realized is that I bought a whole bunch of bullshit over the years. I haven't had back to back songs come on that I like enough to listen to since I've started doing this... I need to start downloading again!

8. Relaunch is in 9 days...
Passion Magazine, the Canadian Life / Style / Culture mag I work for, returns to shelves across the country next Tuesday. And yes, it's coming to the web too so my four American readers can check out my shit too. The link is over there on the left... but the site isn't up yet. It's not November 27th.

9. I'm not afraid of the future anymore
All this introspection and self-evaluation this week has made me painfully aware of a couple things:

• I have an amazing girlfriend who I look forward to starting a family with
• There is nothing wrong with only finding your way at age 29
• Everything starts with one person
• I'm a lot better off than I thought I was

10. You Want a Good Shoot'em Up Flick?
Live Free or Die Hard... Yippee Kai Yay Motherfucker!

Have a good week people... be good!
OUT
N
E

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