Friday, December 10, 2004 :::

The story so far.
"Rest in Peace Brother Dime"
Artists' reactions to the passing of Dimebag
(click each separate link above)

This is absolutely disgusting. Honestly, my stomach gets sick when I picture how the whole scene might have looked. I can only imagine the state that Vinnie was in, watching his brother... ugh. Fucking absurd. Some mental case jumps a fence and kills several people for no reason. Events that happen out of the blue like this...scenarios that people never could have been prepared for...are absolutely amazing. Terrible. Helps you realize how fragile life is...how it can literally be stolen from you, without any justification, in mere seconds.

And it's at times like these when the only thing capable of getting mourners through is FAITH. It's a horrible, tragic event, but somehow, in someway, it happened for a reason. Brings to mind a quote from La Strada, a film I watched this semester in Italian Cinema. Loose translation from Italian:

The Fool: I am ignorant, but I read books. You won't believe it, everything is useful... this pebble for instance.
Gelsomina: Which one?
The Fool: Anyone. It is useful.
Gelsomina: What for?
The Fool: For... I don't know. If I knew I'd be the Almighty, who knows all. When you are born and when you die... Who knows? I don't know for what this pebble is useful but it must be useful. For if its useless, everything is useless. So are the stars!

Simply believing that every thing and every event has some positive purpose to it - even when it can't be identified or grasped - has helped me through countless trials and continues to do so on a daily basis. It erases regret. At the least, we can all agree that a life free of regret is much more pleasant than the alternative.

The semester is nearly through; just one more paper and one exam left to go. Next comes work at Swim Systems, then Christmas, followed by hardcore studying for the GRE - and then, school resumes. Never a dull moment.

The debut record from Thornley delivers some high-quality low-end alternative metal (that shouldn't sound like an oxymoron, but it does...ah well). Fans of Soundgarden, Sevendust, LoPro, and doubleDrive won't be disappointed. Very, very solid. Note: this review comes after having listened to the record for a few months now. The record easily maintains its initial appeal. Give it a listen.

Virgos Merlot and Mad at Gravity never should have broken up. Damn creative differences. The offshoot of Virgos Merlot, Virgos, sucked pretty bad...but hopefully, Ghost in the Flesh will be able to create something respectable from the ashes of Mad at Gravity. At the very least, it's a cool name. Keep checking www.ghostintheflesh.com for the emergence of their site.

The Movie Box has a sweet trailer for Batman Begins. It still looks like it's going to surpass any possible expectations...

Anyone seen anything directed by Takeshi Miike? I downloaded Audition and Gozu, but have yet to watch them. They definitely look fucking crazy, though.

Everyone who hasn't already needs to join The Facebook! Click on the link in the left column of my blog, sign up, and become addicted. Drew explains the site by dubbing it "an IMDB for friends." Each college has its own Facebook, but communication is not restricted to one's college - the site enables you to reestablish contact with friends from high school, middle school, and so on. There are some great online groups, too, such as "the Pork Chop Sandwich Institute," "Homestar Runners," and "Jeff Buckley = God." This site has no limits, and everyone who joins is amazed at how addicted he or she becomes. If you have a "ufl.edu" e-mail address (or some other e-mail account distributed by your college) you're qualified to join. Hit it up, and get ready to be "poked."

I hope to see everyone at some point during the break... - anyone have plans for New Years yet? Whatever we do, I know it'll be a better time than last year - reason being that asshole Andrew won't be with us. What a dick. He sure can play guitar, though... Anyway, let me know what's hot for the break. I miss you guys...more than Andrew misses his eye's previously-unassisted ability to function. SEE you all soon...

Love,
AJ

::: posted by AJBrotz at 9:50 PM

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