10 years ago.

Holy cow it's almost 2010. That though came to me the other day when sitting in class, and it got me thinking... We're nearly a decade into the new millennium crazy thought isn't it? in the year 2000 I was eight years old in grade 2. Now I'm 17 in grade 12 Time sure does fly.

It's crazy to think how much the world has changed in only 10 years. With the huge advancements in technology, especially the internet (Google, youtube, Twitter, Facebook Myspace), major political events (Obama being elected, 9/11, The wars in the middle east) and so many more major events. All of that and it's barely scratching the tip of the iceberg in terms of what happened in the last ten years. I did so much in the last ten years as well. I started competing in gymnastics which took me too every province but Manitoba, one territory, and of course Japan. I went through many fads like Pokemon, YuGiOh, Harry Potter, video games, neopets and countless changes in music tastes.

In the end I think what makes these last ten years so important to me is that this is the decade I grew up in. I entered the millennium 7 and I'm going to leave it 18. So even though I was born in the early 90's I really am a child of the 2000's. This is the decade that I'll never forget, heck I'm graduating in 2010 so I'll be invited to high school reunions which will remind me of this decade and all the things that happened to me and to the world. and living through these amazing times.I hope to one day tell my grand kids or even great grand kids judging by medical technology about what it was like in the early 2000's

Writing to you live from the year 2009
-Grant

New Blog Post(er)

-Brendan

Don't Trust Your Photographs

I purchased the self-titled album by Fleet Foxes on December 27th 2008. I had never heard of them before and was very intrigued by the album cover. It grew on me, becoming one of my favorite albums of the year. It wasn't until eight months later, when my comrade Grant bought the album on vinyl that I was shown the liner notes written by Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset. This is some of what they wrote; (please read this in it's entire)

"My first memory has always been of me and my mom on a cold grey day down at some beach in Washington, along the puget sound somewhere near Seattle. I would be around two or three years old and we're with a friend of mine from the neighborhood and his mom. Walking around among the driftwood looking for crabs. Even now, I can remember the smell and temperature of the air, the feeling of the sand and the swaying tall grass I can even remember looking over at my friend and how his face looked when he smiled back at me Another memory that I'll sometimes recall as my first memory is dressing up in the dead of winter as Jack London with tennis rackets on my feet and wearing my dad's hiking pack, in the middle of summer after seeing Disney's (terrible) version of White Fang. or There's the memory of stealing my neighbor's big wheel and riding it halfway down the block before getting caught and having to turn around defeated, or of wearing a fireman's outfit while washing my parent's car, or eating an orange popsicle from the ice cream truck.

These are and have always been some of my most distinct and persistent memories of childhood, so i came as a disappointment to me when one day as a teenager I opened up a photo album and found pictures of each and every one of those memories. I didn't have a single memory that didn't belong to or somehow grow from pictures my parents had taken of me when I was growing up even the scenes I remember so clearly in my head are from the same angles as those photographs and I don't really know what to to make of it. I'm going to guess that I'd seen all theses photographs at some point, forgotten they were just photographs and over time made them into my most tangible memories. That's scary to me in a way.

This leads me to something weird about the power music has, it's transportative ability. Any time I hear a song or record that meant a lot to me at a certain moment or I was listening to at a distinct time, I'm instantly taken back to that place in full detail..."

I can't describe to you how relevant Pecknold's thoughts are to my own. He goes on to explain in detail how music is like a 'time machine' that can deliver both memories and emotions. For eight months I've lived with these notes in my possession and i had just disregarded it for just a brown paper sleeve that held the Cd. I want to thank Grant for showing this to me.

Song recommendation: "These Days" - Nico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_z_UEuEMAo

go make some memories,

-Brendan

We Are Your Friends

Hello one and all. How are you? I'm good.

I'm bored so I figure I'll do a spontaneous blog post and see what I end up talking about.

I got this new job coaching gymnastics that I briefly mentioned in my last post. let me tell you something about this job... It rocks. I quit gymnastics in March and honestly I didn't really miss it that much. Then I got a job at Sobeys and I absolutely hated it with all of my being. Luckily I got offered a job to coach and I took it as soon as I could. I've been coaching since September now and I love it. I have a group of four, an 11 year old, two 12 year old's and a 13 year old. They are all pretty well behaved and that's a really small group so it's easy to handle. I still enjoy the sport I just hated to do it, so now I can still be involved in it and get payed for it! Too imagine what it's like to have my job, picture getting payed to tell kids what to do and be interested in the activities you're telling them to do. It is pretty mint.

In other news I've bought some more music but I'm trying to cut down. It's hard though cause I'm addicted. Since the last post I've bought By The Way by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ummagumma by Pink Floyd, and Magic Potion and Fleet Foxes on vinyl. I'm trying to save my money because a me and a friend agreed a few years back that the next time the Red Hot Chili Peppers go on tour we'd go see them at the closest place to Halifax. (This could be soon because they just went back into the studio to make a new album!) So even though I'm saving, I'm still saving for music. (which I don't have a problem with but the parents would probably like to see it go to something like school) I've also been getting into a band called Justice they're pretty sick a friend of mine lent me their debut CD and their live album both of which are awesome.

Thats about all for now. I'm trying to think of something deep for my next post cause I haven't really made a thought provoking post in a long time and I'm well due for one.

Music's got me feelin' so free.
-Grant

Song Recommendation: D.A.N.C.E. by Justice It's a very feel good dance song

Two Coasts for Comfort

Two Coasts for Comfort by Jon Bryant is set to be released on October 28th 2009. The clever name comes from the "Two Coasts" where Jon wrote his songs, (Europe, and here in Nova Scotia). Jon's music is melodically soulful and rich in comfort and deep thought. His Folk roots are entwined with a hint of alternative-rock with inspirations from Dallas Green to Radiohead. A while back I got a call from him, asking me if I wanted to "make sweet music". I packed up my drums and met him at The Open Gate along with fellow musicians Michael Sheldon and Jerry Albert. Since then we have jammed from time to time and I have accompanied him in playing at Fall River chapel. It is amazing how much musical talent comes out of my home town. I feel blessed to be a part of the scene and hopefully one day have my own record to release.

If you want to learn more about the album and Jon, here is an excellent video made by Luke Adamski http://vimeo.com/6977850

Do what you love

-Brendan

Music from Highway Six De Da

it's been a while I know.

Time for a big music update. I have a job now so that means lots of new music anytime I can make it out to the mall. First off is my new records; Highway 61 Revisited, Music from Big Pink, and LaDeDa. Highway 61 is one of my favorite Dylan albums with maybe my favorite Dylan song Like a Rolling Stone plus 8 other great tracks. Music From Big Pink is a classic album by the Band with the Weight and I Shall Be Released being the most notable tracks but of course the rest of them are awesome too. LaDeDa is by the local wonder kid Joel Plaskett. LaDeDa is definitely one of my favorite albums by him it's got this nice acoustic sound with a couple of almost computerized sounding tracks thrown in very discreetly so that you wouldn't notice unless you were listening very closely. It also has a very Canadian feel to it I find.
Now those three vinyl records aren't all I've bought. I've also stopped into HMV and picked up a couple CD's; Pinkerton by Weezer (I actually got at Wal-Mart), Rubber Factory and Chulahoma by the Black Keys, Mothers Milk and Californiacation by the Red Hot Chili Peppers Keep it Hid by Dan Auerbach, Ghetto Pop Life by Danger Mouse and Jemini, Do You Want More?!!!??! by The Roots, Funeral by The Arcade Fire, Obscured by Clouds by Pink Floyd, Enter The Wu-Tang by the Wu-Tang Clan, Set Yourself on Fire by Stars and Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan. I also got The Last Waltz on blu-ray and The Office season 4 on DVD. So as you can see when I'm given a steady paycheck this is how I spend it. I'd go through and talk about all those CDs but I haven't got a chance to listen thoroughly to all of them yet but the ones I have heard are spectacular.
Other than that I've been pretty busy with school, my new job coaching gymnastics and students council. Listening to music has practically become a part time job though with all the new music I have now.

That's all I can think to say for now I'll hopefully try to post more often but you know me

Be nice
-Grant

PS: Revenge is like ice cream it's sweet and best served cold.

Don't criticize what you can't understand.

Chronicles volume one, is a window into the mind of Bob Dylan, his thoughts and influences. Written by the great man himself, he is able to take you back to a simple time. Dylan gives an in depth look at his early life as a folk-singer living in Greenwich village. The detail given to simple situations could only have come from Bob. He is able to recollect moments from his past and paint a picture of words so clearly, it is as if you were there. Surprisingly Dylan does not cover his most 'prolific' years. Skipping over them to focus more on a less known and unappreciative time of his life. Just like his songs, Dylan's extraordinary talent of telling a story allows you to never tire of what he has to say. It is written very relaxed, as if you are sitting down and having a conversation with him. Chronicles allows the reader to dig deep into the thoughts of a man that has been such an inexplicable character throughout the years. This is the most personal and detailed autobiography I have read to date, and I will be first in line to purchase a copy of Chronicles volume Two when it is released.

Song reccomendation; "He Was a Friend of Mine" - Bob Dylan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak4_gP4Qj1k&feature=PlayList&p=179487017787F258&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5

Have a good one,

Brendan

Ain't it just like dyin'? 'Cept you can still feel the shame.

*insert cliche reason why I haven't posted in forever here*
Hey y'all how are things? I hope they are nice and easy. I've been working a lot lately. whether it's at SobeyS or at the gym or at the school. Sobeys sucks pretty hard but hopefully if things work out at the gym (I'm trying to get a job coaching gymnastics) I won't be there much longer. As for the school things have been going pretty good. other then a few technicalities it's all been moving pretty smoothly. Now that I've been working I've realized how much I really need to find a job that I love to do. I've been nothing but miserable knowing that I'm selling my time. Everyone has told me that it gets better after you get your first paycheck but I still feel pretty shitty even though I finally have money to spend. (and I've been spending it well) I think it all comes back to my weird fear of time elapsing. I hate thinking of the time I'll never get back and when I'm at work that's all there is to think about. All I can think of is if my time is worth the 8.60 they're giving me an hour. I feel like money and my time aren't even on the same scale when it comes to worth, my time on one hand is something I'll never get back, on the other hand without money it's all I have. Weird how that works I guess. Without money I have no material goods, no home, no food, nothing.... Nothing but time... Time that can be exchanged for money but without time you have even less.
Maybe I just don't fit in in this world. At least I got Music and Love and I'm working on Peace

Thanks for reading
-Grant

PS: I hate to get political but seriously America gear down Obama is just trying out the poor and you're comparing him to Hitler? Helping the poor... Where have I heard that before?

Song Recommendation: I Want You -Bob Dylan

GreenFest 09'

About a week ago I received a call from my longtime friend Mo Kenney. She asked me to accompany her and her band "Berend's Pages" at a three day long Environmental Awareness Festival of Arts simply known as the "GreenFest". I of course accepted the invitation and started rehearsing with them right away. We practiced at "Shambhala Studios" in downtown Halifax, a very 'chill' loft filled with records, books, instruments and everything music.

We drove down an old dirt road until we reached an old farm with about a 200 acre field filled with tents, hippies, horses, and I think there was a Gypsy. We spent the day listening to music and playing music outside of the tents. We also kicked it back in the 'green room' where we beat the heat. The green room was a room for the performers in an old farm house with old couches, fresh fruit, and free beer. Because of the chance of a hurricane, the main stage had to be relocated causing the schedule to become chaotic. We didn't get on until 10:00, which was actually a good thing because the crowd grew in size as the night went on. We ended up opening for Juno nominee and 15 time ECMA winner Lennie Gallant. All in all, I met some great people, heard some great music, and had a great time. I will be there next year and I hope to see you to.

The picture above is from the Greenfest. Taken by Rachel Shrum on Polaroid.

Here is a link to Berend's Pages MySpace http://www.myspace.com/mokenney

and here is a link to GreenFest http://www.thegreenfestival.ca/

Have a great last week of summer.

- Brendan

Ban Your Rays

So I wanted to buy a pair of RayBan Wayfarers to pay homage to some of my heroes, Bob Dylan, John F. Kennedy, John Belushi, Roy Orbison and Andy Warhol. Who were all famous for wearing the iconic metal framed sunglasses. The only problem is that a certain group of adolescence have adopted the trend by wearing bright and colourful cheap knockoffs to express their "artistic" and "ungovernable" state of rebellious youth. These people are known as "Hipsters". You may confuse them with their sister group the "Emos" however, a hipster will be more colorful. I would have no problem with this group of people if they stood for something. But really, they are just feeding into this trend of false-appreciation for the arts. If i go out and purchase my RayBans I will be seen as just another hipster. When really that is clearly not the case. Just like the Emos have stolen the once respectable "Chuck Taylor" style Converse sneakers. The hipsters are stealing the once iconic metal framed eye-wear. You can not walk down the mall without seeing colorful plastic knockoffs being sold everywhere.

I do not want to sound hateful, because that would be very "un-dude" of me. I am only reinforcing for our youth to think for themselves, wear clothes that fit, and love one another.

Song Reccomendation: "Mountains of the Moon" - Grateful Dead

Do what you love,

-Brendan

it's been too long

Hey all. It's been way to long since my last blog post mostly due to the lack of anything interesting enough to write a whole blog post about. So I'll just list a few things that have happened/are going to happen/I have done since my last blog post.

-I got a job at Sobeys most likely pushing carts and cleaning. It starts on the tenth

- I got the New Wilco album/Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on 180 gram vinyl they both are awesome (YHF came with a free CD version of the album)

-my Wisdom teeth are coming out on the 14th of August right in the middle of me being busy with a new job/students council stuff

-I have a new found appreciation for Is This It? by The Strokes

-I watched seasons 1 & 2 of Scrubs I love it and I'm working on getting season 3

-I'm planning on going on a road trip soon with my fellow blogger and a good friend of ours it should be good. I'm expecting great times, tunes and people

-I heard In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson for the first time and I love it

-I renewed my love for Mario Kart.

I'd say that's about all that's happened in the last little while. I wish I had more to blog about but as you can see I've had a bit of a writers block in term of interesting things to blog about.
I leave you with this one question. How do you get a stereo sound out of a record? What is it in the record that can decide which sounds come out of which speakers?

-Grant Hawkins
Resident Unmotivated Blogger

Consistency

I take comfort in consistency. In this crazy world we live in, it nice knowing that somethings will always be there, just doing their thing. I like radios, when I was younger I had a transistor radio that i would listen to as I would fall asleep. It didn't matter what was going on in my own life, the radio always stayed the same. Keeping me company, buzzing and humming the current events. I take peace in simple things like that. In the town I live in, there is a Tim Hortons. This Tim Hortons is open twenty-four hours a day. I can't tell you how many times I've stumbled my way into it at 2:00 in the morning. It's nice knowing that it is always open, always there to provide shelter and coffee. I don't really know my neighbors across the street, all i know is that they watch T.V, and a lot of it. My window faces there house and every night as I'm going to bed I see the familiar glow of their television set. It doesn't matter what time I go to bed, it's always on, and it brings a smile to my face, knowing that I can always look out and see a hazy coloured image of something on their screen. I guess what I'm trying to say is that routine and consistency fills me with the feeling of comfort.

Song Recommendation: "Bobcaygeon" - The Tragically Hip

Take enjoyment in the simple things in life.

-Brendan

Another (Belated) One Year Anniversary

As you know the blog recently had it's year Anniversary but that's not the only one that's happened recently. On the 7th of July (A little late I know) it was also the one year anniversary of my beautiful girlfriend and I. This last year has had it's ups and downs for us (Mostly ups) but we go great together and that's all that matters. we've had a fun year full of playing video games, playing on the trampoline, watching movies, and the occasional geeking out over Star Wars. I just have to say that it's been one of the best years of my life and here's to many many more. :)

I love you babe <3

-Grant

When my train comes in

Hello all, it's been a while. Last week I got my wisdom teeth out, which put me on the sidelines for about a week. I'm just now starting to enjoy solid foods again. Summer is finally here, and what better way to kick it off than with a night of Joel Plaskett and fireworks. Alderney Landing filled up with 'lazy bones' and 'fashionable people' to celebrate Canada's birthday. It was a great show through and through... and through. In six days Joel will be opening for one of the most influential musicians in the world, Paul McCartney! *Que audience applause* That will be a great show, unfortunately, I will not be there because I don't have the money. *Que audience disappointing Aaah*

On another note, Wilco just released their latest album entitled "Wilco (the album)". This album covers all of the wide genres of past Wilco albums. Jeff Tweedy and the band seem more relaxed and comfortable with the sound. With collaborations with Canada's own Leslie Feist on "You and I", and the Dylan inspired "Country Disappeared" to the experimental sonic fusion on "Bull Black Nova". My rating: I give this album a thumbs up and two smiley face stickers.

Artist recommendation: Adam Baldwin http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adam-Baldwin/87649677491?ref=ts

Have lazy day

- Brendan

Happy Birthday!

Well it's been a whole year since the very first post on Crazy Chester and the Old Fashioned Sugar. We've laughed, cried and maybe even bled depending on whether or not you took Brendan's advice on public bathrooms, oh so long ago. In the last year our fan base went from 0 too about 10ish completely by word of mouth and we're hoping to get 10 more for next year! Me and Brendan have covered everything from strange philosophies on life to Christmas to Neil Young to a whole bunch of music reviews this year and plan on keeping that up and more.
So the next big question is "where is CCatOFS going to be in another year?" well, Brendan and I will be seniors at Lockview High next year and we'll both be turning 18 near the end of 2010 which means we'll be able to vote here in Nova Scotia. I'll be Co-Prez of Students Council which will make me busy but I will try to post at a more regular rate. Also I'm hoping to get some sort of group together to jam with/do little shows with and maybe get into making some short films. If any of that happens I'll be sure to keep all you guys posted on it.
That's all I got to say I think... Here's to one year of the Olde Shug! I hope to see all you guys (and maybe some new comers) here this time next year!

Happy B-day Crazy Chester and the Old Fashioned Sugar!

-Grant

PS: Brendan got his wisdom teeth removed that's why he hasn't been posting lately

RIP King of Pop

As a aspiring musician there is a part of me who feels obliged to honor the late Micheal Jackson because he is just one of those legends who really changed the game for everyone. His Thriller album is the best selling album of all time and I'm not afraid to admit that I have a copy of my own. For someone like my self who is only 16 I grew up in a time where the only time I ever heard Micheal's name was when he was on trial and when Neverland was shut down so I always had the "look at how crazy he is now" side of the story and it took me a while before I really realised what he had done and how he influenced almost the whole world. I hope now that he will be remembered for his music and not the weirder things that he was know for when I was growing up.

RIP Micheal you're the King

-Grant

PS: Enjoy

Danger! Mouse!

Brian Burton AKA Danger Mouse is a producer that I'm a huge fan of, so I was pleasently surprised when I heard about his new album. But this isn't just any regular album... It's a blank CD-R. I know you're all thinking how could he release a blank CD and expect it to sell? Well here's the story; Mr. Mouse has gotten into arguments with the label EMI and so he won't release the actual music for fear of getting his ass sued off the planet. so he's just going to release a blank CD with a 100+ booklet with original photo's by David Lynch (who is on the album) that are inspired by the music. My first question was what about the music? Is he just going to forget about it and never let it see the light of day? No. According to the website "Danger Mouse remains highly proud of Dark Night of the Soul and hopes that people that are lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are excited as he is." now upon first reading that just seems that only select people will be able to hear it but if you read it again it says "by whatever means" Now on all the articles I've read on the story this is essentially Danger Mouse saying "I want people to hear this so I don't even care if you download it." very formally, and to that I say kudos Danger Mouse! You are a great example of the music being more important then the money and I respect that a lot. Personally I have already found a torrent for the album (It's incredible) and plan on buying a copy as soon as I get a job and the money to pay for it. I think that if you love music you should pick up a copy of the CD and download the tracks just to support the idea of music over money.

So now that I'm done talking about Dark Night of the Soul I'd also like to mention that I never realized it until recently but Danger Mouse is in a lot of my favorite albums. He produced Attack and Release which is my favorite Black Keys album he also produced Demon Days by the Gorillaz which is awesome and even Beck's new CD. He also teamed up with MF DOOM to make DANGERDOOM and made one of my favorite hip hop albums, The Mouse and the Mask. He's half of Gnarls Barkley and last but certainly not least he mashed up Jay-Z Black album and the Beatles White album to make the Gray Album which is incredible!

So now that I'm done writing about being obsessed with Danger Mouse I will sign off

It's not just good it's great depression.

-Grant

PS I would have no idea on where to find a torrent for that album *cough*.*cough

Change

Change is always happening. We can't stop it. We can only learn to deal with it, make the best of the situations we are presented with. Lately I have been seeing a lot of changes going on, in my own life and the lives around me. I'm not one who likes change, hell... I don't think anyone does. I'm to focused on living in the past. Reminiscing on better times when everything seemed so simple. Of course, at the time, you never know how simple it really is. So years from now I can look back and think about how simple things were right now. It's all perspective. I guess that is what keeps me sane.

“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.”

Song Recommendation: "I Feel A Change Comin' On" - Bob Dylan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94n39Gc652g

-Brendan

Highly Illogical

I consider my dad to be a fairly wise man. He's full of so many sayings, quotes and stories with strong morals that too the untrained ear he sounds like he's talking in riddles. Although he's passed all his knowledge and sayings down too me there was always a few stories my dad told me that seemed out of place. For you see my dad as a kid/teen was a fan of the adventures of the United Star Ship Enterprise. That's right... Star Trek. Now as a kid I always saw Star Trek as the nerdiest thing and I usually ignored those stories, but there was one in particular that I always thought was a great story anyway. It was a particular episode where the Enterprise comes in contact with a planet that had been engaged in a massive war and there were only two survivors. The survivors were on opposite sides so as you can imagine they get in a bit of a scuffle on the bridge. One of the survivors (Note: These guys were both white on one side and black on the other) was claiming that the other should be arrested and was obviously "inferior" the crew of the Enterprise was confused about why he was inferior. So after a while of trying to get them to see why he was so inferior he points out that their sides are inverted. (one has the black side on the left the other has black on the right) I always thought this was a great story about how we're all the same and that we need to put aside our minor differences. This story was especially moving because the episode would have been released around '69 where racial issues would have been an issue still.
Now that I'm older, with the help of my dad and the kick start of seeing the new Star Trek movie I began watching the original series. This not only taught me why my dad talks the way he does (weird Shatner like pauses and all) but I've also learned that they make a lot of commentary on their own culture. In one episode the Enterprise gets flung back in time to the '60's and they beam aboard a fighter pilot who is stunned at women on the deck. This is interesting because since the Enterprise is in the 60's they are in the time period that the episode would have been written making it a direct commentary on the treatment of women in that time. Also Lieutenant Uhura (the head communications officer) was played by Nichelle Nichols who was an African American woman which was a double whammy for it's time.

Live Long and Prosper
-Grant Hawkins

Song Recommendation: Fearless by Pink Floyd. I had the time of my life laying on the floor of my room listening to this on my dad's old record player (No, I was not Inebriated)

Autumn's sweet but we call it fall, I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl

well Brendan put it best. We are unmotivated. So now I'm here feeling bad about not posting in forever and trying to squeeze something out to say.
Well lets see... I went to Joel Plaskett last week and it was incredible. He had the girls that sang back up on Three to add a new vibe to some old songs and do what they do on the tracks from Three. Also I watched the Big Lebowski like 10 times which is still the greatest movie ever just in case you didn't know. I also got the new Doom album Born Like This and I'm listening to it right now and it's the bomb. Aaannnd I've been helping out with student council activities at the school now that I'm co-president elect it's making council next year look pretty promising. I haven't been doing much else really... The only thing I'm really motivated to do right now is get my record player fixed. The automatic thing that controls the needle is off so it cuts off to early so I miss the end of the last song on most records which is a real pain since I just got a nice 7" with three unreleased tracks from the Joel Plaskett concert and I can only listen to one full song and the other two cut too early.
I guess that's all for me... I like Brendan's little song recommendation thing so I'll do one too

Listening Recommendation: Doom (formerly known as MF Doom) Born Like This

Keep it easy dude.. I know you will
-Grant Hawkins

Motive-nation

It has been about twenty-two days since my last post. Andy every one of those days bloggin has crossed my mind. From time to time I would check the old blog, see if my compadré has written about his life lately but sure enough no post since May 8th. "Why?" You may ask. Well because of MOTIVATION! (I thought the caps would emphasise... but it kinda makes me sound like a tool) Both Grant and myself are the least motivated people you will ever meet. I can not even imagine what we could do if we tried (mostly because imagining takes effort) It is our duty as Internet celebrities/Heroes to keep our audience entertained. And we have failed... again. It has almost been an entire year sense Grant and I finally decided to get off our ass and startedwriting our thoughts down... well i guess we didn't even have to get off our asses, we sat down at the computer. If you Google "theoldshug" The first six links are to our site, right after "Did you mean: theoldscout" If that isn't fame than I don't know the definition of the word.

 Today is also the first day of June, that's cool... or not cool, it depends if you're taking that literally. 

 Music is still a big part of my life, I have been playing a lot more lately. Hauling my drums around is a pain in the ass, which is why I like to play harmonica. I've been playing with a lot of different people lately, it is important for a musician to play with a wide variety of people, change things up a bit. I have decided to move on with my musical-ness and start writing/making my own music again. This is due to MOTIVATION (It's the word of the day)

Song recommendation: "Sitting" - Cat Stevens

 Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be. 

 - Brendan

Dear ghost of brendan's past...

Please read the link posted before reading this post...

http://theoldshug.blogspot.com/2009/01/beginning-of-beginning-of-end-of.html

 

To my past-self: This is your Future-Self talking. Congratulations on not dieing in the 109 days from when you/I posted that. Not much has happened in the last 3 and a half months. The new semester is pretty good. I got my drivers license, and got a few haircuts and have learned a lot about myself. Here are some tips from the future that may help you out: 

• Don't eat the chip-dip in the fridge. It has expired.
• Don't slack off in Math and Bio class. This is very important.
• Try and get tickets to the April Neil Young concert. (you will regret not going)
• Don't kiss any pigs from Mexico.
• Two of your favourite T.V shows are now off the air so enjoy them while they last.
• Sign Up for Twitter now so you can say to everyone "I had Twitter before it was cool to have Twitter"
• If you are going to make sports bets than bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the super bowl.

Yeah, the last 3 months have been pretty darn good. I can't complain. It's funny how so little can change in a long period of time and then in an instant your world can be turned upside-down. This may have been a weird post and hard to follow. But it has given me a chance to reflect on my own life.

Song recommendation: "The Past" - Matt Mays

"May the dreams of your past be the reality of your future"

-Brendan

What a Day.

Over the last few days there have been 2 or 3 school riots in the area which all occurred after the fire alarm had been pulled. So today everyone was kinda on edge thinking it might happen at my school. And it almost did.
This morning started off just like any other except there was an announcement made during first class that said "there have been riots at such and such a school. Don't pull the fire alarm its a crime blah blah blah" so I lean over to my friend sitting next to me and say "he's only giving them ideas" and as I had predicted about half an hour into class the fire alarm goes off so we all walk outside into the cold damp parking lot. Everyone is standing around talking about how someone probably just wanted a riot at our school or thought it would be funny and whatever. After standing outside for about 45 minutes we realized something was up and it wasn't just some dumb kid. At this point it's raining and there's a firetruck and five or more police cars. We are then informed that half the people have to go to the junior high down the street and the other half go to the elementary school. so off we went approx. 1400 kids walking down a single sidewalk to the nearest schools. my half finally arrives at the junior high where after waiting another while longer we need to let the school know where we're going because from 9 to 4 we are the schools responsibility so we line up do a attendance thing and sign a sheet of loose leaf letting them know that we are going home. Me, my brother, my sister, and my girlfriend decide to go to my home since it's the closest so we head back to the school where we realize we can't get in my brothers car cause the whole school is sealed off so we walk all the way to my home in the poring rain.
I've now been informed that a 19 year old student walked into the office and said he was going to blow the place up which is what led to the fire alarm being pulled. This guy has been arrested and is under investigation.
Moral of the story: Don't do stupid things like that because if anyone finds out who you are there are 1400 kids ready to kick your ass for making us stand in the cold rain for that long

Think
-Grant Hawkins

Wishful Thinking

• I wish I could play the guitar. Not even very well... just good enough. Good enough to pick it up and strum a few chords that friends can sing-a-long to at a bonfire.
  
• I wish I was rich. Not for reasons you might think. I wish I was rich so I could focus on more important things in life than making money. I would not buy expensive material things, I would just have it so i would not have to make it. Does that make any sense?
  
• I wish everyone in the world listened to the words of Gandhi, and listened to the songs of Bob Dylan.
• I wish I made movies. Clever ones, with good soundtracks and meaningful messages.
• I wish I had a sweet tree-house. Like the Swiss Family Robinson one.
• I wish Hitchhiking was not frowned upon.
• I wish I lived at Big Pink, up in the mountains of Woodstock in 1968. That would be the life.
• I wish Winter was shorter.
• I wish I had better social skills.
• I wish I had better grades without putting any effort in.
• I wish for World Peace. But then what would we complain about?
• I wish I had some more things to type.

Iced Caps taste good. I had one the other day. My first of the new year. I drank them all last summer. and in that first sip all of the good memories from last summer came rushing back, as if they had been frozen in time and forgotten about all winter long until I unlocked them with a sip of my frozen caffeine beverage. 

Song recommendation; "Jolene" Ray LaMontagne

 'May your mushrooms always be sauteed and your onions always be grilled'

 -Brendan

Rainy Day Women 12 & 35

Hello, Hello, Hello

Today as many of you probably know is April 20th. Now this may be a seemingly meaningless day to some but there are many people who see it as some sort of international marijuana day. I am not one who partakes in such activities but I know a lot of people that do. 4/20 has always made me curious because I have no idea what the connection is with today and Mary J. Most of my inebriated amigo's tell me it's cause of things like "it's Hitlers birthday" or "just cause maan.." so I dug deep into the vast articles of the Wikipedia to find events that take/took place on today April 20th

1534- Jacques Cartier begins his voyage on which he discovers Canada
1972- Apollo 12 lands on the moon
1999- Columbine massacre occurs in Colorado
2001- China removes homosexuality from it's mental illness list.

that's really all the notable events that have happened on this day. in terms of births there are:

1889- Adolf Hitler
1937- George Takei (Mr. Sulu in the Original Star Trek)
1967- Mike Portnoy (Drummer for Dream Theater)
1972- Stephen Marley (Bob Marley's son [I think this is the real origin of 4/20])

that's all the names I recognise... So I learned something new today. It is actually Hitlers birthday and thats not just some myth circulating around my stoner friends. So anyhow happy 4/20 to all that celebrate it and to the rest of us... Have a nice regular day.

EDIT:!! Thanks to the genious of my co-blogger we have found the most plausable reason the date of this day is 4/20. It is on this fine April day because of the California senate bill that is trying to legalize Marijuana which is obviously California Senate Bill 420.

- Relax

Grant Hawkins.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

One thing on my mind lately has been the concept of time. It is one of the few things that we cannot control, so instead we try and beat it. Everyone is in a rush. We now live in a 'high-speed' patientless world. When really, everyone has to take a step back and really think about it. What's the hurry? If we rush through life, we miss the most important things. As I drive down the road I see many people in a rush, speeding, not giving a hoot about the rules of the road. C'mon people, that's just putting yourself and others in danger. If you want to be somewhere for 2:00, leave at 1:00 instead of Quarter to. Hell, less than 100 years ago it would have taken us weeks to cross the country when now we can just hop on a plane and be in Vancouver in about the same time it takes to watch the LOTR trilogy.

So next time you are behind a slow driver, or in a long line, don't be impatient, just take a deep breath and take it slow bro.

Song recommendation : "To Beat The Devil" - Kris Kristofferson

- Brendan"Time to Kill"Morley

And the Sun is Shinning!

Hello One and all!

hopefully we got some new members from the facebook group following The Crazy Chester. If there's someone here who doesn't know; I'm running for Co-Prez of student council at my school there's a group on facebook which can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=68627832171

So now that I'm done with that self-endorsing on to the usually bloggy stuff. Lately I've become a Twitterer which is pretty cool if you ask me. I've made it into a sort of condensed more frequently updated Crazy Chester by throwing all my thoughts and ideas in there for example:

GrantHawkinsM: Isn't it enough to see a garden is beautiful without having to beleive that there are fairies under it too?

GrantHawkinsM: Allah at cha boi

GrantHawkinsM: Eatin' tacos

On a completely unrelated note it was very sunny out today in Fall River, Nova Scotia which of course makes me very happy and excited for the summer time. The summer time is exciting because it opens up opportunities for adventure all around the place without having to bundle up and freeze.

That's about all for now I think. I haven't really been listening to anything new.. Just lots of MF Doom.

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

-Grant Hawkins

Good Things Come In Three

Dartmouth's own Joel Plaskett has just released his latest album entitled "Three". This is no ordinary album though, it is a Three disc album! Very few artists have attempted a three disc album, and even fewer have been a success. The theme of this album is obviously "Three" (three discs, third solo album, and many of the track titles are just three of the same word repeated ex: "Deny, Deny, Deny".) I purchased this album two days ago and have just now listened to it all the way through one or two times. I love it, Joel covers so many genres he is influenced by. Like most albums, there are those few songs that jump out as "singles" but overall it is a solid group of songs. Great driving tunes. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone with ears.

Keep on thinking wishful thoughts,
-Brendan

I Quit My job

I bought a CD this weekend by Old Man Luedecke called Hinterland, and first I have to say that its a great album and it is so different from everything else i listen to (which can be a nice change). The first song on the album is entitled "I Quit My Job" and it talks about this materialistic world we live in. And how when it really comes down to it, we're on this earth for such a short time why waste it making as much money as you can instead of living and appreciating life for what it is. One key line in this song is "Don't Let them take, the joy that you make. On your own." For some reason that line stands out to me especially. Since first hearing this song last summer with Grant at a concert featuring Old Man Luedecke, I have lived by that line. Another great verse is "Don't kill yourself about making it. Just be takin it easy but be takin it. There's enough out there who are fakin it." This verse just emphasises his message even more. In conclusion, I hope you can "take you hearts candle and relight it", "Discard your store bought realities"... and finally

"Don't Let 'em take, the joy that you make"
- Old Man Brendan

The Freewheelin' Thick Food

Hello everyone. Let me explain to you the significance of those three seemingly unrelated pictures. The one on the left is The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, the one in the center is MM..Food by MF Doom and the one on the right is Thickfreakness by the Black Keys. What do these three albums have in common?? Not a lot I can tell you that much but they all share the fact that I found them at my local record store, Taz Records in Halifax. For all you followers of the blog Brendan mentioned in an earlier post that he started getting interested in records and vinyl and such and as you can guess I have too. Any of you who know my musical tastes might know I've been looking for more MF Doom for a long time and you can imagine how excited I was when I found one of his records in Taz. I've listened to it about three times now and I love it. It's got all these old samples from old superhero cartoons that featured Dr. Doom (The character MF Doom based his persona on) from the fantastic four. It's also a double disk so it's a bit of a pain to me being an amateur to turn tables and having to deal with a four sided record but it's well worth it because I can see it becoming one of my favorite Hip Hop records. Now on to the other two. Thickfreakness is already beginning to steal the title of my favorite Black Keys album from Magic Potion and I've only heard it maybe two times through. To tell you the truth I haven't even listened to the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan yet it was more of a "I don't have any Dylan in my collection so I'm just gonna get one to say I have it." I will defiantly listen to it eventually but I am in love with the other two right now so when that dies down I will defiantly give it a good listen.

Keep on keepin' on
-Grant

Didn't WATCH WATCHmen

It's been a while since I've posted something, so i felt i should... the only problem being I don't know what to talk about.
The other day some friends and I drove down to the ol' moving picture show to catch the new Watchmen flick. We were early, so we bought our tickets and then walked over to a near by book store. At the book store I saw some very interesting books, some on music, some on philosophy, starwars, joint rolling, movies, religion, biography's, and comic books. All of which I would read given the time, We got so caught up in literature that we almost forgot that we were there to see a movie. When we got back over to the theater, we walked towards the young man working at the booth. We must have looked pretty stupid, all of us trying to act old enough to get into the 18+ movie. Our friend Ian went first (because we all thought he looked the oldest), he handed the man his ticket. The man looked at the ticket, then looked at Ian, then at the ticket, then looked at Ian. "I.D please?" and that was it.. no movie for us. I felt so young and helpless at that moment. However, whenever you are in a situation like that, you always look back and think to yourself 'oh i should have said that' or 'If only I did this' but when you are in an awkward situation your main goal is to leave that awkward situation.. so that's what we did. Disappointed and hungry we made the walk of shame/victory through the doors of Wendy's. Nothing says I dont need your stupid movie theater like eating a messy and delicious burger. Even though we did not accomplish our goal of the trip, we had a good time, and maybe we just were not meant to see Watchmen at that place and that time.
Anyway, that's all I've got to say.
Stay Golden,
-Brendan

we raise the bar and fly over it

Haldo one and all. It's me Grant back for another round.

As many of you probably know I'm a gymnast... well was a gymnast that's right I have retired. It's almost been ten years of gym and 9 of competitive gymnastics. Now in this blog I'm not going to go over the reasons why I quit or anything like that instead I will be enlightening you about the sport of gymnastics. The reason I'm doing this? Well over the last nine or more years I've been asked a lot of really dumb questions. So today I will help you not look like a complete retard if you have an encounter with a gymnast.
Ok first off is the basics. There are six mens events that the men do they are as follows; floor (the floor everyone flips on) Pommel Horse (the one the guys swing their legs around most only call it pommels) Rings (the two rings the event the iron cross is preformed on) Vault (the big table people run at and flip over) Parallel Bars (commonly referred to as P-Bars it's two bars that are parallel to each other about shoulder width apart and the same height as each other) and High Bar. (the high metal bar guys swing around)
For Women it's almost a differant sport. Women only have four events Floor (same as guys only with music guys don't have floor music) Vault (same as mens) Uneven Bars (almost like P bars but further apart and one is higher then the other) Beam (like floor on a little skinny elevated srip of floor only girls do beam and theres a good reason for that.)
So now that we've covered the basics I'll answer some of the most frequently and the dumbest questions I've ever been asked as a gymnast

1. Can you do a back flip? Yes. I can and chances are if you're asking a competetive gymnast they can too.

2. Can you show me? Now unless you asked a gymnast who just learned it and are excited about it theres a strong chance we won't show you. Why? Cause we get asked that question at least once a day and when you're doing it at the gym almost every day it loses it's novelty fast

3. What's your specialty? Don't ask that question. Just don't. Gymnasts compete every single event untill you get to an olympic level and even then you still compete every event

4. Can you do an Iron Cross? 1st of all even though thats technically it's name no one calls it that. Everyone calls it cross. Most guys learn this skill around 13 or 14 at least at my gym mostly cause of muscle development at that time but not everyone can do it. (Girls don't compete rings so the never do cross)

5. Will I see you at the olympics? I don't know why people think that gymnastics is a shoo into the olympics. It's just as hard as any other sport if not harder to get to the olypics with. Statistically you'd have a better chance with a sport that has a bigger team like soccer or hockey.

Gymnastics is weird in the sence that you have to always be at the gym. At my peak I was at the gym 20 hours a week thats four hours on Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday and Saturday. This is because gym relies on muscle memory so if you stop for like a month or so you're not going to be as good as you were back then so you have to be in the gym as much as possible.

Thats all I can think of for now if you have any questions about the sport go a head and comment I'll do my best to answer it for you.

Yours truely
-Grant Hawkins

P.S. Hate is contagious... but so is love. You decide which one to catch

Happiness is a Clean T-shirt

I have come up with a list of some of my favourite things in life at the moment;

• Flight of the Conchords; I've been a fan of the show since the beginning, but the latest season is so funny, and it makes my Monday mornings a little bit nicer.
• Free Period; With a new semester comes new courses, and my favourite has to be Free. Whether I'm kickin' it in the council room with Grant, or digging through LP's at Ian's house. Free is short for freedom, which is what I get out of it. No work, no stress, I don't know how i survived without it.
• NBA Live 2003; I haven't touched this game in years, but since I got a Wii I've been playing more of my old G-Cube games. And I've forgotten how awesome it is. Not only is it the last basketball video game to feature Michael Jordan but it also has much better game-play than any of those new games. So if I haven't blogged in a while you'll know that its because I'm off gaming 03' style.
• Vinyl Records; Lately I have been very interested in vinyl records. Collecting, listening and viewing other's collections. There is a very distinct sound that they have that is incomparable to any other for of music. Grant and I are thinking about starting up a collection/trading 'club' you could call it.
• My new t-shirt; A couple of weeks ago i stumbled across a sweet t-shirt from my favourite movie The Big Lebowski on the Internet. I ordered it and it came shortly after. It is very sweet how while wearing it people i don't even know will see my shirt and say things like 'Hey sweet movie' or 'The Dude abides man'. So i thought that was pretty cool.
• Coffee; I've only started drinking it a few months ago but I love it, and not because it is a 'mature' drink, or the satisfying thought that it was made my little African children for pennies a day. I like it because for me it is a patient drink. I drink it slow, and i like the time i spend drinking it. I could spend hours in a coffee shop observing the people around me and having discussions with friends.
• Philosophical Conversations; One of my new courses is 'Comparative World Religions' which has got me thinking about 'the bigger picture' and pressing human questions. I could talk about it for days, Why are we here? Are we alone in the universe? Is there life after death? ....the list of questions goes on. I've had discussion with friends about these questions and they all seem to ponder the same things as me.

So now you know what has brought my life enjoyment and peace of mind. Thanks for reading, - Brendan

Dear Visitors,

Good Afternoon,

Grant and myself started this blog as a way to express ourselves and as a place to store all of our thoughts. But what I want to know is 'Has anybody read it?' It is not the point of our blog to see how many subscribers we get, but it would be nice to know if anybody has stumbled across our little blog and has taken the time to read some of our posts. If anybody is reading this, it would be nice if you could you post a comment. It's be pretty cool for us to find out that someone has shared a thought or taken an interest in anything we say.

Thanks for reading,

Brendan

Random Thoughts of Neat Disorder

Ok so this time I don't really have a single topic so I'm gonna give you a run down of some random things

first is a list of my favorite days of the year

1. Christmas
2. My Birthday
3. The first day of the year where I can comfortably walk to school in a T-Shirt

Second: over the weekend me and my awesome girlfriend rented two things; Nick and Norah's Infinite Play List and a game for the wii called De Blob

Nick and Norah I thought was pretty good it's got some good jokes and a great story about two people who fall in love over Indie Rock

De Blob is incredible. I've had a wii for some time now and even though I haven't played a lot of games for it this is one of, if not the best one. You play as this blob of colour in a town that had all it's colour stolen. you're part of a radical rebellion that is trying to bring colour back to the world. It mixes cool art with a great interactive soundtrack I recommend it for all Wii owners.

That's all for now commrades

The dude abides
-Grant

Quick Thought

Good Evening,
Today I was sitting in class thinking about life when I came upon something pretty deep. Here it is;
If time is money, and money is the root of all evil, than is TIME the root of all evil?
If anyone reading this can clarify this or comment on it, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
-Brendan

It's Been a Long Time Since I Rock and Rolled

Well ladies and gents it's been a while since I posted. I'd like to say it was because of exam week and I was studying but that would be a straight up lie. I had my final exam (Comparative World Religions) at the worst possible time which was Thursday at 1:15 which is the latest possible time for an exam. This sucked cause I wanted it to just be over and done with, but no there had to be a snow day so I had too wait all the way 'till Friday afternoon to get it done. Things aren't all bad though since there was a snow day that means there's no school on Monday which means I get to go back to double free on Tuesday.

So now that I'm done with all that examination rigmarole I have more time to do what I do best, sitting around and listening to music. I finally got to spend all my HMV gift cards that I got for Christmas and I got: A Ghost is Born -Wilco, Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan, Uplift Mofo Party Plan -Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Oracular Spectacular -MGMT. A Ghost is Born is really good it sounds a lot like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot to me which is a good thing. Highway 61 Revisited is also an awesome album that opens with Like a Rolling Stone which is one of the greatest songs ever. The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is some old school funky monkey Red Hot Chili Peppers with a funky cover of Subterranean Homesick Blues and other such hits as Party on Your Pussy, and Fight Like a Brave. Finally Oracular Spectacular. It's alright I didn't get to listen to it a whole lot but from what I've heard it sounds like a crazy heroin trip in a room with a synthesizer and a drum set and maybe a guitar and bass every once in a while.

So yeah that's what I've been up to lately. I'm excited for the new semester to start with Chemistry, Free, History, and Math it should be good times. I will do my best to post more often from now on.

Farewell until next time comrades

-Grant

The beginning of the beginning of the end of the beginning.

Hi all,

Exams start in a week, so I will probably not have any time to blog until they are over. Exams also mean the beginning of semester 2. So here is a re-cap of first semester;

Overall, the work load wasn't so bad. I had some pretty interesting teachers, met some interesting people, heck... i even learned a thing or two. I would not say it went by fast, however it did not go by slow either, it went by normal. Some days feel longer than others, that always amazes me, how one day its Monday than in what seems like seconds its Friday already.

It'll be interesting to see how this new semester fairs out, its strange how a few months can change a person. I wonder what i will be like in May? So I'll just ask myself...

To my future self: Hi future self, how are things? am i still alive? anything interesting happen in the past few months? reply back when you read this.

- yours truly Present/Past Brendan

(ps: stare at the picture from far away)

My mind is filled with radio cures

Hi.
There is a lot that people don't know about me, so I've decided to post some interesting facts about myself. Who knows, it might make a great conversation starter some time. for example "Hey did you know that Brendan has flat feet... nice to meet you my name is _________"
Okay, here we go
Brendan narrates his own life, like in the show Scrubs.
Brendan likes to imagine himself in different situations like.... while drumming Brendan almost always imagines himself playing in front of thousands of people. or when Brendan is shooting some hoops in the backyard he likes to pretend he is in the championship game and hits the shot ftw.
Brendan sometimes gives human characteristics to objects, whether its positioning his toothbrush so it has a view out the window, or matching socks up so they won't be lonely.
Brendan always has a song stuck in his head.
Brendan once killed a man (OK so this one isn't completely true, but it makes me sound like a bamf)
Brendan uses his ipod as an excuse not to talk to people.
Brendan loves mornings.
Brendan tries to not hate people.
Brendan has no life, and is completely fine with that.
Brendan has nothing left to write.