baylie

So, in case you didn't already know, I'm a senior!! Hell yes!! But with that comes the ever-looming, imminent, impending Senior Project. The Senior Project is basically a really big year-long project that all seniors have to complete and pass in order to graduate. You pick a topic, get a mentor, log some hours, make a product, write a paper that somehow relates to your topic while also arguing a specific side from a (usually controversial) current topic, and give a 6-10 minute long speech in front of a panel of community members. 

I still am at a loss as to what my topic should be. At first I was going to organize a benefit concert featuring local Denver bands and the proceeds would go to an animal shelter. That plan has since fallen through because I am still band-less. Music is my passion but I have no means to do anything with it at the present time. =(

Then I thought about doing something music-production related. Maybe interning at Blasting Room Studios (not sure how that would turn out though). But eventually that fell through. It just wouldn't work, for various reasons.

Next, I pondered about elementary art education. Just because it would be fun. Finger painting with little kids. But I don't feel passionate enough about it and I will be working on this for practically a full school year.

Photography briefly crossed my mind. But it's cliche and contrived. I don't know what the bigger picture, greater good it would relate to. And I'm just not that great of a photographer anyways.

But I think I may have found my topic. Creating my own fashion line. Sort of. It would be waaaaaaaaaaay scaled down. I would just make a handful of sample pieces, maybe alter some store bought clothing into something more original, write an essay about the benefits and downsides of apparel companies outsourcing labor, and the end. I do enjoy sewing, and diy-ing in general. Plus, i've been wanting to actually "create" some clothes of my own for forever, but just haven't had the drive to. This would push me to get on that. Even though I usually dress like a lazy hobo, I do like fashion. I'm just too moneyless to actually buy an extensive array of cute clothes. And I think it's a less common topic; most seniors end up doing some sort of variation on about five different topics, they all become redundant. I'd like to do something original.

So the reason I'm posting this unnecessarily lengthy journal is to ask your advice. What do you think would be a good Senior Project? Any of my ideas, or are you much more creative that myself and have a better idea?

Let me know.

Plzkthnxbai.

=)

~baylie

this is the entire transcript of my conversation with Father Brian, my friend(?) brian who is a devout catholic kid who plans on becoming a priest.

this all started after he left me a voicemail criticizing my answering machine which happens to be matt skiba talking about animal rights stuff.
and brian used to be a vegetarian until he became anemic.

yes, both arguments are completely baseless, but i just wanted to show the insanity that is his religious justification. i deal with this every day.
"jesus says so. the bible is completely true. if i believe it, it's true despite the lack of evidence. you not believing doesn't mean it's not real. i'm right because i'm religious."

purple = me.

Well, it’s true. God created animals FOR humans…so we could eat them :]

Did jesus come down from heaven and tell you that personally? otherwise, no.

Well the Bible is the living word of God…So in a sense yes He did :]

I take that as a no, he didn’t.

Well you shouldn’t. It’s in Genesis, chapter 1. Look it up. Man has dominion over the animals. They aren’t rational creatures, nor do they have a soul.

first, i’m not believing a second hand text as proof. and what the hell animals don’t have souls?

They are just matter…Flesh and bone. Not body and soul. If we eat them…It doesn’t really matter. Feeling sorry for something that isn’t rational and was made for us to eat is just silly.

I think Jeffrey dahmer used that same argument to justify his actions.

Who’s that?

Google.

I don’t really have a computer near by…

Serial killer and cannibal.

Well human beings and animals we eat are entirely different things…He sounds like a lunatic.

No more insane than a zealot.

Hah…Yes way more insane than a zealot. Being passionate about something and a serial killer are also very different things.

Two extremes. both intense beliefs and actions. both think they are right and think they have the right to act how they want.

But what if the zealot IS right?

that’s only a what if. Same argument can be used on the cannibal’s side.

And I hardly think a serial killer feels they have the right to murder. They are just numb to how awful it is.
Eating other humans can’t be justified.

Says you.

Says most of the world as well.

Majority does not equate correct.

But God equates correct and He says eating other humans isn’t okay. It’s the same as murder, again if you feel like that’s okay then you need to sort out some priorities.

you use an imaginary omnipotent figure as your justification for living. your priorities need a bit of sifting through as well.

Haha but not so imaginary. Well what are you living for then?

Myself. why live for something/someone who may not exist and probably doesn’t like me anyway?

He loves you more than you could ever know! But living for yourself is completely selfish and won’t bring you any happiness. I mean true, lasting joy. Not instant, selfish gratification that can’t keep you happy.

there is no proof that god loves anyone. more evidence claims that he doesn’t. so why not just make myself happy. if god loves me he’ll want me to be happy.

Selfishness isn’t happiness. Freedom isn’t to do whatever you want. Freedom as it was made, means not to be a slave to your sings. If God took away all of our problems and made everything easy, how would we ever know what it means to be faithful? There is proof. You just have to open your eyes to it.

I’m quite content being blind. it allows me to wear cool glasses.

Cool glasses is nothing compared to unconditional love that lasts forever.

I love my glasses unconditionally. and will for forever.

But they can’t love you back…It’s an inanimate object.

Says you.

God says that too…Do you really think being blind will bring you happiness? It’s true…Ignorance can be bliss, but only for a time. And there is something much greater…

Allegedly. there may be nothing after bliss.

Yes there is. Eternal bliss. Ignorance certainly won’t bring you that. It’s impossible to be unaware of the truth forever.

unless you’re ignorant until you die and nothing happens after. that’s forever.

But there IS something after that. Eternal salvation or the fires of Hell. It’s not like not believing in it changes the fact that they exist.

Believing doesn’t make it real. your only proof is the bible. second hand accounts written by people who weren’t there. no hard evidence.

There is only one real author of the Bible. God. Science can’t tell us what’s beautiful, it can’t tell us why people sacrifice themselves when it tells us that our basic instincts are completely self centered. It IS the truth, and it is real :] there is way more proof. Miracles (still not explainable by modern science) happen all the time. Bodies of saints that haven’t decayed for well over a few hundred years, and a lot more.

You sound like a sermon preaching to save his life. Trying to justify your existence. No point in trying to convince me.

Yes there is. I know why I’m here. But you don’t Is being concerned about the fate of a friend’s soul really so meaningless?

if you think it has meaning then it does to you. not to everyone else.

But it SHOULD have meaning to you. What if you’re wrong?

then it will suck to be me.

...looks like yertle the turtle.

y/y?

because it's a wagon (a little red wooden one, perhaps?) and it has bands.

a little guess the lyrics??
put the music on shuffle and post the first line of lyrics.

1. "A bunch of punks hangin' out on the streets before a show."
2. "It doesn't hurt me. You want to feel how it feels?"
3. "I almost got drunk at school at fourteen."
4. "Well shake it up baby now."
5. "Build a wall of books between us in our bed."
6. "What's with these homies, dissin' my girl? Why do they gotta front?"
7. "Cut my tongue out, I've been caught out like a giant juggernaut."
8. "I wake up every evening with a big smile on my face."
9. "Dear mr. and/or mrs. sender..."
10. "There's someone down below blowing you a kiss."
11. "Thursday night, everything's fine, except you've got that look in your eye"
12. "This is a jetsetter music letter from me to you."
13. "When it began, for those who don't know, it didn't matter how you looked or what you wore to a show."
14. "It must be your skin that I'm sinking in."
15. "My girlfriend, my dumb donut..."
16. "Don't come looking for me..."
17. "I pushed the button and elected him to office..."
18. "It's not easy having yourself a good time."
19. "Do you know who I am? Good, neither do I."
20. "There is nothing to see here people keep moving on."

So, yesterday was Channel 93.3’s Big Gig. It’s an annual summer festival-type show at Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre where Projekt Revolution and various other shows are (as well as my high school’s graduation, haha). Last year’s Big Gig had Social Distortion, Motion City Soundtrack, Jack’s Mannequin, Blue October, I Hate Kate, and Single File (I really wish I had gone).

I actually found out about the show from my mom. She was reading the paper (Denver Post, I believe) which had a collective Colorado summer concert list. She was all like “oh, Paramore’s playing in Denver in July”. I responded “No they’re not. It’s not listed on their myspace or their website.” I even checked Ticketmaster which advertised the show as ‘Channel 93.3’s Big Gig featuring The Offspring’. So I forgot about it.

But then it appeared on Paramore’s website and myspace tour dates list and I decided to go. Me, Lexi, our sister Kassidy, and mom and dad went. My mom usually doesn’t go to concerts unless she loves the band or I force her, haha.

The lineup was originally Dropping Daylight, The Spill Canvas, Dropkick Murphys, Paramore, and The Offspring. Then The Flobots were added, to my dismay (I’ll get to that later), as well as assorted local bands opening on a Locals Only stage.

We entered the ampitheatre at 4-ish, as soon as Dropping Daylight started playing (doors opened at 1-1:30). All the local bands had finished and there were practically no seats on the general admission lawn (for the record: lawn seats were WAY oversold). But we were able to find a spot anyway. We had two nice, soft blankies as well as a brolly (a.k.a. umbrella). So Lexi and Kassidy layed down shaded by the umbrella while I listened, my dad did nothing, and my mom read, haha.

For the record, it was so hot. Sweltering, in fact. My mom even got a mild case of heatstroke. And I had chosen to wear black skinny jeans, of course. Plus, there were many clouds in the sky just beyond the sun, taunting us in our over heated misery.

Dropping Daylight were quite good, surprisingly. I knew about them previously, but very apathetically. But after seeing them live, I really like them. They sounded really good – which seems to be a problem for opening bands, especially the first band, for whatever reason: lack of experience, unexperienced sound techs, not good enough sound checks, etc. – but they were great. And they had a pianist. Not a keyboardist. Not those shitty little 20 (or however many keys) things that so many bands have (Underoath and Motion City Soundtrack come to mind. I love them both, though). It was a real electric keyboard and the lead singer could actually play. Blasphemy! Seriously, if you have never seen a real pianist but only just keyboardists, you have no idea.

They played a cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” which got the whole crowd singing because everyone knows that song. And their pianist (Sebastian Davin, I believe) played the piano part of the song amazingly.

Next was the Spill Canvas. They weren’t really that good for me. Their sound quality wasn’t anything special, the between song banter was annoying (“the drunker you are, they better WE sound!!”, really?), and I didn’t really like their songs. During one of their songs they played a riff from “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kanasa. They closed with their new single, “All Over You”, which had a huge crowd response, of course.

During their set, there was some intense pot smoking going on around us, which of course pissed off my mom.

Flobots played following Spill Canvas. I feel horribly ignorant towards them now. I only knew about them because of their album commercial which plays “Handlebars”. Because I had seen that commercial only a million times, I found them to be a very annoying band. After seeing them live my opinion has changed.

Reasons they are amazing:
*They have a girl member, who doesn’t sing! She plays violin! Extremely well, too.
*They’re a mix of rock and hip hop and random stuff. Kind of like Gym Class Heroes. I happen to love crossover bands if they do it right.
*They are a band with a message; a message that actually runs their lives. Every one of their songs that they played was about peace, unity, compassion, love and all that wonderful stuff.

Oh, and their from Denver. That always helps my opinion, haha.
Their set included Handlebars, Fight With Tools, Stand Up, and a lot more.

Dropkick Murphys played fourth. I think they’re okay. I like their Irish sound mixed with more hardcore stuff. There were actually a lot of people there for them, which surprised me. They had great crowd responses during all of their songs. One guy even said “Stand up! Show respect for the Irish”. Lots of crazy – probably drunk, haha – Irish dancing ensued. Most of the energy was coming from the cheaper, general admission lawn seats (where we were) so one of the members (Al Barr, I believe) said “I see most of our fans are up there, you cheap bastards”, haha. They ended with their biggest song as well, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”, which caused most of the remaining people that weren’t already dancing crazy to do so.

Some great music was being played on the PA in between Dropkick Murphys and Paramore’s sets, like “Don’t Lost Touch” by Against Me! and “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades” by Brand New.

So finally came the band that I was waiting for: Paramore. I’ve liked them since 2005 when I saw them on Fuse and read about them in Alternative Press. Unfortunately, every opportunity to see them live failed. 2006 Warped Tour they weren’t in Denver. 2007 tour with The Almost didn’t come to Denver. 2007 Warped Tour I watched a bit of their set but there was stuff going on so…yeah. 2007 Fall tour was at the Fillmore Auditorium as a 16+ show. Recent tour with Jimmy Eat World didn’t come to Denver either. And they didn’t play the Denver date on Warped 2008. So here was finally my chance to legitimately see them live.

So, they were amazing as expected. Huge crowd response (more so for “Misery Business” than any other song, of course. The other singles got a lot of sing-a-longs too.) And my mom somehow (finally!) came to the conclusion that Hayley is a good singer. “Better than Katy Perry”, apparently.

Paramore Setlist:
Born for This
That’s What You Get
Here We Go Again
Fences
Crushcrushcrush
Let the Flames Begin (and the ‘Oh Father’ ending)
When It Rains
We Are Broken
Emergency
Pressure
For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
Misery Business

I was surprised that they didn’t play “Woah” and I thought “Stop This Song” might have been played. And I wasn’t expecting them to play “We are Broken” but it didn’t exactly surprise me either.

I’m pretty sure a lot of people left after Paramore but not all that many because there was thousands watching The Offspring. The Offspring had always been one of those bands that I wished I listened to more because all the songs I had heard I liked. My mom and sisters all love “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” (those posers, haha) and my dad had never heard them before.

Turns out my dad has a penchant for punk bands. Current punk bands. This first came to my knowledge last March (2007) during My Chemical Romance’s ‘Black Parade’ tour. Rise Against opened the Denver show and my dad loved them. And now it turns out that my dad loves The Offspring, too. It’s a little weird, haha.

Their set list included:
Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)
You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid
Why Don’t You Get a Job
Spare Me the Details
Pretty Fly for a White Guy
The Kids Aren’t Alright

Towards the end of their set, Dexter said “It smells like a giant cloud of marijuana just came down on the stage. Are all of you guys stoned? Jesus Christ.”

I thought they would end with “Pretty Fly…” but they played “The Kids Aren’t Alright” after it. Then they left the stage, the crowd screamed encore, and the lights didn’t go on. But we left anyways, haha.

I would have posted videos but:
*I didn’t bring an actual camera because my mom told me not to and I stupidly listened to her, argh. So…
*I only have fifteen second video clips on my phone. I have a lot of them and could have put them together somewhat collectively in imovie but…
*During all of my Paramore videos you can here my shitty singing in the background and you all don’t want to hear that, I promise.
*And the sound and video quality isn’t that good anyways. Though I did mostly film the big screens that the bands are projected on close up.

I tried forever to win backstage passes. I woke up at seven for about five days and listened to 93.3 for an hour to win. Then I resorted to the other contest called Make It Stop where a horrible song is played and you have to call in with the name and artist to make it stop. Turns out that the song played Friday (last time to win passes, day before the show) was a song that my dad knew. Yeah. Jesus hates me. =(

And I seem to have some weird obsession with predicting set lists during the shows. And I’m almost always right. (I basically called Paramore’s entire set list.) I think it annoys Lexi.

Oh, and me and my mom are convinced that the couple next to us were vegan, or at least vegetarian. They only drank water, only ate trail mix, had clothing that looked ‘green-ish’, and were like the only people not drinking or smoking. But I don’t know for sure.

I think that’s about it.

The End.

~baylie

i shall be temporarily gone.
M.I.A.

until saturday, july 12.

and where will i be?

bonaire.

one of the ABC islands, off the coast of venezuela.
apparently the scuba diving is fantastic there so...
and there are flamingo sanctuaries. =D

but: our flight out of denver leaves like five-ish. then we land in houston for a FIVE HOUR LAYOVER then we take a red eye to bonaire and arrive at five-ish in the morning. oooooh, fun.

and i hate airports anyways. i'm not scared of flying but the people that work at airports are usually pretty mean. power hungry occasionally. and the security is way too intense (if my headphones are confiscated i will be pissed beyond belief).

plus my grandpa is the one in charge of the trip and he's like a vacation nazi. we're diving twice each day. early morning.
when we went to disneyland he made us go early (7 am) and stay late (11 pm).

and my mommy isn't going. =(
so i'm going to miss her mucho. and my puppies. =(

so, no internet because i'm not supposed to bring my computer (but i probably wouldn't have internet access anyways) and no picture via cell phone text messages because the roaming charges suckkkkk ($1.30 per minute for calls, 50 cents or more per text).

but i shall take plenty of pictures and videos, hopefully. (unless i use up all my memory making a movie with lexi during our five hour layover.)

later skater (or l8r sk8r, if you're 'cool' like that, haha)

~baylie

Sorry it took so long. Monday I was just being lazy and yesterday was my birthday so I didn’t really get a chance to finish this until today.

So this is my third Warped Tour. I first attended in 2006, then 2007, and now 2008. This year me, Lexi, and our dad went a little later than usual. We got at Invesco Field at about 11am and had to wait in line forever, of course. First order of business was to find the big inflatable schedule and plan out the day.

Thank you Action for Animals for having flyers of the schedule even though I didn’t get one until halfway through the day…



We watched The Academy Is…’s set at 12:30, from the back. While eating a $4 icee thingee, haha. They were awesome. The played The Phrase that Pays, Checkmarks, We’ve Got a Big Mess on Our Hands (random fact: me and Lexi got to introduce that song last year for Fuse’s Warped Wednesday/Weekend. We still don’t know if it ever aired, haha), Slow Down, and a few others.

Then me and Lexi got into a fight. From First to Last was doing a signing (at 2:15) after their set which was at 1:30. Cobra Starship was doing a signing at 2:30. I didn’t really want to meet From First to Last just because our littler sister Kassidy wasn’t there yet and she loves Matt Good and always quotes him from the Hollytauntes video he did with Audrey and Hanna, and I didn’t think it’d be fair for me and Lexi to meet them when Kassidy couldn’t. Plus I really wanted to meet Cobra.
Eventually me and Lexi went to see some of From First to Last’s set (just enough for me to hear Two as One live; I didn’t want to wait around for songs I love that they may or may not play).

Then we continued our search for T13C’s tent. Lexi is friends with them on buzznet and they told her to come see them. She had to go up to some random guy with a T13C sticker and ask him where their tent was, only to have him point like five feet away to a tent we had just passed.

Meanwhile, our dad found a nice shaded, grassy spot right beside T13C’s tent, and that was where he stayed for the rest of the day, haha.

Then, me and Lexi went to stand in line for Cobra Starship’s signing. The guy who was in charge of the signing was kind of a spaz. He kept yelling that the line be single file and being slightly crazy, haha. There were no pictures with the band, only of the band. And Gabe was “sick. But will be performing tonight”.

Now, this might make me sound like a horrible fan but I don’t care. If you are actually, legitimately sick, then by all means miss your signing. Get better. But if you are healthy enough to be able to play then you should be able to participate in your band’s signing four hours before your set; pop some aspirin, chug some Theraflu, and get over it.

Anyways, we got to meet the rest of Cobra, and they were all super nice. Vicky T. said she liked Lexi’s and my sunglasses. =)

Oh, and horrible planning: Cobra’s signing was at the same time as Gym Class Heroes’ set, on the other side of the parking lot. Yeah. And Say Anything was playing during the signing but their stage was close(r) to us so we got so hear some songs like Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too.



So after the signing me and Lexi went to go see some of Against Me!’s set because I absolutely love them. They were playing White People for Peace when we got over there and they played New Wave. In the middle of one of their songs, they stopped playing and Tom was like “woah, what’s going on?”. Apparently in the front of the crowd there was a fight going on but they got it to stop.

Then we just chilled under our tree. My mom and Kassidy showed up at about three-ish so we went to go get them from the gate. The Hurley stage was right in front of our shaded spot (though there were food tents in between) so we got to hear Family Force Five’s set. Then we got to hear We the Kings on the Hurley stage which was good because I wanted my mom to hear them since she was so pissed about All American Rejects dropping off (she’s a pop-punk fiend: AAR, Panic!, Cobra, TAI, Paramore, etc. It’s quite funny).

Me and Lexi quickly went to the Say Anything signing at the Alternative Press tent. We got to use our AP cut passes that I got because I re-subscribed to AP when I preordered my tickets. There was a little line of cut pass people and a few of us were integrated into the line at a time. It took less than ten minutes for us to meet them.


They weren’t ‘mean’ but they were kind of stand-offish. Didn’t really talk or anything. Didn’t seem to excited to meet fans.

Katy Perry was doing a signing at five. My entire family (as in: me, Lexi, Kassidy, and my mom) absolutely love her so we wanted to meet her. But, me and Lexi wanted to meet Against Me! too, who (we thought) were doing a signing at five as well. So my mom, being a nerd, brought a folding type chair and a book and sat in line reading, drinking a frozen margarita for like an hour.

Then it turns out that Against Me!’s signing is at 5:30. But at five the line for Katy wasn’t moving. At all. We didn’t meet her until about 5:45 and rushed into Against Me!’s line right after. Katy was awesome but I didn’t really get a picture with her (other than her and my back, haha) and my little sister Kassidy met her and her merch girl was like “aww, take a picture with the little one” so Kassidy got a picture. =D




I stole this little poster thingee from Lexi because you’re supposed to get one if you buy Katy Perry merch. I was going to replace it when I bought a shirt but I didn’t get one when I went back to buy my shirt. =(

During Against Me!’s signing, me and Lexi were pseudo-fighting and they made fun of us, haha. And Tom was all like “Hi, I’m Tom” and Lexi said “I know” which was like the funniest thing ever.




I won this poster because I signed up for Gigbot. If you sign up you get to spin a wheel for prizes like free concert tickets and posters and stuff. My spin landed on poster and my choices were a Warped Tour 2008 poster, Against Me! poster, and something else. I chose Against Me! =D

After the signing, Cobra Starship was playing so we listened to Send My Love to the Dancefloor and then returned to our shaded, grassy spot. It was about 6:15 and we all (mom, dad, Lexi, Kassidy, me) were hanging out.

Pierce the Veil was playing on the Hurley Stage and we heard them play Beat It. As soon as they started playing it my mom was singing and I kept saying that Fall Out Boy’s cover is much better. T13C people (band or crew or whatever, I'm not quite sure) were talking to some random girl fans (who apparently were also pseudo-groupies*) who apparently loved Pierce the Veil’s cover and T13C told them they were wrong and that Fall Out Boy’s was much better, haha.

Then I look at my little schedule flyer and realize that we are right next to the Hurley Stage, where Jeffree Star would be playing at 6:50. No bueno.

So I tell my mom and she finds it hilarious. When Jeffree went onstage my mom noticed him because of his hair, which she liked, haha. But his entire set was utterly horrible. Seriously. His songs have great music, but terrible lyrics that sounded like shit live. But it was entertaining for me which is all that matters. T13C people kept complaining, saying that Jeffree’s set needed to end. And the local food tent people hated it too. One of them even mimed a shotgun and pretended to shoot Jeffree offstage. That whole thirty minutes was pretty hilarious.

Then we trekked over to the Hurley.com stage to see Katy Perry. She played One of the Boys, You’re So Gay, I Kissed a Girl, and a couple others. I Kissed a Girl was the last song she played and she intro-ed it by pretending to talk on the phone with her mom saying “yeah, Mom, I did kiss a girl…”. During the first chorus when she says “hope my boyfriend don’t mind it”, she pointed to Travis who was onstage to the side. During the whole song he was kind of dancing in place looking all proud. =D

Then we left, haha.
The End.

I spent $70 on merch-

$25 Katy Perry shirt

front:


back:


$20 Cobra Starship shirt

front:


back:


$15 Against Me! shirt



$10 Peta shirt



I got a nice case of melanoma on my back, haha.

I’m assuming that my sunburn matching my red bra is not a good thing.

*My dad told us that said girls were talking with T13C peoples about the barbeque after warped. The guy said “You can only get in with a pass or if you’re invited.” to which the girls replied “What do we have to do to get an invite?” T13C dude was all like “Well, that depends on what you’ll do but you’re not getting one from me.”
Ahahahaha, I love it.

~baylie

coming soon.
hopefully tomorrow.

i'm just really tired and really sunburned so writing it now would prove useless. plus i have many pictures i need to upload for this journal as well as some pictures i need to take (of the merch i bought).

and least this way now i will have to actually write this in a timely fashion since i sort of promised i would.
haha.

~baylie

warped tour is tomorrow. i lost my camera and lexi broke hers so as of right now i'm planning on hijacking my grandpa's, ahahaha.

mindless self indulgence is in the new alternative press magazine. the warped tour one. it's basically all about jimmy; kitty, steve, and lyn-z are mentioned a couple times. but it really is jimmy's band so i didn't mind. and gerard was not name dropped at all, haha.

katy perry's cd one of the boys is my current favorite. i love it. the title track is my obsession of the moment (excluding "i kissed a girl" but...)

metro station is in the new AP as well. and "shake it" is being used in commercials for bravo's shear genius and the-n's degrassi.

anddddddd...

so, we've been leaving the radio on in the kitchen so that our dogs don't get too lonely. for some reason the radio is on radio disney; i think my sister kassidy did that...
anyways, i was in the kitchen and the d.j. says "'that's what you get' by paramore" for that 'kick it or pick it' shit or whatever it is. it only played like thirty seconds of paramore but people were calling in saying whether they wanted it or didn't. so some girl calls in and says "kick it, definitely" and the d.j. dude is like "well, any reason why?" and the girl is all like "it's not really my style" in a snobby-ish type tone.
yes, dear preteen and tweens who religiously listen to radio disney, paramore is not your style. fer realz. (unless you happen to be my eight year old sister, but that's a different story). and honestly, it shouldn't be on radio disney, sandwiched in between that miley cyrus / hannah montana freakshow of music and the jonas brothers / their camp rock characters aural abuse.
but this girl sounded like she was old, as in like fifteen or something. argh.......

oh, and charlotte sometimes is my current hero. haha.

~baylie

p.s.

now on radio disney is that one a cursive memory song. and their video was playing in american eagle on monday. the worst part of them being overplayed is that i don't even like them, haha.

and now it's back to the paramore "kick it or pick it". another girl said no and then two girls, one whose name was baylie, both called in to pick it.

and now it was just a miley cyrus commercial in which she referred to herself as a rock star. excuse me while i puke.

i've joined the 30 Book Challenge group so this is where i shall post my progress. i haven't decided on my deadline yet, haha.

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

The Tracey Fragments - Maureen Medved

This Earth of Mankind - Pramoedya Ananta Toer

1984 - George Orwell

Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk

Hamlet - William Shakespeare

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

Animal Farm - George Orwell

Night - Elie Wiesel

~baylie

June 3, 2008
Fillmore Audtorium
Denver, Colorado

We're So Starving
Nine in the Afternoon
But it's Better If You Do
Camisado
She's a Handsome Woman
The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage
Behind the Sea
Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
I Constantly Thank God for Esteban
That Green Gentleman
There's a Good Reason These Tables are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Figured it Out Yet
Folkin' Around
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies
Northern Downpour
Time to Dance
Pas De Cheval
Mad as Rabbits

Not really, haha.

So basically, I have decided to undertake the intense “365 Project”; one picture a day for a year. I’m not too if it’ll work. Has anyone successfully completed it? I know Huldaholm is/was close to finishing. And John (Ounceofwentz) was mixing it up by doing a video version. I don't know. Mine is definitely not about creativity or photography or being amazing or anything like that. I'm just going to take a picture of myself just to see if I can. I probably can't. We’ll see how it turns out, haha.

I chose to start it today because today is technically the first day of summer. Yesterday – Thursday, May 22 – was the last day of my sophomore year. Now I am half way through high school, a junior, and in my quintessential teen year: sixteen. I think this might be my most transformational year so I shall document it (or at least try.)

Day One is right here.

the end.

~baylie

the sound of resonating silence.
echoing.
blaring into my ears.
pounding into my skull.
drowning out every thought.
moment.
memory.
emotion.
until there’s nothing left.
the noises once prominent are now lost.
the quiet knows no bounds.
this silence is more deafening than anything i've heard before

i don't really like it. i think it's too forced, cliché, contrived.
but whatever. i basically wrote it last night at like 11:45 pm-ish while trying to fall asleep so i didn't expect it to be excessively eloquent.

sorry this is so late, i've been insanely busy this week.

This was my third MCR show. First one was on March 4, 2007 at Magness Arena with Rise Against opening. Honestly, it was one of the most disappointing and upsetting shows ever so I don’t really want to talk about it, haha. Next was Projekt Revolution on September 3 (yes, Gerard and Lindsey got married after my show) at Coors Amphitheater. It was much better as The Black Parade era began dissolving. So that brings me to Monday’s show, April 14 at The Fillmore.
I’ve never been to The Fillmore because it’s always a 16+ show so that the venue can sell alcohol (grrrr!!!).
I always thought that The Fillmore was the same size as The Ogden (which I’ve only been to once because it too is always 16+, damn Live Nation and AEG) because they seem to be synonymous with one another. I was like “how can My Chem play such a tiny venue? It will sell out for sure”. I’m not sure if it did buy there was a lot of people.
My aunt was supposed to get us (me, Lexi, our mom, our dad, and our little sister Kassidy, who is eight) into MCR’s soundcheck because she ‘supposedly’ knows one of The Fillmore managers, but of course didn’t. So I was kind of pissed as we walked pretty much the equivalent of 3 blocks around The Fillmore to get to the end of the line.
The thing about concerts is, they remind me of how much I hate people. This became once again obvious to me as I waited in line for MCR, surrounded by immature fan girls squealing “OHMIGOD!!! I SAW GERARD!!”. No, you did not see Gerard, you creeper, now sit down and shut up before I shove Bullets down your throat.
So we get inside and it’s swarmed with people. There’s a massive line to the bathroom and the only place to hang is on the ground of ‘the floor’ (pit, general admission, whatever). My sister was sitting on a ledge thingee but was immediately commanded to get down. Bum out. So we sat on the ground in the middle of general admission for about 45 min.
Drive By opened. Their songs are not bad. But I recognized most of them even though I’ve never heard any of their music. Why? Because it sounds like generic rock. So, yeah, not that amazing.
Then Billy Talent played. I love them. Ever since I saw ThunderRidge Hell School. They were amazing and I love Benjamin Kowalewicz, especially his voice. It’s hilariously adorable. And he kept dedicating songs to the Colorado Avalanche (hockey team) and me and my mom were like “wtf??” and then we found out they’re Canadian and were all like “…ohhhhhhh…”. But their set was sooooooooo long. Like 45 min. Never ending, for reals.
After Billy Talent left the stage, me and Lexi began trekking and maneuvering into the crowd to at least hear a couple songs. We waited in the pit, surrounding by disgusting, sweaty, creepy people for about half an hour. Ewwwwwwwww. But the sound guys were playing The Beatles through the PA’s while we waited. Finally, My Chem started and played a prolonged set of TWENTY-TWO SONGS. Oh, yes.

Sleep
Give ‘Em Hell, Kid
This Is How I Disappear
Dead!
Hang ‘Em High
Welcome to the Black Parade
I Don’t Love You
My Way Home is Through You
Headfirst for Halos
The Sharpest Lives
I Never Told You What I Did for a Living
House of Wolves
Kill All Your Friends
The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You
I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
Mama
You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison
Teenagers
Famous Last Words
Cancer
Desert Song
Helena

Me and Lexi were in the pit for “Sleep” and “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” but left before “This Is How I Disappear”
After “Hang ‘Em High”, someone threw a tiara, I believe, onto the stage and Gerard was all like “I’m never going to wear this”, haha.
Before “My Way Home is Through You”, Gerard said they were going to play a b-side and that they would be playing a lot of b-sides. Me and my mom freaked out because “Kill All Your Friends” is a b-side and one of our favorite songs, ever. And Gerard started talking about Lindsey (awwwwww). He talked about Denver being special because it’s where he got married and how the next song was dedicated to her.
After that, Gerard thanked the opening bands and crew and his band and the crowd.
During “Headfirst for Halos”, Ray began playing something like the Twilight Zone theme and Gerard started talking about the Rock of Love finale. Then he said to the crowd “will you all stay in this venue and rock my world?” (if you don’t watch Rock of Love, you have no idea, ahahaha).
After “House of Wolves”, Gerard had the crowd sing happy birthday to their booker, Matt, since his birthday was later last week.
Gerard started talking about how Mikey got a ouija board and how they use it to pick the songs for their set list and that it chose the next song (“The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You”).
During “Teenagers”, one of their guitar techs came out onstage and was playing harmonica.
After “Famous Last Words”, James (Dewees) played a piano solo while the band was taking a break and then they all played “Cancer”.
After “Cancer” there was more piano and then they played “Desert Song” pretty much acoustically. Then Gerard said they would take a break for a couple years and come back with a new album.

I refused to sing “Welcome to the Black Parade” especially since I was the only one around me that was singing “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” and “Hang ‘Em High” and “I Never Told You What I Did for a Living” and “The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You”. argh!!!

Basically the highlight was hearing songs I’ve never heard live and probably never will hear live again like “I Never Told You What I Did for a Living”, “The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You” and “Desert Song”, plus the b-sides.

honors english assignment; write two free verse poems, three haikus (one about nature), and two sonnets
i'm not posting the haikus, they're kind of stupid anyways, haha

free verse:

The Writing Process
I try to express myself
“I’m falling into this big, black pit of despair…”
Could I be anymore cliché
God, I sound like Morrisey
I try to sound deep, but I just end up sounding dark
All emotions are stark, desolate
Few and far between
I can rhyme; duplicitous and vicious. Used and abused.
I can even use big words; exhortation, exsanguination
But it doesn’t help
My thoughts are just colorful papers scribbled with random words trying to make coherent sense
But I can’t
And they don’t
It’s hard to say something prolific when millions of people are listening

Hi-Jack
This is a stickup, give me your inspiration
Give me your voice, your words
Even your silence
I’ll take it all
Nothing exists and you are but a thought
A fragment from my mind
My memory
I am the writer
And the writer always has the final word
The words to end it all

(yes, fall out boy lyrical reference)

sonnet:

Reality
The world won’t stop spinning for you
Just give it up already
You have to be told what to think and what to do
You’re emotions aren’t holding steady
Regret will tear you apart bit by bit
I don’t know who you think you are
Just leave, disappear, split
Go somewhere far
From here. Playing the victim will get you nowhere
Life is not directed around your day
No one even cares
I don’t. Your memories are archived and locked away
Find something new to spew
That do not enter sign is directed at you

The End
I’m so over this
Your scrutinizing, examining close up
A never ending, raging abyss
And the only place to go from here is up
You’re wasting your time reminiscing
You’re poor self image, you’re pit of despair
Leave the puzzle with pieces missing
I’m sorry, but there’s nothing left for you here
Keep on feeling sorry for yourself
In the end it doesn’t matter
Just stay isolated on the highest shelf
With all the books, torn and tattered
Hide behind those guilty eyes
It doesn’t phase me, I am very much alive


i got full credit, but i was really just a completion grade. so i spent forever on rhymingdictionary.com trying to finish stupid sonnets for only 20 points, urgh......

~baylie

I live in the epitome of suburbia, Highlands Ranch, CO. Seriously. It is often referred to as “the bubble”. Upper middle class, $500,000 homes, conservative, republican, white, mostly Christian, well off, schools with money, etc. I happen to dislike my neighborhood because it is very elitist. People at my school believe they can do whatever they want because they have some money. When someone gets their phone confiscated, they parents usually complain until it’s returned. I’ve heard jocks make racist comments regarding this year’s election because of their Republican beliefs. The word ‘fag’ is thrown around constantly. We have drug searches about once a month and probably over 50% of my schools drinks consistently. Needless to say, I don’t exactly like it there.

So my school, from an administrative perspective, is really into “unity”, allegedly. We have field day in October where all the grades compete in activities against each other. And we often have assemblies on a Friday related to some celebratory week. Today we had an assembly.

It had to do with the shooting at Columbine. Columbine High School is only a short drive from us and the anniversary is coming up in a little less than one month. The father of the first girl to be shot in Columbine, Rachel, now gives speeches about his daughter and the shooting. Rachel had written an essay about her ‘codes’ to make the world a better place: start a chain reaction with kindness and acceptance.

I do think that is some of the best advice anyone could get. Love people. Don’t be prick. Don’t hate. Don’t discriminate.

Now, if I’m not mistaken, don’t discriminate applies to all people. No matter what race, age, sex, style, culture, or sexual orientation.

Thursday in my Ceramics class, a senior who sits next to me was interviewing our teacher for her senior project. Her topic is censorship. My teacher, Ms. Atencio, gave her point of view on the subject and then brought up an example of censorship at our school.

This week was supposed to be Diversity Week, celebrating the differences of people. Each day was supposed to be something different; like one day dressing up related to your ancestary. Diversity week never happened. The only reason we even had an assembly was because it was already paid for.

At parent teacher conferences a couple weeks ago, some Diversity Week posters were up. The posters had already been approved by administration. But a conservative, republican, religious parent complained, “the posters promote homosexuality”. So, the posters were ripped down. Not taken down. RIPPED down. Administrators actually tore down posters from a club at my school because ONE parent complained.

The club wasn’t told originally. They weren’t told why originally. Worst of all, students weren’t told about it, at all. Not a single person in my ceramics class knew about it until Ms. Atencio brought it up. Since Thursday, I’ve been telling as many people as I possibly can. I’m trying to get kids to get their parents to complain. That’s what this whole mess started with. If the school thinks one parent complaint is bad, just wait until a slew of adults open their mouths.

The point is, we had an assembly about ending discrimination and accepting people, differences and all. But the school obviously doesn’t. They ripped down posters for a club that deserves just as much support as any other club or sport (don’t get me started on how much support the athletics at my school get, it’s insane). These kids worked hard to organize something for the school to make it better but they didn’t get the chance because of some small minded asshole who obviously doesn’t believe in acceptance.

Irony at it’s finest. Hypocrisy at it’s worst.

/rant.

~baylie

Start a chain reaction with kindness. Treat others well. Don’t hate. Don’t discriminate. Don’t be prejudice against someone because of something they can’t control. Open-mindedness will set you free. Make the world better. Every the smallest things can have huge positive effects on the world. =)

has anyone watched paramore's spring break performance?

www.mtvu.com/video/?id=1583857&vid=217827

seriously, poor hayley. i want to send her some halls grapefruit throat lozenges (i love them. they're practically candy to me =D). her voice was cracking so much she sounded like a middle school boy. no, i'm not trying to insult or make fun of her because she sings better than i could ever even hope to but, she sounded pretty bad, especially compared to how great she usually sounds live. =(

playing to a crowd that big for something with mtv is where you want to sound utterly fantabulous. if at anytime your voice (and guitars, and bass, and drums, but they sounded fine) needs to be at it's very best is then.

the end.

they all looked adorable though. zac's legs looked almost transparent, haha. get that boy on warped tour so he can tan!!

~baylie

what a day it has been

so i went and saw cloverfield this morning with my sister and dad. holy crap, it was awetazing. i could just be a nerd and fill this blog with spoilers but i won't. just go see; it's crazy.

later this afternoon i went to the mall with my both my sisters and my mom. ah, the mall. shall i complain about sephora not actually having philosophy lip gloss on sale or how about forever 21 not carrying shoes for some odd reason. no, i have a better story.
unfortunately, whilst at the mall, we had to go to hollister. my sister had to buy a gift card (because $20 at hollister buys a lot) for her friend's birthday. my sisters went to go get the gift card while my mommy and me went to urban outfitters to look at stuff, since they're right across from each other. me and my mom took less time in urban than my sisters so we had to go get them. i didn't want to stand in the mall all by myself so i went in. the store was blaring good charlotte - good morning revival, of course - louder than the music playing in hot topic. i stand in line with my sister and see the academy is...'s album santi on the shelf and freak out. that album should not be there, it should be a few stores down in hot topic. and also saw the starting line, and cartel, but i don't care for them that much. but then my sister points out something even more horrible.

the alternative press issue with paramore on the cover resting at the checkout counter at hollister.

i had to buy it; my ap subscription recently ended and i didn't renew it in time to get this issue, but i like the cover on the newsstand issue more than the subscriber-only cover anyways. i'm sorry but alternative press should not be sold by hollister. this has nothing to do with labels or any shallow shit like that. hollister doesn't really carry magazines anyway. their concern is - like it should be considering they are an over-priced low quality clothing store - is making money. therefore, an 'indie' magazine should not be involved with hollister crap. urgh, i can't even talk about it.

the end

so yesterday...or, the day before yesterday? i dunno, it was friday, december 7; so, yeah
anyways, on friday was my dad's mom's funeral (please, no "i'm sorry"-s and stuff, they make me feel awkward). first, and hopefully for a long time last, funeral ever so it was pretty creepy. and long. and i found it humorous that i, an agnostic, was more involved in the (catholic) mass than the mexicans - mexicans are usually catholic and usually pretty religious but whatever; and i'm not being racist, i'm being factual.
so after the mass we - my dad, my mom, and two sisters - went to the burial. we parked a little bit away from the actual grave site and had to walk a bit, in the cold and fog (bum out). but we parked next to another part of the cemetery.
a part called 'GARDEN OF BABYLAND'
am i the only one who finds that extremely disturbing? it's creepy enough being around the corpses of children who's lives were too short (that's redundant, any child who dies passes too soon) but to title it that?
first: garden. things grow in gardens, like veggie-tables and flowers. usually nothing grows in a cemetery. in fact, dead things are in the cemetery. so the title starts with an oxymoron.
next: babyland. that just creeps me out. it kinda-sorta-maybe sounds like babylon; but that's a stretch, and why would babylon even be relevant?
i dunno, it was just weird. maybe i'm just a creeper but everyone else i've talked to about it finds it very creepy as well.

oh, i have a pseudo-funny story about happenings before the funeral.
so the funeral was at like 11am-ish meaning i would miss school. it also gave me the opportunity to sleep in. but, i had a health (period 2, first of that day) test on friday, that my teacher moved up from tuesday. now me, being a responsible yet stupid person, decided to go in to school, wake up at 6am instead of 9-ish, and take the test so that i wouldn't have to in access the following week.
so before school i had to get an 'early dismissal pass' from the office so that i could leave at 8:15 and go home to get ready. now, there were a pretty significant amount of people in line ahead of me waiting for passes and the 1st bell rang while i was in line. the office lady was asking everyone what time they had to leave and made them leave their notes with her so she could fill them out while they were in class and have them pick them up later. i had to leave during my first class so she had to fill mine out. i get my pass and go to my class, and the final bell rings while i'm walking down the athletic hallway. i was maybe, 30 seconds late. but my semi-dr. jekyll/mr. hyde-prick teacher counts me late anyway. i was like whatever i don't care.
we take the test and then he starts talking about our review game for the final; he finally stops talking at about 8:20. so i get up and give him my pass. he's all "you show up late and leave early" and i'm just like "yeah". my pass said 'reason for leaving: personal' and he asks why i have to leave, in an annoyed, irritated voice, and i'm like "a funeral" which made him apologize abruptly and feel like an ass, hooray. the end.

anyways, i spent last night, into 12:30am, and this morning making 144 chocolate-thumb print-peppermint cookies for my mommy's friend's cookie exchange party. holy cannolli, it took forever. but they are delicious. me and my mommy had matching santa hats

cause we are adorable. and for $10, how can you say no?

its definitely christmas

~baylie

seriously?
no way my chemical romance is seriously selling this:



what a poor excuse for an armband. $6 for that? no thank you
i keep my revenge-gun-logo armband thank you very much
remember it?



yeah, i like that one (i own it in fact); bring it back not this shitty black parade merch
have you seen the my chem online store recently?
yeah, that was the disappointment of the year
overload of tbp shirts, hoodies, gloves, scarfs, etc.

no more fuse shirt (that i never bought and now regret)
no more red and black coffins
shirts with bullets
hoodies with guns
ties with shovels and hanging dudes

the end of an era

~baylie