Life Reflection

We Are All Different

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Many people say that to achieve equality we need to pretend race or other differences don’t exist. This is the wrong way to approach things because to deny or mock someone’s race, disability, heritage, sexual orientation, and gender is asinine. The best way to coexist is to acknowledge that we are all different in our own way, but we all have the same basic desires as human beings; to be loved, accepted, and live happy lives. We are all different in our own way, but at some point we all feel the same. That is how we can achieve harmony in our lifetime.

-Tatteybe

People Are Awful

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

This blog is going to be me ranting about what I find to be the truth about human nature (that people stink). Of course, there will always be good/bad/neutral/whatever else people of different of types and creeds in the world. I just like to think of it in philosophical terms in that some believe that some humans are either inherently evil or good.

For example, environmentalists hold that corporatism is a force for evil that’s screwed over the planet in their greed. Meanwhile, corporations (which are somehow people in the US) hold that the environmentalists are just a bunch of “dirty socialist hippies” trying to block their main sources of income. As another example, Masculists and Feminists will endlessly argue on social media over whether misandry or misogyny are the bigger problem (the answer is misogyny), but everyone is wrapped up in the Us vs Them paradigm that we forgot how to just get along with each other. 

Personally, I see people as naturally selfish since most animals in the animal kingdom are themselves only concerned with their own survival vs others, and humans are no different. Case in point, I live in Massachusetts; home of the Masshole driver who never uses their turn signal or obeys the speed limit sign. The Masshole driver only cares about himself and potentially puts other drivers in danger because he’s either late for work, or just looking for thrills. I am not a Masshole driver, I am a considerate defensive driver who occasionally yields the right of way, and I’m the same way with how I treat people off the road (being kind to them).  

I also see humans as somewhat arrogant for crowning ourselves the top of the food chain, I don’t deny we are the most advanced species with out technological advancements, and that this’s a golden age of information sharing (Wikipedia anyone?) While we also have this guy I once saw carrying his toddler atop his shoulder, jay walking across a busy city road. Some people don’t think and don’t care about their actions, and that is when situations get truly dangerous. However, for stupid careless actions, there is a thoughtful and concerning action. Life is a giant game of survival, and constantly struggling to make the decision between what feels right vs things that are right (while defining right and wrong are debates within themselves). 

There will always be jerks and D-bags in the world, but the best way to beat them is to ignore those people and be happy with yourself and others you care for. To quote one of my favorite lessons from the graphic novel series Broken Saints, “The good and the bad, they are both inside”. 

-Tatteybye

I Did It For Me

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

A couple of months ago I saw a girl I liked was feeling sad because she wanted to be called beautiful, so I told her that I’ve always found to be astonishingly beautiful, and she thanked me saying I was very sweet. I know that now a days some women take offense to being complimented on their looks (and I know they ARE more than just their looks), but I took the risk anyways because I wanted to do it for me as much as I did it for her. Even if she ended up with someone else, I’m happy that I spoke my mind since I’ve lived my whole life trying to be completely selfless, and people have walked all over me for it. Having worked in sales, I know now that you need to look out for yourself first before you can help others since a little bit of arrogance is a healthy thing.

“I did it for me, it was fun and I was good at it, I was… alive.” Walter White

-Tatteybye

Upcoming Projects

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

I won’t say it’s been a while since I always say that, but it has been quite some time. I’ve been dealing with a wicked case of writers block lately, but I think I’m coming out of it now. 

Upcoming projects for August: 

“People Suck” 

“Kevin Card’s Half Year Music Awards” 

“Love and Loss, Our Fascination with Breakup Songs” 

More to come folks! 

-Tatteybye

Reflecting on 2013 and 2014 in My Life

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Hello again WordPress, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy working my first full-time permanent job as an auto insurance salesman, and organizing things with my band prepping for our first show on June 20th. The thing I’m going to write about today is the difference time brings, namely the darkness of 2013 and the light of 2014.

If there was one word to describe how 2013 treated me it would be “agonizing”, a sentiment that this solo performance from Ben Burnley of Breaking Benjamin expresses quite eloquently with this video:

Becoming single after four years, my ex keeping my cat, and long periods of unemployment of losing (and skipping) to different jobs can really get a person down (especially one fresh out of college). It was a huge emotional struggle that I am glad to have survived and grown from as a person. I suppose that is what it really means to be an adult; dealing with the consequences of your actions and understanding your responsibilities in life.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the singular word I would describe 2014 would be “recovery”. Last October was a sort of emotional renaissance for me, and 2014 has continued the trend with opportunities for employment and gigs with my band. If things keep going the way they are I’ll hopefully have my first apartment and car by the end of the year. It’s a nice feeling to know that your time to strike out your sense of personal freedom’s close at hand. So on that note (and in reference to my favorite blog from last year) here is Fall Out Boy’s “The Phoenix”:

Funny since I used to despise FOB, but their newer music is different from their older music (and a lot better IMO).

Ultimately, part of growing in life is accepting that both great and terrible things will always happen, and accepting that simple fact made my life a lot easier since depression hit me like a sack of bricks last year. Good tidings have helped me rise above the bad things this year, and for that I’m quite happy with life right now.

-Tatteybye

How I Relate Fictional Characters to Myself

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

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*I do not own this image, credit(s) unknown. Show spoilers ahead!*

This blog is meant to be a peek into the inner workings of my highly nerdy brain. As such, this blog is not for the faint of imagination: you have been warned!

Cutting to the chase, I’ve been through a lot of emotional struggles in my life, and being somewhat reclusive I didn’t always want to be around people. So in my reclusive times I had a tendency of watching epic television shows and anime to forget about said problems. I’m happy that I picked the entertainment mediums I had since these television shows taught me awesome morals when I was younger, and continue to still do so today.

For instance, the lesson of the manga Naruto taught me that hard work will always overcome natural genius (which I relate too with my bass playing). Breaking Bad taught me how easily money, pride, and power can corrupt a person. Doctor Who showed me how Regeneration is a brilliant metaphor for a personal rebirth.

Now why am I listing these things? Because I like to imagine myself as these characters depending on what mood I’m in. In times of great consideration of my past and personal life I liken how I feel to this scene of Walter and Skyler White:

For those who don’t watch Breaking Bad, Walt always justified his selfish and murderous actions of cooking meth and killing people by saying “I did this for my family!” Here, Walt is coming clean and in my eyes earned a tiny bit of redemption. This feeling of redemption and honesty is how I feel when I come clean about something selfish I’ve done (though obviously in a less dramatic overtone).

Another character I imagine myself as is the War Doctor from the 50th Doctor Who Anniversary Special:

The War Doctor was tasked with ending the Time War and saving the galaxy by having to destroy his home world. I love when the Doctor declares “No more” and “What I did, I did without choice” because I sometimes relate myself to him when I have to make very difficult decisions (genocide not being one them, ahem).

At other times I imagine myself as Merle Dixon from the Walking Dead, who did anything to protect his baby brother in the zombie apocalypse.

I’m not saying I’m a white supremacist or anything like that (whom Merle’s character was). I just adore how complex Merle’s character was which is why I enjoyed Cosplaying as Merle and meeting Merle’s actor Michael Rooker last October. I like to think of Merle as the more sarcastic part of my personality, and I still can’t get over just how much of a complete bad-ass he was.

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I could go on, but I think you’ve got the gist of what I’ve been blogging about. If anyone has any favorite fictional characters they relate themselves too, then feel free to share them in the comments section!

-Tatteybye

One Year After College (Life So Far)

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Hello again WordPress, I just wanted to chime in the reason that I was done writing about my personal and dating life because I don’t want to keep dwelling on the past, plus I don’t want to be *that guy* who writes about all of his dates and girlfriends. It was a conscious decision I made for and by myself, not just for certain readers.

On a separate note, I officially graduated in May 2013 and it was a great experience. While I was in college, I was expecting Alumni life to be difficult and abysmal compared to the good times I had in college. While the unemployment periods certainly filled such negative criteria, I’ve had a strong number of good times in alumni life. I think part of growing up is accepting that for every negative there’s also a positive.

For instance, I start a full-time permanent outbound calling sales job this coming Monday. I see this job as mixed blessing as I prefer customer service to sales, but it still pays well (hourly rather than commission) and will be a better step to success than just bouncing from temp job to temp job. Plus, I always have my band Hit The Deck to look forward too (who’s halfway thorough making our first EP!)

I’ve been very productive the past year as 2014 has been very good to me thus far, and I intend to not let things get me down the same way they did last year. Even if things get bad for me again, I will keep fighting “the good fight” and hold my head high rather than slouching my shoulders forward. I look forward to see what the rest of 2014 has in store for me, or what I have in store for it.

-Tatteybye

 

On Why I Blog

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Hello again WordPress, I think I’m done writing about my personal life (past and present) because I feel it’s like I’m riding a dead horse and my last blog entry may have been written in somewhat poor taste by mentioning the marathon bombings (though I only meant to express how I had moved on from being dumped on the same day). With that said, I wanted to share why I like to blog.

It seemed like a few people I follow are posting some of their blogging origin stories, so I figured why not chime in as well. I got my start with the dark ages of social media, none other than Myspace blogger (the digital teenage graveyard of my generation). It was fun back then, the blogging community on Myspace was very tightly knit, and I felt I had carved a respectable part of that community with my own anecdotes and thoughts on current events. I even fondly remember being put on the top 8 spots of some of my favorite web celebrities like Brooke Burgess (creator of Broken Saints) and Sam T (think Taco Man and Ebola World). My grammar wasn’t as refined back then, but my narrative was always a crowd favorite. I’ve been blogging about my life from the start, I only came into reviewing albums and music in my college days.

Before I officially became a Journalist, I ran a small blog on Blogger where I would review my favorite artists’s discographies track by track, then by more traditional means. When I reread these older entries, I feel a strong sense of pride in my earlier works. This blog also is what captured to be the first low point of my career; my review on Ke$ha’s record “Animal” pissed off a lot of my viewers. I expected a huge backlash, but what I got was much worse: a huge dip in my readership. I’ve learned time and again that words and opinions can be very powerful things. And with great power comes great responsibility (I was watching the 2002 Spider Man movie last night on Netflix! :P). The great responsibility of me learning to balance not caring about what trolls say, and knowing when I’ve done something I shouldn’t have.

So I feel that I want to go in two directions: I will interview local New England bands on my new blog Arts and Ethos of New England (which needs subscribers -hint hint, nudge nudge-), and I will continue to review songs and muse about the music industry on my personal blog. In the meanwhile, I would like to thank all of my followers new and old for continuing to read my stuff. The reason I blog is for the love we all feel in the blogging community!

-Tatteybye

 

On Why I Will Always Love Animals

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France

I’ve heard stories from my friends about how their first true friend was either their dog or cat (or any other type of pet). Well, this was also the case for me.

I still have early memories of my cat Jack being a great companion and semi-father figure to me. He was my first true friend. I also remember spending time with my babysitters dogs and knowing how they would do anything to protect me. Animals when they are raised correctly will love their humans unconditionally.

I love cats more than anything (dogs can detect cancer and do awesome tricks, but cats are still my favorite) because they are great companions for a person with depression.

I can remember back in 2010 I had received a 20 paragraph message threatening me for “being a terrible friend who didn’t his fair share of chores while we were on vacation” by someone who was himself a terrible
person. I was paranoid this guy would come after me, but my cat Starlight jumped on the bed where my ex lover and I were and began licking my face and purring through her nose to comfort me. This cat could tell I was upset, and did everything in her power to make me feel better.

Starlight was a great companion cat that I loved like a daughter, and she saw me as her “daddy” because I spoiled her like a daughter. She would always curl up and sleep on me when ever I was napping, and she would let me carry her to the kitchen to feed her. She was the right cat to have after I lost my other cat Jack (whom I wrote a blog on a while back.) Unfortunately, in 2011 Starlight got out one time with out her collar on and a wretched woman kidnapped Starlight and took her to a shelter. Starlight was later put down for attacking other cats in the shelter.

To add insult to injury my cat Chloe passed away in 2012, and my ex-girlfriend took my cat Rosie from me after we broke up (my ex gave me Rosie on my 21st birthday). So, I have been without pets since last year. But, I can always look to the future for more pets.

Most likely another cat, but perhaps a Dog someday. I like dogs, I just don’t know how to take care of then as I’ve never owned one. I know that dogs are loyal companions and valued family members, and they make amazing friends.

My problem lies with Dog owners who mock cat people as I was called “gay” once for liking cats by someone who I believe to be a dog owner on Facebook. I didn’t stay friends long with that type of a narrow-minded bigot.

Speaking of the narrow-minded, to see the most evil and ignorant animal on the planet we need only look in the mirror. Sure, other animals can go mad, but that’s only because of people tampering with their breed and/or abusing them. Humans who abuse defenseless animals are the most evil of all (I despise sociopaths like that for good reason).

Things like Psychosis and the state of being a sociopath are born traits, not raised. The same type of traits that lead people to harm defenseless animals to just make them feel better about themselves.

That’s not to say I dislike all humans though, for all the abusers there are also activists looking to save the animals passing laws to protect the animals and to rightfully punish the abuser. I just hope the day comes where we won’t need to make as many laws, and that sensibility will make an appearance around the world sometime soon.

I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being. – Abraham Lincoln

-Tatteybye

My Aspirations for the Future

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

I’ve hatched a plan to someday start my own online arts magazine dedicated to interviewing and reviewing locals artists, actors, musicians, and dancers. I want to revive life into the local American arts scene. I’ll be encompassing every genre, every bit of interesting news, and every exceptional individual starting off with my blog here on WordPress (likely starting out with many local artists in my home state of Massachusetts). I am going to promote starting through social media reaching out to people for coverage in exchange for page shares, then reaching out to any news outlet I possibly can once I get a big enough reputation. I plan to assign editors to each branch who also know their stuff in regards to the assigned type of art.

If anyone has any suggestions please reach out to me at KJC.FJC@Gmail.com, leave a comment here, or come like me on Facebook. Any spam will be deleted.

-Tatteybye