That Moment When…

We all have that moment. That moment when you forget to write your blog, its 11 pm and its due the next day, and you know you will have no time to do it tomorrow. Usually I like to write about an interesting story, or a subject I would do some research on. Not in this case. Today you get…

A list of my favorite bands, in alphabetical order, in order of genre, also in alphabetical order.

Alt Rock: 3 Doors Down, Audioslave, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer

Country: Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, Willie and Waylon

Disco: Bee Gees

Dubstep: haha nobody, screw dubstep

Folk Rock: Chris Stapleton, CCR,
Mumford and Sons, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

Grunge: Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots

Hard rock: Disturbed, Led Zeppelin, Queen?

Hip Hop: Childish Gambino, Eminem, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa

Indie: Arctic Monkeys, Black Keys, The Lumineers

Metal: Black Sabbath, Korn, Metallica

Rock: Dire Straits, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Highly Suspect

Soul: Chris Stapleton, James Brown, Ray Charles

Southern Rock: Black Stone Cherry, Chris Stapleton, Lynyrd Skynyrd

I don’t know if you have noticed a recurring theme here, but Chris Stapleton is listed multiple times. Which means he takes the top spot as favorite artist. aaand I get to see him this summer so go me.

Best voice there is, and whats that cool thing on his hat? Whatta guy

The Delusive Nature of Writer’s Block

Sometimes writer’s block hits a person so hard that they can’t even form a single thought in their head.

… But I’m here to tell you that it isn’t as bad as it may seem. Ha! I got it.

You see, I thought I had writer’s block just now, but then realized that writer’s block would be my inspiration. Some artists suffer from writer’s block for years, especially after a few great successes. One starts to feel the pressure as their fan base grows and they demand more awesomeness! Lucky for me, I’ve never had a great success and have almost zero expectations, so this has never been a problem for me. Until now.

I’ve been so pleased with all of my recent blogs that I wanted to make sure that this one stayed the course of bodacious creativity. Even though the only people who read these blogs are my business teacher Tom (because he has to) and my girlfriend (to proofread me). Regardless, I pride myself on my writing ability and want to make a nice little body of blog work. But I couldn’t think of an interesting topic.

I realized that the answer was right in front of me! Don’t want writer’s block, then write about writer’s block! Well, that can’t work on every occasion so let me give actual solutions. Even though I know very little about this subject.

*Well, time to read that article I guess.*

Writer’s block right at the beginning of a story is awful. You have this inspiration, but don’t know what do with it. Realize that an overheard conversation or some amazing scenery isn’t going to gift you a story, you have to structure it a little more than that. Characters, plot, scenery are just pieces of the puzzle, so put them together in order to deliver the full package.

Usually one gets writer’s block after they’ve had inspiration and want to keep the momentum going. They get stuck in the muddle of trying to advance the plot. Writing is strategic just as much as it is imaginative. So you have to track the creativity. Keep a journal and realize that you won’t get through a blog or novel just by great ideas randomly popping into your head. If you get stuck in the middle, make 3 different choices of direction and see which one you like the most once it comes to the end of the story. Don’t let a little frustration ruin a great story. Strategize a little, and keep pushing through.

Don’t let this self-inflicted phenomenon keep you from doing what you love. A mantra of mine is, (not actually mine), I don’t believe in writer’s block. I believe in writer’s quit.

Tom Brady Is Immortal

Now, the Tom Brady and Michael Jordan debates will begin. Both have 6 rings, both dominated in their time, but honestly, you can’t compare two different sports, so I think its pointless.

The Patriots have won 6 championships since 2002 and Tom Brady has been their starting QB for every single one. I think its safe to say that this is now the greatest NFL dynasty ever, (unless you’re a big Packers fan, it is called the Lombardi Trophy for a reason).

Granted, this year the W was less about him and more about their defense’s stellar performance. They held the second most explosive offense in the NFL to only 3 points. 3!?! Yes, it wasn’t the most exciting game and Sweet Victory was rudely interrupted by Sicko Mode. But this game just shows how amazing of a coach Bill Belicheck is. He used a defense with only one pro bowler, CB Stephen Gilmore, and absolutely shut down Jared Goff and company. It’s not like Brady played that bad, the Rams defense was just very good at keeping them from any explosive plays and kept them from converting on 3rd downs. That didn’t stop Julian Edelman from getting 10 catches and the MVP. Him and Tom are unstoppable, basically Jedi.

*The sunglasses are to protect us mere mortals.*

Anyways, Tom Brady is 41, which blows my freaking mind, but at the same time, it doesn’t. At this point I think he is a cyborg or has taken occasional sips from the Fountain of Youth. Every year the media writes him off, saying that he is about to fall off the cliff, and every year he takes them on a deep playoff run, this year ending in the ultimate dub. They’ve been to the last 3 Super bowls, and 4 of the last 5. This is some mind bending stuff, but it has become the usual for Belicheck and the boys.

So, I am just gonna play it safe and say that Brady plays until he is at least 55. By then there will be rules in place where you can’t even breathe heavily on Tom lest you get a wicked fine.

Master of Puppets vs Holy Wars… The Punishment Due

If you aren’t even slightly a metalhead, then this won’t be for you.

Metallica and Megadeth. Two of the most influential metal bands of all time.

Interesting factoid: Dave Mustaine, Megadeth’s lead man, was actually the lead guitarist and co-founder of Metallica. Sadly, he had drug problems and was kicked out in the early 80s, making room for James Hetfield.

Anyways, the two songs in question are arguably the groups’ most iconic songs. And ever since they appeared, fans have been debating which one is a better metal song. Find these songs on Youtube and guaranteed there will be comments comparing one to the other. I will have links to the songs at the bottom of this post.

I’ll start off with Master of Puppets by Metallica. It came out in 1986 from the album of the same name. This is one of my favorite Metallica songs. The thing I love about their early music is how tight it all sounded. You can tell they worked on these tracks until they were perfect. The intro to Master of Puppets is probably the most well known metal intro there is. Iconic stuff. It also has an amazing mellowed out part in the middle, distortion-free guitar and a melodic solo, sort of gives you a breather from all the head banging awesomeness. Then it transitions right back into the heavy riff from the beginning. James’ haunting echo in his voice gives you the chills as he screams about drug addiction, which is what the song is about; people getting taken over by drugs and being made a puppet. I am a bit biased towards this song because I grew up listening to it so I will always like it more then Megadeth, but that doesn’t make it better.

Holy Wars… The Punishment Due was put out by Megadeth in 1990, on their album Rust In Peace. I honestly had never listened to this song before today, so I listened to it about 4 times while writing this. I never listened to Megadeth as a kid but this song is really badass. The speed of this song is just insane, but its not just about how fast they could play, they actually had some awesome riffs and Dave’s vocals are so good, much higher then James’ so there is kind of a contrast there. There is a very different flamenco guitar solo in the middle that lasts about 10 seconds but I thought it was innovative and helped transition into the second part of the song, The Punishment Due. In my opinion, the best part of the song is when Dave yells “Killings! Killings! Killings!” His shrill voice and intensity really kinda scared me and I had to listen to it a few times. Overall, this song is really sweet considering I didn’t think I would like it at all.

Now, which song was better? The answer is… quit comparing music, man. Just enjoy the songs and quit trying to put one down or the other. It ruins the greatness of the music. It’s like the LeBron vs Jordan debate. Just enjoy the stuff instead of trying to find the faults in it. Both songs are legendary and you should give them a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcjN5BNU9CY

Memoir of a Young Man Who Made a Grave Mistake at LAX

April 21, 2018

Los Angeles International Airport

It all started when I saw Matt tying his shoes in the airport terminal.

Our school took us to LA for our senior trip, and after a great three days in California, it was time for us to return to Omaha. Picture this: my friend Matt, in his maroon Northface hoodie, and tight khaki pants, bending over to tie his shoes. Obviously the perfect butt to slap, right? Excuse my sophomoric humor, but this would be hilarious. Standing beside him were my classmates Kayleen and Ethan. Knowing they would appreciate this, I take a running start at him and wind up the arm to really get him good. I make solid contact, BAM. Like a gun went off, my hand hurts. I continue walking for about 15 feet as if nothing happened. I turn around with a smirk on my face, ready to see Matt’s pissed off face and everyone around him laughing. Only then did I realize I made a terrible mistake.

That wasn’t Matt. Matt wasn’t even wearing khakis that day, how could I have done such a thing? The man in question looked up at me, his shoes still untied, a mix of horror and confusion on his face. My smirk quickly changed to an expression matching his own. I turned and started speed walking down the hall until I got to my teacher’s seats and promptly hid behind them. I was expecting a very angry 20 something dude to come around the corner and beat me down. My phone started blowing up.

Ethan: Did you just spank this guy? I had to act like I didn’t know you bro, what’s wrong with you? Matt: I heard about your episode my dude. But why? Kayleen: Ummm, what just happened? Clement: hahaha bro nice.

I see about 10 of my classmates coming towards me, most just laughing at my stupidity and pointing at me. “Please stop pointing, he’s gonna find me,” I was thinking. I explained to them what happened, and after the hilarity calmed down, Ethan said he would help me find the dude to apologize. I didn’t want to do this but everyone said I should, so we look around for about 10 minutes. We find him on the other side of the terminal on his laptop, his girlfriend sitting with him. I come up and tap him on the shoulder. He looked up at me, startled, a flash of fear in his eyes. I apologized and said that I thought he was my friend, as if that is an acceptable excuse for spanking a stranger. He laughed, said that it’s fine, he assumed as much. I thanked him for being so forgiving of such teenage delinquency, and we parted ways agreeably. What a good guy.

That incident quickly became the defining moment of our trip, and while I was mortified by my actions, I am a little proud that I made such a lasting memory for my friends, and I’m sure that man will never forget being violently spanked at LAX. Moral of the story: No matter how tempting those khakis look, just don’t do it man.