Myles From Ordinary

dragonsigma: sarah531: Companions, as associated with...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:52:24 -0400

dragonsigma:

sarah531:

Companions, as associated with literary/fairytale characters

PERFECT.

LaGuardia Airport watching Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels....

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:29:06 -0400

LaGuardia Airport watching Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I’ll miss you, New York.

Turn Up My Symphony (NYC:4)

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:00:25 -0400

The Big Apple was just as juicy on a day that was supposed to be filled with mourning and painful memory. Granted, the po-po were buzzing around like angry hornets looking to sting something, but life still seemed to go on.

We avoided Ground Zero, knowing that we wouldn’t be able to get into the “official” 9/11 monument (Family of the victims only), but instead went to a New York Philharmonic September 11th Tribute concert at the Lincoln Center.

I’ll give you more details in a two-part post tomorrow. For now, sleep.

-M

The Art Part (NYC:3)

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 01:58:41 -0400

The third day in my favorite city in the world was a great one.

We woke up early, per usual. After coffee and a bite to eat, we hopped a subway to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Art geeks…let me tell you. The place is a ‘gasm.

I could spend days in there. Each wing was another wonder as the museum took me to Egypt, Rome, Greece, Early America, Africa and seemingly everywhere else with their elaborate collection of art and artifacts, new and old. If you’re ever in NYC, you need to go here. Just don’t save it all for one afternoon because there is no way you’ll be able to see it all. Also, find a way to the roof. The view of the NYC skyline from above Central Park is fuckin’ choice.

Post-Met was the Guggenheim, which houses different modern art every month or so. It was mostly minimalist pieces in there (rocks on pillows, a room with 1$ bills pinned to every inch of the walls, paintings that consisted of a single brushstroke down a blank canvas, etc.), but an open mind will yield a rewarding experience at the ol’ Gug. The art in this museum initiated some of the most intellectually productive conversations we’ve had during this trip.

After that…goddamn Thai food, man. Klong on St. Marks Place is some of the most legit Thai I’ve ever had. The dish I ordered (shredded chicken with bamboo shoots, peppers, veggies, and rice) was supposed to be “too spicy for Americans.”
Not for this guy. Shit was off the goddamn chain. Granted, the spices could have killed a small child, but it was so…damn…delicious.

Cha Da Thai in Boone…stop worrying about killing your customers with flavor and take a page from Klong’s book. They’re doing something right.

And here I am in the loft again, typing away at my lowly Macbook in the ASU loft.

It’s already September 11th. Ten years ago, a plane would be plowing through the World Trade Center (which would be standing only a few miles from where I am now) in less than seven hours. A fifth grade boy in Hillsborough, NC would be told around 9:30-something that recess is over and school is being dismissed early due to “low ozone.” His mother would soon afterwards tell him that his teachers had lied to him and turn on the television, where he would witness mass murder in real time, with all the trimmings of a Die Hard movie, sans hero. He had no idea yet, but that 10-year-old would finish growing up in a very, very different America than he had been born into.

I know you remember this too. Share your thoughts or keep them to yourself, but either way, think hard about what happened. If we don’t learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Catch you tomorrow.

-M

It's a hell of a town... (NYC:2)

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 01:06:52 -0400

Whoo boy. Where to start…

Alarms roused us around 6:30 and the showers began. After a quick coffee and bagel breakfast, we hopped a subway to Ground Zero and the Tribute WTC 9/11 visitors center.
It’s a person-to-person museum of sorts meant to teach posterity about what happened on 9/11. They had a section on the World Trade Center itself, the actual attacks, a wall of photos of the victims, a plan for the memorial/new buildings at Ground Zero and lots of artifacts like a window of one of the airplanes, a ripped firefighter jacket found in the rubble two weeks after its owner’s body, twisted steel beams, wallets and ID’s of the deceased and much more.

Lots of people were crying, but I think that was part of the point. If it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be music pumped into the Wall of Victims room that seems meant to bring on the waterworks. There were even boxes of tissues everywhere just in case.

After a brief wander around the Ground Zero area (which is, at this point, a big fuckin’ construction zone) we made our way to Battery Park and, after a brief and thorough security screening, Liberty Island.

Our girl was looking good. Green, shapely, and 151 feet tall. I’d hit that.

From there, we journeyed back to the loft for some west and wewaxation before walking up Fifth avenue to the original granddaddy gangster of NYC skyscrapers, the Empire State Building.

Not only did we get to experience the epic view from the 86th floor observation deck, (which, I might add, is SO much better at night) but we also had the chance to check out the 102nd floor observatory up the antenna on top of the building. Now THAT was badass.

And here I am now, prone on my bed in the ASU loft, totally spent and hammering out the day on a Tumblr that (I’m assuming) noone fuckin’ reads.

Oh, you do read these?
Prove it.

See you tomorrow night.

-M

Alright, Tumblrpeeps. (NYC: 1)

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:47:29 -0400

I’ma write on this more often, ya dig? Myles is fuckin’ back.

Anyway…I’m currently in New York City for my Rhetoric, Memory, and Public Culture class. We’re here to experience this beautiful city during the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and reflect upon the atmosphere and festivities from a rhetorical standpoint. We’ve been graciously put up in the ASU loft on 24th St, which I assure you is the tits. There’s 12 of us (9 girls, 3 guys.)

I love New York. It’s cliche, but I really do. I fell in love with this town the first time I came here, and if it weren’t expensive as fuck to live here, I’d move in tomorrow.

I’m gonna write here every night during this trip to help reflect on my experiences and shit, so bear with me and enjoy.

I flew into LaGuardia this afternoon and took a cab into the city. After settling into the loft, I walked around Manhattan for a few hours with a pair of lovely ladies in my group who wanted to buy a camera (they never did) and took in the town. We walked a good way down Park and Madison and by the Empire State Building (I’m goin’ up in that bitch tomorrow night) before returning to the loft. Other activities today included a legit vegetarian Indian dinner (one out of FIVE veggie Indian places in a row on one street block) with Dr. Spurlock (my professor) and another sweet girl. Tomorrow will contain more adventure, which I will surely pass on to you.

-M

Hello everyone.

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:32:23 -0400

I’m still alive, everyone!

School’s been…very present in my life as of late.

Fun. Certainly informative. But present to the point that Tumblr writing has been out of sight and out of mind.

While being involved with four bands and an acappella group has been fun, I’m drained.
Summer can’t come fast enough.

Music keeps me sane. As well as a Dexter and Weeds addiction. Muahaha. Such deviant Showtime series choices…

I would love to update more often. So I would like all of those that read this to give me their opinions.

What should I write about? Your suggestions will be my motivation to come back to this website and update it in a regular fashion. Hell, all I need is a starting point.

Love you all.

So...

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:04:18 -0500

It’s pretty obvious I semi-bailed on the 30 days thing. I’ll pick it up when I can because I really do want to finish.

Life’s been busy. Books gotta be read. Work has to be done.

Oh, but I didn’t forget about you, Tumblr.
I’ve felt guilty for not writing, even.

Just stay frosty. I’ll give you more soon.

Day 19: Disrespecting Parents

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:20:58 -0500

My parents kick ass. I really don’t have a good reason to disrespect them.

They’re open minded and full of wisdom and advice. Sure, they’re a little nuts, but aren’t all the best people?

iamjohnn: reblog if you knew what this was after the first...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:45:55 -0500

iamjohnn:

reblog if you knew what this was after the first word

Day 18: Beliefs.

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:44:35 -0500

I don’t believe religion is necessary in my life.

I don’t need the threat of eternal damnation or promise of a perfect afterlife to motivate me to do good things and steer clear of certain bad things.

I can do good for the sake of being good. I can appreciate love because it’s goddamn LOVE <3 we’re talking about here.

I can appreciate nature for the sake of it being NATURE, that awesome, diverse, slowly evolving result of having a great planet in this quite nice part of the universe.

I don’t need to attribute any of the wonders I know in this life to any one God, saviour, or deity. I’d rather appreciate them individually for what they really are.

I’d rather make the most out of the time we’ve got on this extremely fortunately placed, beautiful, big planet than worry about how we got here or what happens after we die. Sure, I can muse about it and give those questions all sorts of thought…but I’m not about to make that big an assumption.

Nobody knows.
Nobody can tell you where we go when it’s hamburger time.

Maybe part of being alive is not knowing what happens after you die.

Lets just make the most of it and do some living, ok?

Ok. Beliefs.

I suppose I believe in life, love, music, diversity, and the pursuit of adventure.

Day 17: Highs and Lows

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:41:44 -0500

Highs: Joining another band (Raimee), visiting relatives in Finland, Ruisrock, my new amplifier, Coheed last August, meeting great new friends, keeping amazing old friends, moving off campus, and having a grand old time whenever it’s possible.

Lows: Failing Math 1010, total lack of girlfriend, unsatisfactory living situation with little hope of escape, and certain people that talk too much and have nothing to say.

READ THIS BLOG. It's by a friend of mine and he posts links to free albums.

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:38:13 -0500

READ THIS BLOG. It's by a friend of mine and he posts links to free albums.

Days 15 & 16: Favorite tumblrs and mainstream music.

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:26:20 -0500

So, I’ve officially gotten behind on my 30-day blogging regiment. I’ma do two today.

I haven’t been on tumblr long, but here’s some of my favorites so far.

http://citiesofashes.tumblr.com/

http://angelsandadjectives.tumblr.com/

http://extraterrestrialtouch.tumblr.com/

Now…mainstream music.

I’m an unashamed music nerd. I listen to music all the time and own more than I probably should. My taste is varied and my mind is always open to new jams.

That being said, mainstream music is upsetting to me. I see the majority of new “pop” songs as cookiecutter, autotuned, pitiful excuses for musical expression totally devoid of anything resembling talent and individuality. The mainstream is ruining hip-hop and championing mediocrity.

On the other side of the spectrum, mainstream “rock” as we know it has for the most part deteriorated into melodramatic, unoriginal butt-rock. The grunge revolution of the 90’s left a niche in popular music for songs containing high-octane distorted guitar and “heavy” vocals, but that niche has been occupied recently by Nickelback-like douchebags selling the same chord progressions, stale riffs, and uncreative lyricism to their fanbase over and over again.

I’ll never hate a band solely for being popular.
I don’t care how much money an artist is making on their song if the product is something original. Bands shouldn’t be judged for getting signed to a major label or selling a song to a commercial. They’re finding ways to get paid well for what they do so they can keep doing it for as long as they want. In many cases, they’re “selling out” for their fans.

If you’re listening primarily to Top 40 radio, please stop. Explore.
You’re rotting your brain and the only way we will see improvement in the pop medium is to support artists that truly deserve to be successful.

Despite my seemingly pessimistic view of popular music, I thoroughly believe there is more good music being made today than ever before. You just have to find it.

Also, I enjoy many popular artists. Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Kid CuDi, Kanye West, Cee Lo Green, Wiz Khalifa, and others pop up on my playlists quite often.

When it comes down to it, it’s really a personal thing.
Listening to what makes you feel good is what’s important, but believe me when I say that getting away from the radio hits will make you feel even better.

Watch this.

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:13:56 -0500

Watch this.

Learn about North Korea before the Russian government blocks the site!!! This is insanely interesting.

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:50:48 -0500

Learn about North Korea before the Russian government blocks the site!!! This is insanely interesting.

Day 14: Memoria, memoria.

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:43:00 -0500

My earliest memory is sitting on the floor in front of the stereo system at my house while my Dad put on the Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge album. I remember the songs. I remember my Dad’s reactions and picking me up and dancing around while the music played. I even remember singing along to the chorus of “You Got Me Rocking” despite having never heard it before. I must have been about 3 or 4 at the time.

Most of my strongest memories are punctuated by music. It almost reinforces the event for me, solidifying it with a song trigger to jump start that memory any time I hear the tune. This is the very earliest circumstance of that I can remember.

I WANT ONE.

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:11:29 -0500

I WANT ONE.

Day 13:Somewhere to visit/live.

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:19:36 -0500

I haven’t been to Israel yet. Or anywhere in that part of the world.

I’ve heard it’s gorgeous. Not to mention there’s so much history around there. I’d love to visit Jerusalem and check out multi-thousand-year-old temples and swim on the beautiful beaches and eat the awesome food and meet some like-minded locals.

Ideally, I’d like to have a Jewish and Muslim guide so I could see both sides of things and important locations for both faiths. I feel that would be the only fair way for an agnostic like myself to see such a holy place.

Now, I don’t want to live there. It’s the epicenter for the Middle East conflict and I’m not a fan of being blown up. I’m sure a lot of people have been there and had a great time without seeing any signs of faith-motivated violence, but I wouldn’t want to stick around until it happens.

I wouldn’t mind living in New York. or New Orleans. Or Paris. Or Helsinki.

Really, anywhere with a rich culture and a friendly population.

Day 12: Bullet time.

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:57:50 -0500

Wake up at 7am.
Take shower to appear human.
Get dressed. Wear one less layer than I should have because it’s surprisingly warm and rainy.
Drive to Wal-mart to ditch car.
Catch Appalcart Express route.
Brave the elements to get to Library and print out essentials for class. Printer at home is out of commission.
The rain has been replaced by lots and lots of snow.
Eat breakfast. Read chapter for class. Get asked to be the singer in a metal band by someone who heard me sing with Higher Ground, my acappella group.. ^_^
Attend Journalism.
Attend Persuasion.
Classes after 1 cancelled. Yay. Right after I’m done with class.
Trudge across the Appalachian Tundra to the bus stop.
Catch Express bus back to mi carro.
Head to my friend Blake’s.
Work out for the first time in a while. Hopefully it’ll become habitual.
Practice with Arachnatron. METALS.
Watch South Park and have a grand old evening. No classes tomorrow! ^_^