With the Holidays coming up and everyone suddenly becoming obsessed with showering others (and themselves)
in gifts, I figured it’d be a good time to finally post an entry after seven or more months of nothing-ness.

One of the main staples of the Scene/’Emo’ culture has been music, and its hard to find someone
today who dosn’t have a music player of some sort. So when I found this tutorial on a Hand-Made Ipod/MP3 Player Sheep Case, I realized I had to try it, or at least recommend it to others.

Hand-Made Ipod/MP3 Player Sheep Case

The tutorial assumes a basic knowledge of sewing, and uses an Ipod nano as the mp3 player base,
but I imagine you could edit it for other ipods. This tutorial will take some time depending on your skill in sewing.

Materials used throughout can be purchased at any basic craft store like Michaels, Joann Fabrics, AC More, Etc.

Things used:

• Two Large Different-ColorFelt Sheets (in desired case cover)
• Two smaller differnt-color felt sheets (for face and inner ears)
• Sewing Supplies (thread, needle, etc)
• Scissors
• Fabric marker (for marking the felt to cut + for drawing Face)
• Two Small beads (for eyes)
• Objects for decor (optional, explained below)
• Three-Four Eyelets (For cord-holes)
• Snap Button or Hook (to close cover)
• Leather/Other
• Strong Fabric Strip (For necktie)
• A day where you have nothing else to do and don’t mind getting frustrated (Optional)

Other: The tutorial lacks some important information, (such as the materials, which I listed above) and assumes a previous knowledge of basic sewing. Steps such as making and attatching the ears are not included, and such steps appear to be fairly easy. I may come back with my own pictures/descriptions for the missing steps.

None the less, the tutorial includes a step where you can add a decor (such as a lolipop, made out of three small peices of fabric and a tiny button). I would advise skipping this step if your pressed for time, or looking for something a little simpler. (Several craft-stores have buttons shaped in small figures; sewing or glueing one on might be more prudent.)

Tutorial URL: http://www.hipgirlie.com/2007/11/06/diy-ipod-mp3-case/

Added Steps:

Making the Ears: Using the same Color felt used for the front case, cut two circles slightly
bigger then you want the ears to be. Next, cut two circles slightly smaller then your previous ones
out of the material you want the inside of the ear to be. You can then either sew the two smaller circles into the big ones, or hot glue-gun it in.(I’d advise the latter for easy-ness and less stitching).

Next, fold the outer circles in half, putting pressure on the end you want to insert into the case, so the opposite side puffs open, giving a view of the inside of the ear. Glue/Sew shut the end that will be inserted. Repeat for other ear, remembering to squeeze the opposing side to make the opposite ear. (You don’t want a sheep with two right ears, now do you?) Sew into space that was left open during case assembly.

*If your ambitious in making this more realistic, cutting two slightly oval-ish shapes would probably be better. Circles just seemed simpler at the time.

Making The Face: Using a different color felt then for your cover, cut a heart-shape out. The ‘indent’ at the top of the heart should not be large, and the bottom should be rounded rather then pointy. (Unless your going for a more menacing looking sheep.) In the center of the heart (using a ruler would be useful), draw the sheeps nose and mouth. (Use the picture in the tutorial for an example, or make it an emow sheep and give it a frown.) Then, we’ll attatch the eyes. The eyes should be neither to close nor to far from the nose and outer side. If you (PRETEND) to cut the face into four quarters going through the center where the nose is, then the eyes should be in the center of the upper two quarters. Either draw the eyes on with the fabric pen, or gently glue two small beads in the desired eye color . (I’d advise super glue/industrial strength rather then hot for this part). Sewing is most likely an option as well, but you don’t want your sheeps eyes to bug out, and I’m not sure how to do so without that happening.
The face appears to be glued onto the cover as well, though if you wanted to stitch it on it’d probably be sturdier.

Alternative Ideas:

• Change the Expression: Make it an emow sheep, a smiling sheep, a vampire sheep, etc.
• Draw arms/legs: Right on the cover, either with a fabric pen, or by glueing on small oval-like
  shapes in the same color fabric as the face. If you want to get more ambitious, you can draw on the hooves to the end of them. Works best with no decor.
• Use Printed Felt: Some craft stores carry leapord print, striped, polka dotted, etc. I’d advise this for the case, and then use plain-colored for the face.
• Make a different animal: With a few simple edits and some creativity, you can easiy change this into a cow, dog, cat, etc.

Final Ramblings:

If Anyone Makes This Tutorial or Edits it and Makes their own animal using this as a base, I’d love to see pictures. (I’d even post a link in this blog to it if you’d like, to give other people ideas). I plan on making an ‘albino black sheep’ sometime, but it probably wont happen until after the holidays.

More ‘Added Steps’ might be edited in as I think of them. The eyelets/buttons usually comes with instructions on the packets for doing so.

Recently I was given a chance to interview local Melbourne band Written In Ink.

Written In Ink are a three piece Rock band, based out of Melbourne Australia.

Written In Ink consists of :

Adam: Lead Guitar/Vox, Joe: Drums, Chirs:Bass/Vox

You can visit there myspace page Here

Now here is what the boys had to say:

How long have you been playing?
as a band writtien in ink formed in mid 2007. as individuals we’ve all fairly experinced in music. all been in various bands in the past.

How did you get into playing music?
Joe: Mama gave me 2 spoons and I started from there.
Adam: followed my dad, he was a lead singer in a band.
Chris: Come from a musical family but chose bass because everyone wanted to play guitar.

Who are your idols in music, what band’s have influenced or inspired you?
Adam: Bon Jovi and bands that have influenced me are bands such as guns n roses. motley crue.
Joe: Pearl Jam and Chilli Peppers
Chris: Sam Rivers mainly. He was the bassist of Limp Bizkit. Good control of drive and all. Very moody sound.

Where is the one place you’ve always wanted to play?
Adam: Rod Laver, Vodafone Arena or any hard rock cafe in america.
Joe: MCG, Telstra dome some massive sporting arena would be a dream.
Chris: Somewhere european… and maybe japan.

If you are (or have) going (gone) to college, what would you major in?
Adam: I don’t know? Something to do with sport.
Joe: Women. OH YEAH!
Chris: I’d be a video gaming guru dude. And chuck on loads of weight. YEAH.

What’s your Favorite Website?
Adam: Myspace.com,
Soccernet Joe: youtube.com
Chris: something with porn. lol

How long have you been playing?
Adam: 10 years
Joe: 20 years
Chris: A few years

What other bands have you played with & how (if at all) have they influenced you ?
The Invitation. They’re a super tight band

Where have you played so far?
Espy, revolver and cubby house just to name a few…

Plans for the future ?
Adam: Write, Record, Play Shows. Be happy
Joe: Make heaps of cash.
Chris: I want to be happy… and make cash too. while being happy and good to people!

I want to thank the boys for there time, and encourage you all to check them out!

I’m not a fan of horror, to be honest, it usually bores me. But Zombie movies are something else! (Ok, I admit it, I also like vampire and werewolf films too). Unfortunately, most zombie movies are trash. The ones I like have a bit more to their plot. I want zombies that I can BELIEVE in. So, I thought I’d try my hand at writing film reviews, just in time for Halloween.

28 Days Later (2002)

This is the BEST zombie movie I have ever seen. I’m not sure why. Maybe It’s because it has a believable plot. The story has a decent pace with no boring bits, and although the cast is not well known, they play the characters well. And the one thing that really drew me in: the soundtrack.

28 Weeks Later (2007)

The zombies are back. This time the cast has some better known names, such as Robert Carlyle and Rose Byrne, but these aren’t actors who just rely on their fame to get them through. Again, the believability of the plot helps the film to hold its own, and again the soundtrack tops it off.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

I laughed. I actually found it funny, sure it’s more than a bit gory, but its simplicity is amusing. Who the hell would take refuge in a shopping mall?????

If you don’t mind a bit of gore and a somewhat predictable plotline, watch it.

It’s not bad, but it’s not brilliant either.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Its B&W, it’s a classic.

Dramatic music and lots of shrieks.

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

A John Carpenter film. While it’s not really a zombie movie (it’s more of a possession one), it comes pretty damn close. Strangely its set on Mars (would never have guessed it going by the title)

Non Zombie movies that I recommend:

Nightwatch (Nochnoy dozor) (2004) Russian

Daywatch  (Dnevnoy dozor) (2006) Russian

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (2002)

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des loupes) (2001) French

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Well people want to post asking for the names of places they can buy emo clothes at, so I figured a list of some places would be pretty helpful.. If you know of a store not on the list, post it as a comment.

Emo Clothing Stores:

• Hot Topic
• MerchLine (List of bands stores)
• EBTM.com
• Heart Breaker Clothing
• SmartPunk.com
• Lip-Service.com
• Wal-Mart (dickies!)
• PacSun
• Thrift Stores (seriously, check one out)
• FullBleed.org
• LoudClothing.com

That’s enough for this post

So as my first blog I will be writing a similar blog to that of the segment off the Family Guy Movie, a segment entitled, “What really grinds my gears”. This will be my own verison.  

You know what really grinds my gears?

 When i can’t decide to play with my batman or my legos.

 I mean. . . batman has all the skills. But the lego i can make so many things like, lions and jungles and pirates and castles.

But there is a soltion. A lego batman.

This really annoys me. Now struck with a senario in which i can play batman and lego it seems my problem is ultimately resolved. But no.

 Lego batman does not have any of the skills that the real batman doll has. Sure he can now carry a wide arangement of lego weapons, but he doesn’t have a legit cape.

 Legit cape.

Seriously i am pissed off now. It seems to be my parents fault. Why did they buy me batman AND legos. I HATE THEM.

Talking about capes, i mean, why cant spider man have a cape? Spider man is just as good as batman, in fact probably better. Can batman fire webs from his hands? can batman beat bonesaw in the cage? can batman score with kirsten dunst?

I think not.

Kirsten Dunst. I mean what a shit actor. C’mon did you ever see wimbledon? What the fuck! What the fuck! Tennis is lame people, tennis is lame.

 And that is what really grinds my gears.

Stay tuned!

This is going to contain a few quotes from songs by Circle Takes The Square. I’ve been listening to them a lot lately (thanks Bug), and I’m finding a lot of relevance and meaning in their music and lyrics.

“Life is lowly, lowly anonymity.”

Why do so many of us feel unloved, and unwanted. Why are we rejected, always? Does not each one of us deserve to be loved? Life is lowly anonymity. No one knows who we are, no one cares weather or not we exist. What’s the point of this meaningless existence? Why do so many people try to commit suicide?

“in death a noble pose”

Death brings out honesty. It’s not until someone dies that people will say ’he really was a great guy, I wish I’d gotten to know him better.’ What’s wrong with doing it before they die? Just telling one person that you care about them, that you appreciate the fact that they exist, might make all the difference, it might even save a life.

“Tell me who wouldn’t give their lives for such a soap box to die behind”

Everyone wants to be something, achieve something before they die. No one wants to die as a nobody. But the truth is, we don’t realise how many lives we effect, we don’t know who truly cares about us. We’re so wrapped up in our own self pity, so blinded by our tears, we can’t see into the hearts of those who care.

“But the only truth is change, have patience”

Our biggest problem is that we give up too soon. Sometimes you need to have your heart torn to shreds. Sometimes you need to be reminded that you are a weak and pathetic human, that’s how you learn and grow. It might make you cynical, but there’s strength in finding your weaknesses. It’s only when you reach the bottom that the journey upwards begins.

“There’s so much hope buried underneath tragedy”

Learn, Live, Grow. Sometimes tragedy leads to happiness. Don’t give up when it all goes wrong, your life isn’t over, even though it may feel like it is.

“Time heals wounds, but you have to learn to live with the scars”

Not CTTS quote, but one of my own, from a novel I’m writing. I don’t know if it will ever get published, but I’ve got to try. I’ve got to take my own advice.

P.S. Go find yourself some real emo music. I recommend Circle Takes The Square.

Yesterday two of my friends and the mother of one of said friends were taking a long drive down to the amusement park. Summer is almost over, so we might as well get in as much fun as we can with the remainder of it.

“Can we stop for lunch somewhere?” asked one friend.

“There’s a McDonald’s right off of this exit, want to go in there?” responded his mother. We all nodded yes. She made a right and we were on our way to McDonald’s.

Several minutes later we were standing in line at McDonald’s, getting ready to order. I tapped my friend on the shoulder and said quietly, “Hot chick just walked in, look to your right.”

“Dude I hate those whiny emo bitches. They’re like a walking death with nice tits.”

“She’s wearing a fucking Minor Threat shirt, it can’t be that bad.”

And in typical me fashion, I slid out of line and walked in her direction. She got hotter with every step I took. She had that big poofy scene chick hair that I like so much and was wearing a huge ass pair of headphones; the kind that cancel out all the noise around you. Apparently she was with a group of friends, as I was later told, but I was too focused on her C cups to notice.

I was standing directly in front of her.

“I like your shirt. They’re one of my favorite bands,” I stated.

She took off her headphones and wrapped them around her neck. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I like your shirt. They’re one of my favorite bands,” I repeated.

“Haha, me too. I like your shirt as well.” She pointed down at my Circle Takes the Square tee.

I came.

I tried to keep my cool. “I didn’t think a lot of people liked them,” I said.

“Neither did I,” she replied.

My semen was dripping down my leg. There was a bit of an awkward pause.

“What are you listening to?” I asked. I thought I could hear City of Caterpillar’s “And You’re Wondering How a Top Floor Could Replace Heaven” faintly out of her headphones, but I wasn’t so sure.

“City of Caterpillar.”

I didn’t think I would ever stop cumming at this point. My shoes were becoming warm and sticky. I felt like Tim Allen in a dressing room for young boys. I wanted to rip off all of her clothes right there and have violent intercourse with her.

“I think we’re going to be good friends,” I said.

Sigh. If only something like this would actually happen.

Equality is fiction. It’s a dream, a wish. Everyone wants to be treated the same. But it will never happen. And yet many say that diversity is good, but if you are different you are hated. I can’t make sense of that. Its worth more thought, but it’s not what I’m interested in today.

Your life sucks. You don’t look the way you want to look, you don’t have any friends, and no one cares about you. Your parents are mean, your siblings are spoiled, your boy/girlfriend dumped/cheated on you. Life is misery; you cry, you cut, you want to suicide.

I feel sorry for you, but can you shut the fuck up? Seriously. Don’t you think I have enough of my own problems without you whining in my ear for hours on end about how you can’t go to the concert you wanted to go to, that you’ve been grounded for another month, that your goldfish died.

Get over it.

Oh, you’re oh so miserable, you’re depressed, maybe you have some nasty mental illness, but you won’t go get yourself checked out.

Here’s what I think: It can always get worse.

You might get hit by a bus. Or maybe a satellite will fall through your roof and your dog will be killed, or your house will burn down, taking with it all your expensive clothes.

Actually, I really don’t care about you. You bore me with all your exaggerated problems; you bore me with your imagined loneliness. Your poetry sucks, your songs are lame, and you couldn’t play a tune to save your life. I’m sick of your shitty myspace photos, all tears and frowns, I’m sure you’d look really nice if you smiled in a normal photograph, you know, old school.

I don’t hate you, I don’t hate the way you dress, and I don’t hate the music you listen to. What I do hate is the stereotype you’ve helped create. I hate the way YOU have helped to give emo a bad name.

And one more thing, I want you to remember: There is always someone worse off than you.

Have a nice day.

Thats right, ME. The Emo Bucket Forum attention whore. And look at where I am writing. I’ve found a new way to get into your mind (since I can’t get into your pants). So, to give you a bit of forewarning as to what I will write about: I HATE EVERYTHING. Just so you know. Yes, I like to rant. I can rant for ages about nothing in particular. And sometimes I rant about something that has a lot of meaning to me. If I believe in something, I will stick to it. There is no point in arguing with me when you can’t change my mind.

If you’re really lucky you might even get the occasional film review out of me. Not the latest releases, but films that I think are cool, and you HAVE to watch.

My next post should interest all you emokids.

Thats all from me…. for now.

Here’s the deal: If there is a recent or upcoming album release that you would like me to review, either comment on this entry or reply to the appropriate thread on our forums. If you can’t come up with something for me to review, I’ll come up with something on my own - which I doubt will be very helpful to you, because my taste is likely very different from yours.

If you need any help with recent or upcoming releases of music, here are some helpful sites with recent and upcoming releases:

Sputnik Music
Metacritic’s release calender

*****

A bit about my music taste:

I don’t want you guys to get the idea I hate emo, pop/punk, post-hardcore, post-emo, screamo, punk, hardcore, et cetera. I love all of these genres. What I don’t love is crappy music, and unfortunately, many of you listen to it. If I’m given a crap album to review I will tear it a new asshole. Don’t think I won’t. Don’t think that for a second. I also apologize in advance for any genre confusion or any other misinformation I write about. I try my best. Here are some bands I like in the aforementioned genres:

AFI, Against Me!, Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, At the Drive-In, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, Biffy Clyro, Black Flag, blink-182, Bomb the Music Industry!, Bouncing Souls, Brand New, and so on. I don’t want to end up listing my entire music library.

If I don’t get to a review within the next week, you can expect me to start them towards the middle of August. Otherwise, the next entry from me will be about my time in SoCal with Griff and the album we will be recording together.