I've never felt this alone

So last night we got our Jenga tower to 40 rows and then ran out of playable moves.

Are we a little excited?

 Yes.

 Do we know how to party on a Wednesday night? 

Heck yes.

Sprung

It's finally spring, and for once the weather is actually synchronizing with the calendar. It's been warm, sunny, and sure pleasant in general here on the east coast.
Today all the Orphans (and surrogate Orphans Jawsh and Steve) stooped for a little bit, probably the first official stoop of the season!

Well I have to say, I think my friends are pretty cool.

“It takes a massive, unbelievable amount of courage to stand up and say something is racist. Or sexist. Or ableist. Or any kind of -ist. A person who stands up does not do it for entertainment or enjoyment, because being looked upon as uncouth for interrupting others’ good times is not enjoyable or entertaining. Nor do they do it because it hurt their feelings, because -isms do not hurt feelings. -Isms are not that kind. -Isms kick people to the ground and hold them there for others to walk upon. Don’t be mistaken—if someone calls you racist or sexist or any -ist, they do not wish to annoy you or cause you problems. I can almost guarantee you that they are feeling scared or weak when they call you out, because what they are doing is telling someone who is walking upon them for a hand up, for consideration. And you need to give them that. You need to listen.”


I found this on Cera's tumblr today. It came at just the right time, since I've been feeling pretty crummy about all the that's been going on surrounding Friday's party.
Last night a delegate from upstairs came down to talk to me. I guess folks were offended by the words I chose to use (like "disappointed" and "fucked up"). I didn't go up there to just piss people off, I went up there because I needed to make sure they understood why what happened was so terrible. I didn't go up there to make enemies, if anything I went up there to repair and strengthen relationships for the future.
Having said that, I don't feel sorry for making anyone feel uncomfortable. Being called out is embarrassing and awkward. If it makes you feel good it probably isn't being done correctly.
I know everyone up there already considers me a "PC Weiner", but I genuinely want them to stop and think about how their actions affect others in the future. Maybe it's necessary for me to play the bad guy?
I don't know.

Tried to talk to 3 people today about the poor taste of last night's party. One of them stared silently at their laptop, one actually got up and left the room, and one was defensive, snarky, and told me that they were "sorry I was offended by the name of a Facebook event."
I told them to realize how fucked up it was, and how the fact they could even consider it irony was a sign of great privilege denying, and to consider how much words can hurt in future.
Then I stepped on a fucking staple poking out of a piece of cardboard on the floor as I left their house, side-stepping the pile of cat shit that's been in their foyer for at least two days.
Why do I bother?

Ok, so I may have jumped the gun with my angry post.
I went to the party, and it seems the "theme" never came in to play.
Never the less, someone decided that would be a party theme and thought it was a good enough idea to spread it around.
Does the fact that people are too apathetic to carry out a party theme redeem anything? Did they decide it was a bad idea? Was there a miscommunication?
I don't know, but everyone is drunk on hooch and someone I really love just got back in to town, so I'm going to save my rage for tomorrow.

HYPOCRISY!

You run around the neighborhood spray-painting circle A's and writing words like "EQUALITY" and "WE ARE WINNING", you help organize rallies, you spew Crimethinc all over everyone you encounter, you dress and do your hair in "alternative ways" and then you have A FUCKING BLIGHT THEMED PARTY IN YOUR FUCKING HOUSE!
FUCK YOU AND YOUR RACISM, YOUR BLINDNESS TO YOUR PRIVILEGE, AND YOUR GODDAMN HYPOCRISY!
WALK THE FUCKING WALK, ALREADY!

*whew*

In the past 24 hours I have:

• hitch hiked home with my best friend
• Showered twice
• become a brunette
• been interviewed for a job
• slept reeeeeeally well
• inked and scanned 9 comics

Now I'm off to hang out with my mom, then go to a poetry slam, then set up a new blog to post my comics on.

Should've seen this coming

The van.

Broke down.

In Fredericton.

*sigh*

I want to go home.

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE

Got in to Montreal last night to discover that several of our friends have been arrested on extremely bullshit charges. Everyone was extremely tense and upset after having 3 demos in 2 days, and we walked right into the middle of it.
I am so sick of this shit. What the fuck makes them think they can arrest people just for being part of the fucking black bloc? Since when does that make someone a conspirator? How can people just sit back and watch pigs on horseback swarm a group of people walking down a street and keep them for days on weapons charges?
We went out for court support this morning, which means I've already been up for nearly 12 hours, and we still have our show tonight. The 12 hour drive tomorrow is going to be extremely shitty.
Tomorrow is the international day against police brutality. Even if there's nothing planned in your city, I strongly encourage you to be heard, and speak out LOUDLY and BOLDLY against the police and all forms of opression and authority.

Kitchener punk show birthday party

Class War Kids

Mark It Zero, once again. Love these guys!

Bonus shot of hilarious crowd member.

Birthday!!

Woah, it's my birthday! I'm 23!  Every year the changing second digit gets harder to believe. Even though 23 is only one step away from 22, it feels like such a huge difference. I'm the same person I was yesterday, but the sudden switch is jarring. It would be nicer if the numbers gradually rose throughout the year, so maybe I'll start implementing that. Today I'm 23.001, and tomorrow I'll be 23.002.
We're in London, Ontario right now hanging out with our sweet friend Davita G. While it certainly seems like there are plenty of cool kids in London, Davita shines high above them all and is seriously the nicest person I've ever met. We're hanging out at her Grandparent's house while they're away, which is especially nice considering all the extra beds they have laying around here. Slept very comfortably, very late.
Anyway, here are some shots from our show last night here in London. I seem to be losing my low-light touch, so they're pretty grainy. Bummer.

The ever-amazing Davita G.

Um, I don't remember this guy's name, but he reminded me a whole bunch of Laurie, 

and he actually played Wagon Wheel during his set.

This band was very silly. Laura Mann & the Fairly Odd Folk from Calgary. They seemed really disinterested in the whole thing, and the dude was the most serious glockenspiel player I've ever witnessed, and had quite the 'tude. 

All The Trendy Kids! These folks were great, super adorable, 

and really knew how to work a crowd. A++, would play a show with again.

More from our tour

We've had a few more shows and several days off.
We spent a few days in Ottawa, which was super lovely. I really miss my dad and my brother, and I'm super lucky for how supportive they are of everything I do.
The Ottawa show was amazing, but impossible to photograph. Not only was the basement tiny, dark, and super crowded, but I ended up socializing to the point of missing a bunch of the bands that played. (whoops). Very unlike me!
Our set went over extremely well, and the crowd was really enthusiastic. It was especially nice to be surrounded by good friends we don't get to see very often, and to share with them what we've been working on over the last year.
We're in Guelph now, at Cory's new house. I feel much more comfortable here than I did at his old place, which was like a black hole of despair.  The show last night was nice, especially because our pal Jeffery from New Haven happened to be in town and opened for us. We first met him almost exactly a year ago when the Official Suckers toured through the states. I'm happy that we've been able to create these lasting relationships with folks from all over.
The band that headlined last night played some super fun pop-punk, and are going to join us tomorrow night at our show in Kitchener. Hopefully I'll be able to take better shots of them there! Then again, I'll be celebrating my birthday at that show so I might just have fun and dance.

Cute friends

Adventuring through the horribly slushy streets of the capital city

Black Is The Color, our friend from New Haven, CT

Mark It Zero, from Kitchener, ON

Tour!

So we've been on tour now for about 4 days, and we're taking some time to relax in Ottawa.
It's funny- when I first started hanging out with folks in Ottawa, I was really surprised at how they were able to make a home here as it never used to feel residential to me. These days, however, it's starting to feel really comfortable. My brother and father both live here, Steve's brother lives here, and there seems to be a genuine wealth of awesome places to hang out (I want to live in Raw Sugar cafe for the rest of my life).
I've been taking tons of photos, but I don't want to A) bore you all or B) use Steve's laptop for the next 6 hours uploading them, so here is a small sample of what's been going on so far:

 The traditional Oxford Blueberry photo

 Star wars figurines! At the house in Sackville! I'm not going to tell you where because damn, if I were to burgle something...

Buzz Buzz, in Sackville

 Noise Hounds

Sandman Viper Command, from Burlington, Ontario  

Matt (A) at the Gallery we played in Moncton 

 Money In The Banana Stand, from Charlottetown, PEI

 The Fucking Gummi Bears,  our sweet friends from Moncton, NB

 Crowd shots from Moncton! Kelly Belly and Sonny Bones hitched to see us in both Sackville and Moncton, which was super sweet. Also there was this SUPER WEIRD lady who danced to the FGB and then bought a bunch of Steve's zines and made him SIGN them.

That's all for now. I'm going to continue being all cozy inside while the rain and slush carries on outdoors. We're in Ottawa for a few more days, then off to Guelph!

Mistake Maker's Tour Kickoff!

We played our tour kickoff show last night at the Windsor st house and it was so good! I was in a bummy mood at the beginning of the night, but things definitely improved once people started rolling in and the bands started playing.
Awesome sets from Noise Demo, 18x18x2, The Nymphets, and Stagnant Stars, and to be honest I thought I set was pretty fucking sweet as well.
More photos and an innovative show review to come soon to the DIY Halifax blog.