“Wisdom is in the beard and not in the head”

If you have never found yourself flipping through an online gallery of the many different variations of facial hair men (and occasionally women) sport, then I suggest you take a few minutes to take a look here.

Although I am not able to grow a full Grizzly Adams beard yet, I still "try".

My technique to growing my type of facial hair is as follows;

1. Don't shave

2. Keep not shaving

(Results may vary)

After a few months of using this technique, this is what I get:

Like I said, it isn't quite the grizzly adams, but it's me, and I enjoy what I have.

Today is Day 8 of my "Rocky in Wisconsin" adventure.

If you are not aware of my current mission, it is to simulate the understanding of cultural traditions while attempting to adapt to the local weather and maintain homeostasis in a foreign environment.

We've traveled back in time to save an ancient species from total annihilation. So far, no signs of aquatic life, but I'm going to find it. If I've got to tear this universe another black hole, I'm going to find it. I've GOT TO, MISTER! *blohoop*

Things I have done in Wisconsin;

• went to a zoo
• went to a brewer game
• went to Perkins
• perspired immensely
• saw my cat, Mike
• met an old friend from Germany in an underground karate dojo
• chewed gum
• went to a Wal-Mart

I have not ever walked into a Wal-Mart in California, and I do not plan on doing so.

America...You've got to stop this..

Talk about looking like a complete goon.

Alright, that's all for tonight, I've gotta get back to watch the rest of Ed TV

-R.

We're Signed...

As of tonight, 13 Killings is signed to Acropolis RPM / Hacksaw Records. At first, before I had signed the contract, I wasn't too sure about being on a label, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all I care about is playing music. The money aspect of things really doesn't matter to me, as long as I enjoy what I'm doing.

It is night 2 of my nomadic adventures, and I am again at Lauren's house. I had planned on going to Allee's, but the drive would have longer than I wanted to scoot this late at night.

Tomorrow I have a show at Chain Reaction, opening for Sky Eats Airplane amongst other bands, it'd be nice to see everyone's beautiful face there, but more than likely, you won't go. Your loss!

I hate the smashing pumpkins...

Today...

(get it?)

Is the first day I am on my own, and it is going great. I stayed at Lauren's and now we're watching the benchwarmers,

band practice today, then a meeting with Acropolis RPM about signing with them, then we'll see where I end up!

Until next time,

-Rocky!

Its Crunch Time...

Moving Day!

Not for me, but for my grandparents. They are moving back to where they came from...not that far back you sick person, but they are moving back to Wisconsin...rather Ohio, then Wisconsin.

I'll admit, moving can be a rather daunting task for some people, depending on how much stuff you have.

The last time I moved, all it took was a truck bed, now I have consolidated all of my belongings into a backpack and what I can fit in my moped trunk. I rule! On a less-pompous note, I am outside of the Coffee Bean enjoying a nice cup of coffee and the chilly weather. (my favorites)

Well, my night is about done, so I will be heading out to sleep in an empty house with only the bare essentials - let the games begin!

She Is Legend

Is the name of my moped. Some people may look at it and laugh, but I get 73 mpg...how about you?

It takes me less than $2.00 to fill up my tank and I've got a super awesome horn to boot.

I don't need to look manly or put on a tough guy facade. I'm awesome, my moped is awesome, you're awesome.

David

I met a guy today who had lost his pants...story soon.

Denny's

Nate was taking the photo.

Winding Down...

As I sit here, I am preparing for my last "Monday" ever. No more struggling to wake up on time after a long and exhausting weekend, no more forgetting what class you have to go to, or how bad it will be that you didn't do any homework. Some say they won't miss this feeling, but some people are dirty liars...

Now that it is the end of the year, I also can safely say that I know who I will talk to after high school and who I will not, which makes things easier because I don't have to be Mr. Nice Guy to all those who I have never liked. This year all the seniors have dropped their cliques for the most part and became friends with everyone.

Devil's Playground: Revisited was a big part of this. I think everyone went into it wanting to just have a great time, and they did because they were all open to new things/people.

I'm not much of a sentimental guy, but OCHSA is a great place..

An Old Book Misread...

The other day I was asked if I could get some Zanax for someone. I am not friends with this person, nor have I even had a real conversation with them, just the casual hello here and there. I told him I had nothing to do with that stuff and he left it alone.

It got me thinking, is that what younger kids think of me? Because I have tattoos and piercings, that means I do drugs? I am not saying I am opposed to drug use, I could honestly care less. I am just marveling at how fast people these days seem to judge a person solely by their appearance. If you actually know me, or have at least had one good conversation with me, you probably know that I am straight edge, and I have never drank or smoked anything in my life.

On another note, today I was sitting outside of the Starbucks at Cinema City in Yorba Linda when a homeless man walked up. He sat a few chairs down from me, and we started having a conversation. I invited him to sit with me and he accepted the offer and had a seat at the table with me. He offered me a gingersnap cookie, which I politely declined, explaining that I was vegan and the cookies were most likely not. He asked what a vegan was so I started explaining veganism to him. He understood and didn't question my decision, just realizing it was how I wanted to live, and knowing there was nothing he could do to change that. We got to talking about films, the Scorcese film Taxi, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and V for Vendetta. It hit me that this man, named Stan, was just a normal person, just like any of us. Society looks down upon him just because he does not have a home. He talked about how he lived in Ireland until he was 12 years old and then his parents deceived him into moving to America, which they both knew he openly opposed. He didn't explain why or how he got to being homeless, but I can only imagine it has something to do with being in Jail, because he briefly talked about his experiences whist in jail. For the most part, Stan was a very nice guy. Sometimes he was very crude in his actions, but for the most part he was completely lucid, sober, and felt alright with his circumstances. He makes money by recycling, not begging. That says a lot because it is not easy to do that, but it is easy to stand on a curb and ask for change. I feel he shows real character and courage, and today's youth could learn a lot from2 Stan.

"Gee Rocky, how'd the music video shoot go?"

I know you were thinking it, and thank you for asking inside your head.

The shoot went very well, we had a good turnout of people, everyone had a grand time, and we went all out every single one of the 7ish times we played Bridges of Eldin.

Are you done shooting?

Nope.

Can I be in your music video?

Nope.

Can I come to your show at:

Hermosa Beach - June 14th

Chain Reaction - June 19th

Anaheim House of Blues (CD Release Show) - June 23rd

Yes.

Are you hungry?

Yes, thanks for asking.

Are you watching Grey's Anatomy?

Yes.

Goodbye!

See Ya!

My Childhood Pt.1 (Birth to Kindergarten)

Some of you may know the basics about me, I was born in Wisconsin, I moved out here to go to OCHSA, and I'm left handed. Maybe you didn't know that one, but I digest..

I was born on a lovely Tuesday Morning, May 3rd, 1990 was the date. My father skipped out on a track meet to be there. Thanks for that, by the way. I popped out into the world at 8:07am, and as most of you do not know, I was peeing. Yep, definitely was already a peeing machine the second I came out. I am the youngest of four children in my family. There's Jeremy, Katy, and Marty. (oldest to youngest)

While growing up, I often got the short end of the stick when it came to car trips - riding in the middle, clothes - occasionally a hand-me-down here or there, but it never really got me down. I was treated relatively nicely by everyone besides my brother, who is 20 months older than I am, so that is expected. We would fight all the time, and him being the older brute, would always win. I was a whiner when it came to those moments. Looking back at it, I think it was just a clever defense mechanism to get my brother in trouble. Even as a tot I had genius in me...

As a young boy, my father, brother, and sister worked at a water park in the Wisconsin Dells called Family Land (now Mt. Olympus so that entitled Me, Marty, and my amazing mother to spend just about every single day at the water park. I used to not be too keen on wild and crazy water slides, so I would spend hours on the kiddie slides The Comet and The Little Dipper. these slides were very tame, very slow, but still had the slight rush that I needed to gain confidence in water slides. I remember the first time I ever went on one of the big slides, the huge slide, the slide to end all slides, the kamikazee. We were at the park with our family friends, the Koeblers, and I was hanging out with Danny. (I felt cool because he was much older than I was) Danny and I made a deal that I would go on this huge slide if he caught me at the end. Sounded like a good plan to little 'old Rocky, so I went for it. As I approached the bottom, I see Danny watching me from the edge of the pool, he wasn't even going to try and catch me! I had been tricked! Regardless, that is where I made my step into manhood, being a little kid going on a waterslide.

We moved around quite often before I even started Kindergarten. I do remember some places, and I don't remember some. You can expect that much. What I do remember most is my grandparents' house on Somo Lake. They had an enormous house (I wonder how big it is now...) and family would be up there all the time. My grandfather had a 4 wheeler named Charlie that he would let us ride on in his lap. I would put my hands on the inside of the handlebars and it would feel like I was driving! Christmas was always an amazing time at their house, everybody in the family, regardless of how far away the lived, came and stayed there. My grandmother made a stocking for each member of the family, and they would hang on the wall under the balcony of the second floor. My stocking had a snowman on it. (It was the best one)

I played sports, sports, and more sports. As a young kid I played basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and swam all the time. As soon as I was old enough to play tackle football, I jumped at the chance. I never dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, I didn't even really enjoy the idea of competition, I just enjoyed playing and having a good time. If I were to go back in time and had the choice of taking sports more seriously, I wouldn't. I was a kid, it didn't matter if I won or got a medal.

My father, to my surprise, actually help set some of my morals. He always told me I shouldn't smoke because its harmful to your health. Thus, I have never smoked anything in my life. I don't recall him every saying anything about about consuming alcohol, but I do the same with that as I do smoking, I don't do it. (That will be elaborated upon in the next entry) But then again, he also told me tattoos were stupid and for bad people... well, look at me now...

That is all I will tell for now, and in the next few days I will continue on with my life story...

I will be the next big thing

Today in the shower, I had an epitome...

I can not say what it is, but I am going to develop the next big thing,

it will be used by nearly every single teenager in the United States, and even more around the world.

It will take a lot of preparation and effort, but it will pay off..

A Shadow can tell more than a story..

Nomadic Adventures Ahead!

My band, 13 Killings is filming a music video this Friday night, and everybody is invited to come, the scene being filmed is the "House Party" scene, I don't think there needs to be any more of a description for that. Everything you need is in the flyer, here are the lyrics to the song, for those who are interested;

let me start off by saying "you don't stand a chance"

my moves are so precise and so advanced.

supplies fall from the skies, an item i specialize (first come first serve)

I'll let you think its your but once it hit the floor i knew it was mine.

you, you try to run.. but your just not fast enough to receive this gift.

i come out of nowhere, strike you with such force and speed. (pick up the sword)

oh fuck you're done now! you're not looking to good as it is and your standing on unstable ground.

let the games begin for i will not show a sign of weakness nor pity to those enemies who once were called

a "friend". i stick to the plan from the beginning to the end. and we all know what that is now don't we...?

now shield as i try to attack...

say goodnight....

it's sudden death my friend. that means your just one hit away. my heart will outlast yours(x2)

there is no one else. it's just one on one. as fair as it gets. show me what you got! I'll teach you a thing or two. oh it's so much fun.

(i fall to the ground) how could this happen. i was so prepared. i was so prepared.

no i will give up. don't you dare consider over. (rise to my feet) get up! get up!

rise to my feet I'm standing strong. i see you there across the stage, time for revenge.

there's only one life. I'm not gonna fall again i swear I'll make my come back!(x2)

I'm going to attempt to blog once a day, if I am able to do so. Oftentimes I will not have my computer for an entire weekend, thus for those times I may not be able to share my findings with everyone. I wonder what restaurants / stores / etc. have free wi-fi around where I'll be..

So, After Graduation I plan on leading a nomadic lifestyle. I will not have a California home as of the 15th of June, so I feel it is the ideal time to start my adventure. When the news of my roommates moving came about, I panicked and thought, "Who am I going to live with? I don't have a home, so I can't live out here anymore." Not true in the least bit. I've decided that I'll be staying a night or two here, another night there, a few days in a treehouse, basically wherever I end up. As of this afternoon, I have successfully packed up all of my things to be moved with my roommates back to my hometown, with the exception of

• My scooter
• A Backpack filled with the essentials
• A small duffel strapped to my scooter with some clothes and toiletries

I look forward to starting this journey, although I won't be traveling to far away lands, it will still be a new experience regardless.

If you wish to have me as a guest in your house, I would be more than honored,

Just know a few things;

I am vegan, I am straight edge, and I love hot tubs.

So Let's party.