Edge the Movie

A new documentary about Straight Edge called "Edge the Movie" is circulating the film festival circuit mailings. So it might appear at a local film festival near you soon. I do want to see this one as it appears that will at least have a more positive look at SxE despite the fact that they mention they will talk about the negative aspects as well. I do feel though that it isn't that necessary to even discuss these aspects at all. Enough has been documented about those that claim Edge and are violent and ruin the scene and name for the rest of us. That would be like doing a movie about Christianity and saying well we have to talk about the Crusades and the Spanish Inquistion, not if you focus on the positive aspects as your documentary. I feel like the iea of doing an unbiased balanced documentary can be lame as a proper focus on the positive aspects can be just as important and fullfilling in a documentary. I'll keep my official judgement quiet until I see the film though.

They do plan to do a DVD release so even if you can't catch it at a film fest or local independent theatre, you can still watch it at home.

Doing Too Much at Once

I find myself sometimes doing way too much at once and never getting anything done. At work this seems like a boon and since I'm constantly getting tasked by other's to get things done on pretty crazy schedules I find it easy to switch gears from one task to work on another. But at home I see myself skipping around a lot with out schedules and getting very little done.

I'll start to fold laundry, then remember I needed to take out the trash so I'll do that, then I'll rearange somethings that were cluttered and then realize I forgot to finish folding the laundry and go back to that, get bored and do something else, etc... It goes on like that a lot.

Lately I keep feeling like I may have ADD (Atention Deficit Disorder) but I'm 32 so I'm not sure what can really be done at this stage in my life. I want to be a little more sane when it comes to getting things done instead of switching around all the time and not comleting a lot of tasks that should really have my full attention. Surprisingly I can sit still and write a blog post without much internal distraction, although from what I've read about ADD and ADHD that's common as well. You can hyper-focus on things you truly enjoy or find important. That leaves other things to flounder that have less importance.

In the end it's helped my career, I think my ability to jump from task to task works to my advantage there well. So I wonder if I ever did anything to affect how I am would it make me less productive at work?

The Past The Present 1982-2007: A History of 25 Years of European Straight Edge

Another cool book is out about Straight Edge over a 25 year period in Europe. I'm actually quite interested in this book as it follows five Dutch bands through the various periods of SxE. I am quite amazed at how worldwide Straight Edge is and that it has become something that can bring people from all over together with a single philosophy. I'm very excited about all the books that are coming out lately that cover Straight Edge.

You can check out more info on the book from this blog and you can order the book from Refuse Records. I realize I'm a tad late on this news, but better late than never.

Burning Fight: The Nineties Hardcore Revolution in Ethics, Politics, Spirit, and Sound

I recently found out about a new book about hardcore culture. I haven't picked it up yet, so as soon as I get it I'll post a review. The book is called "Burning Fight: The Nineties Hardcore Revolution in Ethics, Politics, Spirit, and Sound" and it's by Brian Peterson. The book is supposed to cover where 80s hardcore left off and discuss the culture that embraced straight edge, animal rights, D.I.Y., and spirituality into their lives and hardcore.

I find the concept of this book rather interesting by the fact that the author was into hardcore in his teens in the 90s and now is a writer and high school English teacher. Just because you're a punk as a kid or even listen to hardcore as an adult does not mean that you can't become whatever you want in life. Hardcore isn't a barrier to life and you can live your life as an adult outside of the scene and still enjoy the music and culture.

I think that too many people see subcultures like hardcore as a dead end. It's whatever you make it, it's not a beginning or and end, it's part of life and a means to get some enjoyment from the world around.