Getting your tat in Rolling Stone isn't as cool as it sounds

Journalistic Integrity gets thrown aside as Rolling Stone aims at the Tiger Beat scene with their latest issue. I was contacted about two weeks ago about having pictures of myself used in a magazine article. The request came from a guy, (I won't mention his name) that claimed to be Straight Edge, to print photos I had in my flickr.com account. The photos were of me getting tattooed by "Old School" Alex and one of me posing with an X on my hand. This guy claimed that the article was to be about Straight Edge and Hardcore. Well after sending him and his editor (I won't mention her name either) high-res versions of the photos I was pretty excited. This was to be the second time I was to be in Rolling Stone, I was involved with the IVAW as their first web master when they first started as an anti-war group, but that article never got published as Rolling Stone didn't want to deal with the anti-war movement at the time; So I didn't put a blog posting here about it at the time I was contacted as I just assumed this article wouldn't get published either knowing my luck.

I received two free copies of the magazine via courier on Friday, the cover looked like a sad attempt to target fifteen year old girls, and I flipped through to find my photo. The article centralized on FSU and gang violence, and a fight involving Alex that ended in the death of guy at a show that both attended. I was pretty upset to say the least that I was lied to by Rolling Stone just so that they could get a picture of Alex putting an X on someone; So that they could say that many FSU members get X tattoos. First of all I'm not part of FSU and I don't condone violence, Straight Edge to me is about keeping my self poison free. Second the article made it seem that the photo came from bmeink.com which as I mentioned is not the case. Third, I am very annoyed that they would go through all that trouble just for a photo that really had nothing to do with the article. I contacted the editor about the article and all she had to say was that the article was "fair and balanced."

Alex is a friend of mine and I'm very happy to have gotten my tattoo from him especially at a tattoo shop in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. No one beyond those at the fight knows what happened, and Alex has not even been charged with a crime yet. So I hope everything works out well for Alex, I am saddened that a death occurred at a hardcore show, and I hope Rolling Stone learns how to act more like a rock mag and less like Fox News for tweens.

Why Are You So Angry?

Some people ask me sometimes why I get so angry or annoyed so easily. Try as I might I can't seem to be a completely relaxed and calm person. My answer seems to be: "Have you seen the world we live in?"

I want to move to a new planet.

All Else Failed, Myself, and YouTube!

A little while ago a friend and I went to see All Else Failed at ABC No Rio, and he just found this video of them singing their Vision of Disorder cover. I'm partially visible on the left side in a black jacket leaning against the wall (wow I made it onto YouTube; not that I'm actually excited by that, but this was a great show!)

Break Down The Walls

I used to think that label were just symbol of pride
But over time I've seen they only serve to divide
It's so easy to judge people by the way they seem to be
We must overcome this problem to live life peacefully
Break down the walls!
Yes, we'll break down the walls!
Look beyond the fashion or the crowd that they are in
Look beyond their riches or the color of their skin
Look beyond appearance and the truth you will find
Look for what's inside before you make up your mind
Break down the walls!
We'll break down the walls!

Break Down The Walls - Youth of Today

Community

I have only a few friends that are Straight Edge in real life, but over the Internet I've found so many more SxE friends. The community of Edgers online has given me more since of brotherhood and sisterhood that I didn't know really existed offline since I didn't have that many friends that claimed. There is definitely a community online that are more militant or anti in their goals, but I think that it seems to me that there are a number of great posi groups as well. Unfortunately a few of the good places online have become virtual ghosttowns, but that's life on the net.

Some great online communities that I like to visit and wander through:
Live Journal SxE Community
X Sisterhood X
SxE.com Forums

Straight Edge Wrestling

It's probably been about 18 years since I've watched wrestling longer than 5 minutes. But since I've had this blog I've kept up a bit with the ECW wrestler C.M. Punk who is Straight Edge. Surprisingly it's not a gimmick, he has quite a few SxE tattoos and listens to punk music. Here's a pretty decent interview with him from the Baltimore Sun.

Update: I was in a toy store the other day and found a C.M. Punk Action Figure and today just found out that he even has his own line of Hardcore Straight Edge merchandise on the WWE website. It was cool to see an action figure with straight edge tattoos.

Anniversary

So it's been just over one year since I launched this blog.  I wasn't sure how much people would care to comment on my entries or even to read what I have.  But I get emails every now and then and a few comments on some posts, not as much as I would like, but then again this isn't gizmodo.  Straight Edge is alive and kicking all across the globe so I'm going to continue to post and put out my thoughts.  I'd like to add that I'd like everyone that reads this to comment back with any cool Straight Edge sites you like to visit or any thing else about Straight Edge you've come across on the net.

xTRUExTILLxDEATHx

Alcohol in Mouthwash and Food

So Crest recently introduced an alcohol free mouthwash.  It made me think about how others that are Straight Edge deal with products or food that contain alcohol.  I use regular mouthwash with alcohol because it's purpose is for cleaning and it's effective at what it does.  I do however avoid foods that contain alcohol when the original purpose of the alcohol was for drinking, such as rum or whiskey.  If it's a cooking alcohol, like cooking rice wine (as used in teriyaki sauce), then I am okay with that since the alcohol is burned off and and the reason behind using it is purely for chemistry and not to taste like something like rum.  So I'm curious to know what other's out there that are Straight Edge think about this and what are your personal beliefs, will you switch to an alcohol free mouthwash?  Do you avoid all foods that contain alcohol?

Straight Edge on TV

HBO has a show about polygamy called 'Big Love', I've never seen it, but I just saw the posters around New York. Turns out as part of the new season one of the characters is considering joining Straight Edge (because as you all know it's a cult that you join) after being guilty over having sex (based on what I gathered from the synopsis of the episode Reunion, which stars a "Straight Edge Tattoo Artist."

I think having Straight Edge on TV is a good thing, but that is only if it's portrayed properly. I doubt it will as SxE is considered a 'gang' in Utah and is often seen as violent by the media.

Straight Edge Music on Last.fm

Straight Edge Music on Last.fm