Calorie Counting in New York

New York restaurant chains (with more than 15 restaurants) will have to post calorie counts for everything on the menu including all drinks. I wonder if all the drunks at TGIF will stop drinking when they realize that their white russians are the reason they can't walk without weezing.

Jury Duty

So I got picked today to sit on a Grand Jury for the next two weeks (thankfully 2 of the days are court holidays and you won't be called for jury duty again for eight years if you serve on a grand jury.) They also have free Wi-Fi so I can keep up on my email and work over the hour lunch break we'll get.

On an unrelated note I started reading King Dork (which comes out in paper-back next week) by Frank Portman today figuring that I'd have time while sat in the jury assembly room waiting around to be called. I'm really impressed with the book so far and it really reminds me of my own youth in so many ways. I plan to write a more in depth review of the book when I finish, along with some other neglected reviews of the Out of Step book and some new (well new to me) CDs I recently picked up.

While sitting there in the jury room I started wondering how I'd be able to handle being unbiased when a case could involve drugs or alchohol. I know I'm smart enough to not judge someone outright by those things, but sometimes our choices and judgements are hidden to us. I guess that's part of the reason why we have a jury system, so I can judge people for the ills of their lives, I'm only kidding =)

Life with a non-edge Partner

This year I will be getting married. My fiancé is not Straight Edge, but she has been extremely acceptive of my choice. She doesn't smoke but occasionally has a drink when out with friends. When I chose to be Straight Edge I found it difficult to date, especially in New York, as many girls here drink and find it odd when a guy doesn't drink.

I try to eat very healthy and try to be completely poison free when I eat. I don't eat fried foods, I am lactose intolerant, and I won't eat any food that has been cooked with alchohol (even if it has been cooked off completely.) My fiancé has always been helpful whenever we are out someplace or visiting people to make sure that there is something I can eat and that it doesn't contain alcohol.

Being Straight Edge with someone that is not could lead to a difficult relationship with some people; I have read instances online of other Edgers that have had to leave partners because they weren't accepting enough or that they didn't completely understand.

I'm writing this post mainly to just speak to the fact that being SxE and marrying someone that is not SxE can work. I'd like to know about other SxE people that have had good and bad experiences with non-edge partners as well as those that have found a SxE partner and feel that that has been best for them.

Drunk Messaging

I find it completely hilarious when people feel the need to anonymously attack others for their beliefs. It is even funnier when it's done by proxy; someone who doesn't even know me felt it was necessary to have his "friend" send me a message over MySpace. I thought this message was funny so I posted it here (name withdrawn to protect the ignorant):

how can you possibly consider yourself human? when i am absolutely positive you gargle semen....you so called straight edged pussy...i can smell the burnt trojans from here you fucking fudge packing receptacle...i wish you nothing but clamidia for 2008.... go ahead and try to be somthing your not cause you can't fuckin deal. try to be different "straight edge" cause the norm has no problem to deal with life the way they do. Stop living in high school and at your parents ideals cause you can't seem to deal with life on your own "oh life is so hard when ur different" grow a pair of bulls pussy, your just fuckin sad...... tee heee heee teee heee heee heee

What is most amusing is that those that spout the most homophobic crap are typically gay, and those that hate Straight Edge people the most are typically the ones that end up failing out of rehab or dead in a gutter. I've never said my life was hard or I can't deal with the norm, if normal means being drunk and stupid then I don't want to be normal. In fact I think I have a great life and being Straight Edge has only made it better. I have an amazing woman in my life, a terrific job and lots of great friends.

I wouldn't typically respond to this kind of message but I just thought it was pretty funny how pathetic someone's life must be to write that kind of crap.

Earth Crisis Reunion Tour

Legendary metalcore band Earth Crisis have announced a few 2008 dates for a Reunion Tour. No New York or New Jersey dates are listed thus far, but hopefully they'll add a few more dates.

Author delves into Hare Krishna Straight Edge and Activism

Sarah Pike, a professor at Chico State in California is working on a book titled "Youth Culture and Radical Activism" which will contain a chapter on Hare Krishna Straight Edge. She has interviewed and focused on people that have become quite radical in their beliefs. One person she interviewed was released from prison after freeing minks from six fur farms.

Unfortunately she won't be finished for three years and the book will not focus on just Hare Krishna or Straight Edge. But I am pleased to find more authors diving into our world. Typically it seems that professors take a more unbiased position when they document the lives of Straight Edge people as opposed to that of television journalists. So I hope that her book will be an enlightening and educational experience.

Poison Free Blog Reader

So this isn't exactly SxE, but like the Tesla Roadster I wrote about last year, I'm all about electronic devices that (maybe not 100% of the time) help the environment. The Amazon Kindle is a cool new electronic reader, that's wireless and can download blogs (like this very one) and let you read it on the go with no waste of paper. I like the fact that it has a lot of features and is fairly small. I don't know enough about the battery, but would like to know how environment friendly or unfriendly it is.

Seventh Dagger stays true to roots and drops deal with Warner Brothers

Straight Edge record label Seventh Dagger was in talks with Warner Bros. for a distribution deal but decided to not go forward. I agree whole heartedly with Danny's decision. The big labels always try to find the next best thing and then over do it, drainthe life from it, and move on. They'd end up oversaturating hardcore and straight-edge with new artists that probably aren't even true to hardcore or SxE like they did with Avril (she was a little Shania Twain wanna-be that they turned into a pop-punk grrl, with no real punk attitude.)

It does make me worry though that Warner or another label is possibly looking to turn hardcore and straight-edge into something it's not. Let's hope for the best and if they screw with the genre, we will all be here after all the posers have come and gone.

National Edge Day

I just found out that October 17th is National Edge Day. I had no idea this existed. I find the idea intriguing as I do feel it is important to promote this belief (so long as it's done apporpriately.) I aptly celebrated the day by not drinking =) Edgefest in Boston was this past weekend in what I assume was to coincide with the closest weekend to the date. Did anyone do anything special on this day or past weekend?

So many people seem to think that letting other's know you are edge is a way of bragging or proving we are better than they are. But it's just another way to tell others about your beliefs and to give them the opportunity to discuss it and possible learn something new. I guess wearing a christian cross, a shopping bag that says "I'm not a plastic bag", or some other symbol or belief should be considered wrong and hateful by that standard. I'm only saying this as I came across a post about National Edge Day that was followed by people saying these type of things about people that are Edge. I honestly don't understand why someone that doesn't care about SxE would even click on a link that has Edge in the title.

Straight Edge TV

A film and television production company called Overboork Entertainment, formed by Will Smith, is working on a TV series for FX that will be a drama focused on a straight edge crew. Jada, Smith's Wife, came up with the idea; I guess her stint in the music biz has given her a lot of insight in what it means to be Straight Edge. The show is untitled and will revolve around Courage Crew an SxE crew from Ohio. I have no idea what to expect, and I don't want to assume the worst, but I doubt that it will be posi considering that most news and info about Courage Crew revolves around them allegedly beating up people that aren't edge.