This is a blog about you!

I could write about a lot of things right now. For instance, I had a brilliant idea the other day. What if the terrorists went after the Disney Channel Headquarters? Now personally, I think this would be good. Of course, it would need to be a surprise attack in the middle of the night. I don't want anyone getting hurt. See, this way, the terrorists get to make their big boom, and at the same time, we get rid of the what is quickly becoming the ruination of western civilization as we know it. In case the government (or cryogenically frozen Walt Disney) is reading this, I'm only kidding.

But back to what I'm actually going to talk about. People. I love a lot of them. I think about them a lot. Here goes something.

Hope- Words are useless. You know how I feel, and how disgustingly happy I am this feeling is mutual.

Tom- You're so funny, and so fun. You are up for anything, and you can hang with anyone. Everyone loves you, including me. I'm glad we're bffs, buddy.

Kyle- I admire you, honestly. You play guitar, you can fix anything, and people are just in general drawn to you. I know you aren't happy with your situation at home, and I understand why. You deserve much better. I want you to be happy.

Kelly- You're so easy going and fun to be around. Your whole family is like that really, so you're pretty fortunate in that respect. You really complete our tight little circle of friends. You're always welcome to come over and watch the Nanny with me. Haha.

Nathan- You're such a character! Honestly, you're one of my favorite people to be around. I love our inside jokes and look forward to making some new ones when you come home from college. Hang in there. Word on the streets is you want to be a TV journalist of some sort. You've definitely got the personality and smarts. I'm rooting for you.

Andrew- Thanks for being there to teach me about life for all these years. You've really been like a big brother to me. Not to sound like a sap, but you've really become a great young man. You've got smarts, looks, personality. You'll go far (and make some girl really, really happy). You deserve it.

Amanda Gelso- You're a scene vet, you're from Illinois, you drive a LeBaron. You obviously rule. No, but seriously, I'm glad we met. I always have fun with you.

Victoria- You seriously crack me up, and always put me in a silly mood. We may not seriously be besties, but I'm glad we can talk and be open with each other. Never forget soda jerks and Bff shoes. Good times for sure.

Heather- You're so resilient. I mean, you work at McDonalds, deal with douchey boyfriends, and put up with Mary Tyler Moore hair on a daily basis alone. It's impressive. You're good at cheering me up, and I hope I do an okay job returning the favor. Thanks for being a good friend, I mean that.

Rachel- You're you. You're such a unique and cool person. You like what you like and don't care who knows it. Selflessness is par for the course with you. Whether it's driving me around the bi-state area or buying dinner for everybody, you put your friends first. I have a feeling you'll go far in life.

Allyssa- You've got a good outlook on life. I know things get hard for you sometimes, but trust me, they will get better. And you'll find a nice boyfriend, I'm sure. Going to an all girls school is a handicap. You'll be out soon. Chicago better watch out.

Mark- You're an odd cat. Thanks for talking music with me all the time and getting me into some good stuff. IWAF is good stuff, keep it up. We need to hang out more often. Just watch out for those treacherous creeks. Haha.

Shelby- You've got such youthful energy about you, it's really refreshing. And you're always so nice to everyone. You're one of the few people I know that ignore the unspoken social caste system of sorts in our culture. And that's a good thing. Keep being you.

Ryne- Man, I wish we lived closer. We've actually only spent two days together, but you know me better than a lot of my closest friends. Thanks for giving me advice and guiding my life some when I get a little crazy. I will see you this fall for sure. "Don't even let that man STEP to you." Hahaha.

Meg- Man, I wish we lived closer. I thoroughly enjoyed the one day we spent together. We're so similar with our music tastes, and that makes for instant closeness. See you this fall. Oh! And sometime you and Ryne need to visit the Creepy Crawl. Seriously, it will be one of the highlights of your life. Sort of.

Leah- You're probably the most giving person I know. To tell you the truth, it always seemed to me like you were the one holding the Carter household together when things got crazy. Still, you remained kind to your sisters and brothers and respected your parents. Crazy. Oh yeah, and you're way fun to hang out with. I hope you get exactly what you want out of life. You deserve it.

David- I know it's tough living with three sisters, but you keep hanging in there. You really rule at guitar by the way. I'm a little jealous. Too bad you like metal so much. Just kidding. As dumb and cliche as this sounds, follow your heart.

Jaggard- You're such a funny dude. Everyone loves hanging out with you, me included. I'm glad you share my love for Every Time I Die. We'll have to jam to ETID again soon. It's how we bond. Obviously.

I think about you people a lot. More than you know I'm sure. I don't know how to tell you what you guys mean to me, but I figure this is a pretty good start.

DISCLAIMER: Obviously, I think about more than just those I mentioned by name. But think. If I wrote about all of you, this blog would be eternal. If you're reading this, I probably think about you a few times a week. And I do care about you. Know that.

Anyways...Till next time.

Christopher Michael Tucker.

We gotta stay positive!

Summer is slowly dying. And I am powerless to stop its demise. Hope started school today. Last night, when dropping her off after the Jack's Mannequin show, our goodbye was something like, "I'll see you...um...I...we'll see each other again at some point in our lives." I said that sounded bleak, a word which, upon checking the dictionary, is defined as "not hopeful." Unintentional pun! Baaaaaddd...

Arguments. Also bad, and I'm beginning to realize, mostly nonsensical. Me and my mom got into a doozy last night after the show. It was pretty much due to summer ending, although I was a little bummed about having to leave the Pageant when I could have easilly met Andrew McMahon with a little more time. Anyways, I was upset about these things, and a few choice words from mom sent me into fits of rage. That's the only way I know how to get angry it seems. I store everything inside me for extended periods of time and then explode all at once.

See, arguments can start over the most trivial of things and quickly escalate into real bloodbaths. It's worse when the participants are really close. They know all each other's faults, and (subconsciously) keep track of each other's most miniscule missteps so that they will have ample ammunition for future quarrels. That was definitely the case last night. Mom brought what I care about most into the discussion, provoking me, sending me into a rant about her divorcing my dad, accusing of doing it solely because of his illness, and letting her know just how badly that has screwed up my life.

It was strange, because I had a feeling I was on the verge of losing it, and I tried my best to steer clear of my mom after getting home, but she insisted we talk for a bit since she hadn't really seen me much lately. I felt like Bruce Banner a bit, when he knows he will soon become the Hulk if person A does not stop provoking him. I was silently pleading, "Please. Please don't make me angry. Just leave me be." But that didn't happen. I ended up throwing things, ripping down posters, and screaming at my mom, and she was soon sobbing in the bathroom. It's really ironic how, in the heat of the argument, all you want is to hurt the person, but then when you finally conjure up the right words to really wound them, all you do is hurt yourself. It's all just so silly. That's all I have to say about that.

Back to the positives of last night. Treaty of Paris opened the show. I don't think their music is all that stellar, but they certainly are entertaining. Phil Kosch and Dan Wade are beasts. End of story. I didn't even watch Paper Route play. I watched a little of Phantom Planet, but I just saw them a couple months ago, and their live show doesn't really change much. However, kudos to those dudes for playing acoustic in the parking lot after the show. Alex Greenwald can play the mandolin pretty well, despite what he'd have you believe. Jack's Mannequin was fun. I never really got into them, but Andrew McMahon is quite the icon, and puts on a fun live show. His cover of Tom Petty's "American Girl" is second to none.

Tomorrow I see Ace Enders and Cute Is What We Aim For. I actually get to see Ace again in 10 days at SIUE. Fo free. I'm excited. Also! I just found out I'm seeing Death Cab in October at the Fox Theatre. The next few months of shows are looking pretty good. I'll leave you with my list of upcoming ones. Later.

August 12- Cute Is What We Aim For, Ace Enders, Powerspace, Danger Radio (Creepy)

August 28- So Many Dynamos cover Weezer! (Off Broadway)

9/10- Vampire Weekend, White Williams (Pageant)

9/19- New Found Glory, A Day to Remember, Four Year Strong, Crime in Stereo, International Superheroes of Hardcore (Pop’s)

9/21- Two Tongues (Pop’s)

9/23- Lagwagon, MxPx, Only Crime, TAT (Pop’s)

9/25- The Rocket Summer, Phantom Planet, The Secret Handshake, The Morning Light (The Metro…in Chicago)

10/12- Bayside, The Matches, Status (Pop’s)

10/13- Death Cab For Cutie (The Fox)

10/16- Ben Folds (Pageant)

10/18- Cobra Starship, Forever The Sickest Kids, Hit The Lights, Sing It Loud (Pop’s)

10/19- Panic At The Disco, Dashboard Confessional, Plain White T’s, The Cab (Scottrade)

10/24- Of Montreal, Sinkane (Pageant)

10/28- Family Force 5, Danger Radio (Creepy)

10/30- Relient K, Ludo, This Providence, House Of Heroes (Pageant)

11/16- Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, The Gaslight Anthem (Pageant)

11/17- All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Every Avenue (Pageant)

Christopher Michael Tucker