Christown is where it's at!

I was on Facebook, and I was scrolling through a page of things that I can "Like." Among the many options, I saw Amusement Parks. Now usually, I'm a Like whore, and I just Like things that would go under the category of "Slightly Enjoy", so I had no reason to not press Amusement Parks, right? Wrong. The more and more that I contemplated pressing that little Like button, the less and less I actually wanted to, because the less and less the idea of amusement parks actually appealed to me. Now, most of you are thinking, "wait, Joey, amusement parks are so much fun." But are they really? Think of it in a retrospective point of view. Unless you're there at 6 AM sharp, you usually end up spending almost an hour in line for some mediocre thrill that lasts no more than five minutes. Also, be sure to wear running shoes, because that's what you'll be doing 75% of the time, trying to squeeze in a few rides before the park closes. It's also what you'll be doing when you make the forgivable mistake of eating first, and then going on rides.

Another "perk" of amusement parks, no matter where you go, there are at least fifty children under the age of seven have a complete tantrum in the middle of the street. It's a safety hazard parents, get your brats out of the way. The last thing we need is a dead five year old from Milwaukee on our hands; that involves way too much paper work, folks. My final complaint of the institution known as a theme park, are the prices of food. What goes through the mind of executives during board meetings? "Yes, let's exploit the need of food and water, charge $7 for a bottle of water, $3.50 for a churro, $7.50 for a piece of pizza, and $3.00 for a cookie, take their money, and call it a day. Oh, and no free refills folks." I'm pretty sure that that's exactly what goes through their minds. Same goes for gifts. I refuse to pay $25.00 for a "Collectible Souvenir Cup" that will probably spend most of its life shoved in the back of a cup cabinet, collecting dust and looking pretty. So in the end, is it really worth pressing the Like button? After all that goes through your head? I think not.

Phoenix, especially near where I live, has an array of interesting people of all walks of life. Yesterday and today especially, I observed these people in their "natural habitat". I started off my day Saturday at Arizona Mills, a mall in Tempe that is definitely normal. I got a couple shirts and pants, messed around, and that was all fine. We ate at this "Japanese" restaurant, which served Chinese noodles, Chinese sauces, and had a Mexican and a Korean working behind the counter. I can't complain, at least I didn't have to pay for it. From there, we went to Christown mall on 19th avenue, AKA, the hood. Christown has always been one of my favorite people-watching spots in Phoenix, because what you see there, you see nowhere else. I feel like the rule for shopping there is, "The more morbidly obese you are, the tighter your clothes need to be." That may sound funny reading it, but please, believe me when I say, watching it wasn't. Another thing I couldn't help but look at was the Ghetto-Fab that was walking around there. The 3 inch fake nails, with the fake looking extensions in the hair. To top it off, sweatpants that accompanied the 4 inch also fake stiletto heels.

I can describe a lot more, but there was one incident in particular that was extremely funny to me. I was in Wal-Mart (of course), and there was this man with a cart full of completely unrelated items, with bulgy eyes, like he was looking for someone. In some of the new and improved Wal-Marts, there are screens that advertise some of the more relevant and prominent products. This Wal-Mart, instead of having usable bathrooms (trust me I found out the hard way), they installed these screens into almost every aisle. This guy, with his watchdog eyes, stopped at every single screen and stared at each one for almost a minute straight, surveying the product, asking himself "Do I really need this, or can it wait?" I looked on at this man with fascination, actually hoping that he would pick one of the things that he so intently studied. It was like watching this amazing action movies with great effects and plot twists, except it was a guy staring at an Old Spice commercial play four times before finally deciding that maybe he didn't need it.

Today, a similar incident occured, except that it was inside a Filiberto's on 30th street and Indian School. My dad was really hungry, and we were on our way to the movies. We both love the food at Filiberto's, so we decided to stop in quickly for some tacos. He got two chicken tacos, and I got a cheese quesadilla. We get our food, and sit down. We were two of three people in the place, the other being a fat, probably homeless, probably crack-addicted, black woman wearing no shoes. Her hair was "styled" so that there were these 3 inch torpedoes sticking out of her scalp everywhere, uneven. She had a buffet of food in front of her, just shoving it down her throat loudly, with no consideration for the other people in the restaurant. Those people being my dad and I. He ate his food while i cut up my grease quesadilla, sorry cheese, and dug in. I ate quickly, hoping to get us out of there as quickly as humanely possible.

From there, we went and saw The Dilemma, it being my second viewing. Not that I actually paid attention to it the first time, but actually "watching" it for real, I liked it. It's definitely not a comedy by normal definition, but it's pretty good, and has a great performance by Vince Vaughn. I loved it's honest take on relationships, and how truthful most of it was. I would recommend couples going to see this movie.

I'm going to end this post with a little shout out to my friend Chloe Grace Rutledge, AKA Pippa January, who wrote about me in her fashion blog this week. I really enjoyed the article, even if some of the information on me wasn't totally correct. I honestly don't care about that, I just felt honored to be selected for a fashion anything, seeing as I spend a lot of time on what I wear. You can check out the full article at, http://thelifeofpippa.blogspot.com/.

Thanks for reading guys, hope I gave you a good laugh.

Vince Vaughn needs to get funny again...

Seriously. I saw The Dilemma, and it was pretty funny, but after Couples Retreat, there isn't much you can do that can shadow that dung of a movie. Not joking, Couples Retreat was the equivalent of Lily Tomlin fighting with David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees' special features anyone?) Anyway, Vince Vaughn, you're on the right track, we need another Swingers. This is for the best.

I was hanging out with my friend Milan in front of ASA, blasting disgustingly vulgar Tenacious D songs, waiting for a child to repeat the lyrics to "Tribute." That'll be the day. The day that I know the world is heading in a positive direction.

The Oscar nominations were finally released! I'm so excited that The King's Speech was awarded 12 nominations, the most out of any other film on the ballot. True Grit is the runner up with 10. To see the full list of nominations, which I recommend you do, go to www.oscars.go.com!

I'm watching Eddie Murphy: Raw right now, one of the funniest stand-up specials known to man, but I just got done watching one of my favorite movies, The Virgin Suicides. It's a film about 5 teenage girls, all part of the Lisbon family. The film chronicles their short lived lives until their inevitable demise as indicated by the film's title. The film, directed by my favorite filmmaker Sofia Coppola, is a masterpiece. It stars James Woods, one of the best actors of his time. It also stars Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett. I'm not going to spend too much time on what the movie is about, more about why I love it so much.

The Virgin Suicides is a very interestingly written film. Its first act is surprisingly dark, but slightly humorous in some ways. The second act is the best, and really lets you get to know the characters for who they re

ally are, but its the third act that really hits home. After an hour and 10 minutes of very interesting, comically dark, but still intriguing story, suddenly, there's a mass suicide of four girls. The scene in which the girls are discovered will forever remain in my mind, not because its graphic, but because the way its presented makes you imagine the horrible images that go with suicide, not because you want to, or even have to, but you need to.

All I can say is, watch The Virgin Suicides. You will not regret it. Unless you have 5 teenage girls to handle, then maybe it's not such a good idea.

On a lighter note, you should really check out Not For Public Use Productions and their new website. The company is run mostly by Nikki Wedemeyer and Lizz Marshall, but I'm also a co-founder of sorts. As you can tell from the name, it's mostly a horror production company, and you should check it out! http://notforpublicuse.tumblr.com/

Coincidentally, the site is part of tumblr. I've been very interested in creating a tumblr recently, since it seems like a lot of people I know are using it. I mostly advertise on facebook and twitter, but a tumblr wouldn't hurt. We'll see.

Once again, don't forget to send your emails to rudeandraucous@hotmail.com!

Thanks for reading!

I've been thinking...

I've been thinking a lot lately, about the way that my life is panning out for me. Less than a year ago, my parents were on good enough terms that everything went smoothly and without issues. This past month, all of that has gone to Hell, to be completely frank. I've been suppressing a lot of things that I wanted to say on here, but I didn't want to feel like I was complaining. Then, I remembered, hey, this is my blog, not yours. I can write whatever I want, and hope that you enjoy it, or take something away from it, so I'm just going to go at it.

Basically, my situation is this. As most people know, I live in two houses, spending half the week with my mom, and half the week with my dad. Recently my dad has been talking about moving to California, and very recently, it was just about set in stone. He told me that I had the choice to choose who I wanted to live with. After a lot of thought, a lot of decision making, a lot of advice, and a lot of planning, I decided to stay with my mom. This, as my dad should know, isn't a personal attack on him, and I'm not in any way trying to undermine, hurt, betray, or leave him. My dad is still my dad and I love him to death, no matter what he thinks. So dad, I know I'm not too great at this apologizing stuff, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, hurt you in any way, or made you feel neglected. I know I haven't exactly been the best son recently, but I just want you to know, that I'm trying to keep everything straight here.

So, I decided to stay with my mom in Phoenix. I decided to stay because, I've moved in 10 years more than some people move in their entire life. My entire life, I've only dreamed of living in one house, and now that opportunity has displayed itself, and it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The last thing on my mind is hurting one, if not both of my parents with the decisions I make in life, because honestly, they're really the only people I have to make proud besides myself. I mean that with the most sincerity that I can muster out of that statement.

Overall, I really just had to get that off my chest. It's been something that's been bothering me for such a long time. My parents might not totally appreciate the fact that I'm publishing our personal life, but they need to understand, this is my only way to vent and tell them how I feel for real. I just hope when they read this they understand my position, and where I'm trying to come from. My intentions are anything but malicious, and I wish to hurt neither of them in any way.

If there's anyone to thank here, it's two people. Rachel Rigali and Melissa Rodriguez. Rachel really cheered me up when I was feeling down, making me laugh all the pain away. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Mel, you really put everything in perspective for me, and helped me see the whole situation the way I should be seeing it, through my eyes. Because in the end, it's a decision that I'm going to have to live with. I know that both Mel and Rachel read this blog, so when you do, know this. Without you two, I would've never had the confidence to A. make a decision on my own and B. write this post. I love you both, and thank you!

I have to admit, I do feel a lot better after writing this post. It's great getting a weight off of your shoulders. For those of you who don't already know this, or have gathered this by now, writing is very therapeutic for me, and really lightens my mood a lot.

I've started a new campaign called "Get Me To Coachella!" I think the name speaks for itself. If you go on http://www.blogforteens.com/, and if you read my posts, I get paid. Also, click the ads, even if you don't want to, or don't need them. I need to go to Coachella!!

Thanks for reading guys, and don't forget to follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/joey123mo! Also, any comments, questions, concerns, and suggestions should all go to rudeandraucous@hotmail.com OR joey@blogforteens.com!

Thanks for reading!

Coachella!

Thanks to everyone who responded to my January 22nd post, it seemed like a lot of people liked it. I appreciate every comment you guys make, I hope you know that.

I want to start off with a review for a film I watched last night. It's called Catfish. It follows a man named Nev Schulman, and his relationship with a family that lives in Michigan. This documentary is gripping, and it honestly does give me chills. You can read my full review at http://www.blogforteens.com/ but just know, that this movie is amazing. There's a little amazon linky thing if you're interested in buying it.
Speaking of which, the ads. Yes I know, they're mostly irrelevant to what you like, but just click them. I really want to go to this concert, or festival called Coachella that has none other than Kanye West there, and the only way I can do that is I have $600. One for me, and one to pay for my mom for her birthday. This show has more bands than any show rightfully should, and I'm really excited. So just click them. You don't even have to buy anything. As far as the amazon thing goes, consider buying some of the stuff I post on here, because if you do, I get up to 15% of the order's payment, which is pretty cool. I'm seriously not going to spend a cent between now and the concert. Some people are like, oh yeah, that sounds fun and all. No, I need to go! It has to happen. I'm probably going to have some kind of garage sale soon too. Some kind of sale, of some sort. I don't even know yet.

Also, check out my friend Jared's blog if you get a chance. http://www.thelifeofjared-bell.blogspot.com/! His stuff is a little shorter and more to the point than mine, but it's still pretty funny.

Another thing I wanted to talk about today was an underground hip-hop/techno/trance group called Mansions On the Moon. They're produced by N*E*R*D, one of my favorite groups ever. You can download their free mixtape which is actually pretty good. Just google Mansions On the Moon and click the first link.

I've been sending out a lot of requests for interviews lately, so hopefully they'll accept and get back to me soon. People like Nev Schulman, Shepard Fairey, Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys, and Daniel Tosh, among many others. I'm crossing my fingers hoping to get the opportunity to do so.

That's about it for now. I'll be writing again soon. Thanks for reading!

It's 1:23 AM and all I can think about is writing..

It's true, I have an unhealthy addiction at this point. It's all I can think about, all I can do. All I can breathe, or release from my fingertips. The click-click-click of the keyboard. Behind the screen, telling a story, or forming an opinion, that's one of the few places that I feel safe. I feel like I would still write even if people didn't read, but who knows at this point. I want to be able to look back on my life and know what I did with it. I want to know that I made an impact. Sometimes, or actually, more than sometimes, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse with what I say. This post marks post #50, and I feel like sometimes I'm saying the same thing over and over again. Although I know that what I'm writing is relatively new, I feel as if I've said it all before.

If someone were to come across this blog completely by chance, then they would think that a schizophrenic is writing this thing. Not four hours ago, I wrote a post in a completely different mood, manner, style, and length. I said that next time it would be a little longer, and I kept my word. The letters are flying out now, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It sucks, trying to find the words to say, and then, the sun hasn't even risen yet, and I'm writing long diatribes again. Scary in a way, how my mind works. I don't even completely understand what's going on up there.

Please forgive me for droning on like this, I really have no control over it at this point. I hope you understand that this blog isn't just for the readers, it's for me as well. Like I said before, I want to be able to look back in 10 years and see what I was thinking. It's interesting to me, looking at scenarios and situations in retrospect. It's almost as if you're looking at it with completely new eyes. For example, there are times when I say things that, at the time seem like hilarious and inconsequential things to be uttering, but not five seconds later, I realize the mistake I've made. I've come to realize only one thing from moments like these. That feeling you get, the regret and guilt that comes with the words you've spoken, that's called maturing. It's realizing for the first time that what you just said was most definitely not the best choice of words. I know for a fact that I constantly do this, and it seems like every time I do, even though I feel horrible about saying it, I know that somehow I've learned from that experience.

I guess I can blame, or thank, this post on none other than my inspiration, Mark Zuckerberg. The man behind the genius that is Facebook. I literally just watched The Social Network again, and on my second viewing, I realized how eerily similar I am to Mark Zuckerberg. Once again I'm almost positive I've said this before, but dammit, I'm going to say it again. Many people will disagree with this statement of course, labeling me as nothing more than loud and obnoxious, and in some instances they're right. But in other cases, the resemblance to the thought process of Zuckerberg and my own is almost identical. I've always felt like if Zuckerberg never invented Facebook, I would've never started this blog, and I wouldn't be here right now writing this. I now know that that statement is nothing less than fact.

I look back on my life and see all the people, events, and places that have made me the adolescent that I am today. I'm nowhere near perfect, in fact, I'm closer to bad than good. With that being said, I owe where I am today, and who I am today, to those people, places, and events. I've had nothing short of an interesting childhood, and I swear to you, I wouldn't have it any other way. I sometimes see other children who bear no resemblance to me, and I think to myself, "What if my parents were more like that kid? Who would I be right now?" and I realize how insanely content I am with the way things went in life. I'm so blessed to have two parents who care about me, and want the best for me. As well as a family that's always supported me. My friendships throughout my life have never been as strong as I would've hoped they could be. Growing up, I always wished that I could have friends like the kids in Stand By Me, almost a brotherhood. I never had friendships like that, and looking back, I was probably better off. I spent a lot of my time, not alone, but not exactly surrounded either. I had a lot of time to think. If I had a quarter for every notebook I bought, trying to write something genius, I'd be a billionaire by now.

Writing always seemed to be something that I loved not only because I was good at it, but because it was the only way I could express my feelings the way that I wanted to. Being impaired with a paralyzing stutter, writing was my voice, and still is to this day. I've formed my writing style not only on the way I would like to speak, but on the way I think I should speak. If someone printed this out, put a gun to my head, and said read this, I'd be dead. In other words, all the "misfortune" that I was brought up with, all the manifestation of the complete misery that is childhood, it all brought me here, putting words on a page for you guys to read, and hopefully enjoy. If my stories bore you, if my jokes don't seem funny, and even if you hate to read, then this blog isn't for you. I might've touched base on this earlier, but I don't use pictures for a reason. I want you to form a visual through my words, not through someone else's art or photography.

I've made a lot of mistakes, and I've hurt a lot of people in the process, but at the same time, I know I'm helping someone too. In the words of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay I guess you could say, "You're not an asshole. You're just trying way too hard to be one." Depending on who you are, and who reads this, it's going to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To those who have it set in their hearts to never give me a second chance, well, maybe I deserve it. To those who are in the mood to forgive, then you're in the right place, because you probably have something to forgive me for.

Am I the only one who likes Ashton Kutcher?

Today I saw the movie No Strings Attached, starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, and I actually really enjoyed it. You can read my full review at www.blogforteens.com, but overall, I thought it was a very pleasing movie.

The main reason that I'm here today, is to talk about a friend of mine. His name is Jared and I used to know him back when I lived in Cresskill, NJ, and he decided to make a facebook. He found me, and it's pretty exciting. Just know, that if he adds anyone, it's safe to confirm because I know him. He's read my blog and he knows a few of my friends' names. Here's the thing, he also started writing a blog recently, and he wants me to help "publicize" his writing. He's really good, I promise. You can also send him an email at jaredbell1234@hotmail.com. He's also under my facebook friends as Jared Bell, and you can find him there.

I want to send a little birthday shout out to my uncle Mo. He's 679 today, just kidding he's 41, and I wanted to wish him a good one. Happy Birthday man! Love you!

My other big news is that I will officially be starting two new projects in March. One will be a vlog that I will post on youtube, and the other will be the ongoing story blog. I got a lot of positive feedback for both of those ideas so I think that those will be my best bet at this point.

Also, a good friend of mine by the name of Chloe Rutledge and pseudonym of Pippa January, writes a fashion blog called The Life Of Pippa January. She picked one of my outfits and decided to show it on her blog, to which I am honored. I'll let you know more about when she posts it, but for now, you should just check out the blog. She's got a lot of good tips on there. www.thelifeofpippa.blogspot.com!

I want to make a public goodbye to my friend Michelle Redondo who is now leaving ASA, sadly. We're all going to miss you a lot kid, and I hope we can hang out even after you go! I hope you're happy wherever you decide to go.

Don't forget to follow my twitter at www.twitter.com/joey123mo.

That's all I have for today. I know I really didn't write a lot, I just had a bunch of news that I had to share, dedications to make, and reviews to write. Amazing how little space it actually takes up. I promise it'll get longer for those of you who like to read my mini-novels. Thanks for reading :)

I can actually talk!

I'm just going to say up front, that this day has been one of the best I've had in a long time. I felt like I just got so much done, even though I didn't even go to school today. Maybe that's why I got so much done. The fight continues.

I just want to tell a couple funny and interesting stories today, nothing too major I don't think. Piera and I went to this costume shop called Easley's on 5th ave. and McDowell. It's a year-round costume shop, and it's really cool. We tried on a bunch of hats and glasses and took some pictures, so that was pretty cool. Then we went over to Metro Arts and I met up with my good friend Rachel, and we just hung out for an hour, talking. She's been dying for me to mention her at least once. I know she has. Don't deny it, Rachel. I said DON'T DENY IT! But I think the funniest part of the whole story is what happened beforehand, which was, Piera and I met up with Nikki, Lizz, and Max at Jack In The Box. We were sitting right by the bathroom, and whenever someone went in, Max knocked on the door really loudly and yelled "Hurry up!" Of course, people started to get angry at us relatively quickly, so we left. I think that that particular Jack In The Box wins the award for most ghetto in Phoenix.

The next day, which is today coincidentally, I stayed home from school. I had to get my cast off, thank Christ, and go to my first official speech therapy session, which I'll explain in excruciating detail in a bit. We get to the doctor's office, and I'm basically bouncing in my chair, waiting to get my new exo-skeleton off. They call my name, I jump up, and in I go. Half an hour, 2 x-rays, and a couple Michael Jackson jokes later, I find out that the cast was almost useless because in addition to the fracture, I hurt my tendon so I need to get physical therapy for my hand. I was not thrilled at all. The pain is still in my hand, not as severe, but still most definitely there. I leave, disappointed and aching, but still excited to have my cast off. I swear, my arm right now looks like Michael Jackson's corpse if it could text and type. It's like a prop from a Tim Burton movie. I'm also shedding like a snake, which is never fun when you're in Starbucks and suddenly a piece of your hand comes off.

Fast forward to about 2:30. It's time for my first official speech therapy. I had an assessment last Thursday that went relatively well so I had no idea what to expect this week. I'm not going to bore you with the mundane details of my speech impediment, but I can proudly say that I was reading and speaking mostly fluently for the time I was in there. I tried to apply some of the things I did in there on the "outside" and it did help. I definitely still need a lot of work, but I'm confident now that I can do it. I'm pretty excited to go back next week.

From there, Tom picked me up and dropped me off at the movies where I had the opportunity to see Blue Valentine. I just wrote a damn review for this thing on www.blogforteens.com, so I'm kind of burnt out on the whole review writing, but basically, it follows Dean and Cindy, and their crumbling marriage. The film really is excellent, but if you want to know more you should read my full review at Blog For Teens.

I also bought The Social Network on DVD today which is exciting for a nerd like me. And any DVD fanatics will totally wet themselves when they hear this. The case. Is. Phenomenal. Seriously, I know I'm reaching the nerd level of Tron Guy here, but seriously guys, this case is like, worth the 20 bucks, not even the movie itself.

Before I go, I'd like to provide you guys with an interesting example of irony I ran into today while talking to my friend Aubreya.

Joey: Hey dude, do you wanna go with me to a Buddhist meeting on Sunday?

Aubreya: I wish I could but I can't.

Joey: Why?

Aubreya: I got church dude.

Thanks for reading guys :)