!juan against the machine! profile picture

!juan against the machine!

All right…it's Saturday night. I have no date, a two-liter bottle of Shasta and my all-Rush mix ta

About Me

I don't have to explain myself to you!

but...

Uber-nerd I definitely am!
- I collect hardcore and punk vinyl records...Yes, they still make vinyl... this is my collection...so far .
- I like to get together with friends and deconstruct the entire universe in one evening.
- I have seen Nine Inch Nails perform live 35 times now...so yeah, I like them just a bit.
- I am chock-full of useless music and film trivia.
- I tend to space out in front of the TV. If you talk to me during that time, chances are I won't even catch half of what you were just saying.
- I am emotionally bankrupt and unavailable at the moment.
- Brutal honesty is my m.o. much to the delight and/or dismay of my friends and family.
- I am currently retired from the music scene...well...kinda...but not really...
- As a kid, I used to eat Flintstones Chewable Vitamin tablets like candy.
- I miss my Spider-Man underoos.
- Goonies never say die!
- !Juan Against The Machine! does not do cute...as a matter of fact, he can't stand the word. He will do lovable, adorable, huggable, and such but never cute. Bunny rabbits are cute. Puppies are cute. Juan does not do cute.
- I think it's funny when I'm chewing gum and when I try to blow a bubble I end up spitting out the wad of gum. That's hilarious...at least to me.
- The Goonies is one of the best movies ever! If you think otherwise...then you need to reasses your taste in movies.
- I am a lifetime member of the Guild of Misanthropy. Just ask Shai Hulud.
- This is NOT how to clean your records:
- If you ever tell me that you have never watched Star Wars, I will make fun of you, ask you what rock have you been living under, and then school you on why you need to watch it. I will also rant and rave on how George Lucas ripped off Frank Herbert's "Dune" for some of his material.
- Penguins are funny! They look like little, walking laundry bags.
- My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" is one of the best records of the Shoegazer genre.
- Don't be fooled my mainstream music. Just because it's popular, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's good. There are a lot of great bands and music out there...you just have to know where to look. Hit up your local 'core/punk/metal/indie music fan...they'll point you in the right direction.
- Oh yeah...I hate fast food, haven't had it in over three years...the mere thought of McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's, etc., makes me want to vomit.
Trying to "sell" myself on here is silly and lame. You want to know about me? Take the time to get to know me then. Don't judge me just based on my likes/dislikes. That would not be very nice at all and is subject to wedgies and that damn "look at my circle, it is below my waist, you saw it, now I get two punches" game. (Thanks to Guilt for that disclaimer)

"What you see is what you get, and I suggest you get used to it"


"this is your life"
"and you open the door and you step inside
we're inside our hearts
now imagine your pain is a white ball of healing light
that's right, feel your pain,
the pain itself, is a white ball of healing light
i don't think so
this is your life
good to the last drop,
doesn't get any better than this
this is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time
this isn't a seminar
and this isn't a weekend retreat
where you are now,
you can't even imagine
what the bottom will be like
only after disaster can we be resurrected
it's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything
nothing is static,
everything is evolving,
everything is falling apart
you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake
you are the same decaying organic matter as everything else
we are all a part of the same compost heap
we are the all-singing,
all-dancing crap of the world
you are not your bank account,
you are not the clothes you wear
you are not the contents of your wallet
you are not your bowel cancer
you are not your grande latte
you are not the car you drive
you are not your fuckin' khakis
you have to give up
you have to realize that someday you will die,
until you know that, you are useless
i say let me never be complete
i say may i never be content
i say deliver me from swedish furniture
i say deliver me from clever art
i say deliver me from clear skin and perfect teeth
i say you have to give up
i say evolve, and let the chips fall where they may"
"Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife--chopping off what's incomplete and saying: 'Now, it's complete because it's ended here'"--from F. Herbert's 'Dune'


"...because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. yet everything happens only a certain number of times. and a very small number, really... how many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that was so deeply important that you can't even conceive your life without it. perhaps four or five times. how many more times will you see the full moon rise, perhaps twenty, perhaps not even that. and yet it all seems limitless."--Paul Bowles "A Sheltering Sky"


KOI TATTOO - Probably surprising to many westerners is the large amount of myth surrounding these beautiful fish. It is known outside Japan as the brightly colored white, golden, orange and even calico colored fish which fascinate private collectors but which can also be found in public ponds. However, the Japanese carp or koi is one of the more popular and beautiful of Japanese tattoo symbols -- a beauty which belies its symbolic meaning. Although Chinese in origin, the carp in Japan is celebrated for its manly qualities. It is said to climb waterfalls bravely, and, if caught, it lies upon the cutting board awaiting the knife without a quiver -- not unlike a samurai (warrior) facing a sword. This theme dates back to ancient China, where a legend tells of how any koi that succeeded in climbing the falls at a point called Dragon Gate (on the Yellow River) would be transformed into a dragon. Thus it became a symbol of worldly aspiration and advancement. Eventually, the stoic fish came to be associated with so many masculine and positive qualities that it was appropriated for the annual Boys' Day Festival in Japan when colorful, streaming koi flags are traditionally displayed for each son in the family. In tattoo imagery, especially in combination with flowing water, it symbolizes much the same -- courage, the ability to attain high goals, and overcoming life's difficulties. --Terisa Green, Ph.D. "Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo"


Traditional Japanese Koi fish tattoo

14+ hours of ink. Artist: Shane W. @ Big Kahuna Tattoo


My Interests

Hardcore, Punk Rawk, and Metal music...for the most part. Anime. Star Wars. Japanese culture. Record listening and collecting. Listening to a myriad of other genres of music besides aggressive music. Tattoo art. Keeping busy as much as possible. Listening to obscure bands that no one else has heard of in order to feel egotistical in my music knowledge prowess but mostly since they make better music than your radio-friendly sludge. Movies and films (there is a difference). Going to shows (it's a concert if the band has sold out...it's a show if they're still struggling). Boston (the city, not the band). Reading books on film theory. Collecting Japanese toys. And being a kid at heart.....

"So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."--from Office Space

I'd like to meet:

Ronnie James Dio...the most Metal of all!
And...
"...just my kinda girl..."
And...
Rob Zombie..."Hellbilly Deluxe"...
And...
The geeks, dorks, nerds, spazz, freaks, and those that got picked on in high school by the jocks and "cool kids". People with tattoos. Those that are proud of who they are and not afraid to stand out from the rest of the Abercrombie/Gap/American Eagle-wearing lemmings of society. Individuals with their own thoughts.



"That's because we are uncool! And while women will always be a problem for guys like us, most of the great art in the world is about that very problem. Good-looking people have no spine! Their art never lasts! They get the girls, but we're smarter...Yeah, great art is about conflict and pain and guilt and longing and love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love...I'm always home! I'm uncool! The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool."--Lester Bangs in 'Almost Famous'

***I doubt anyone will read this, but if you're going to send me a friend request and I do not know you personally, then at least send me a message. I'd like to know where do we know each other from...if at all...and it's a better intro that way.***

SHAI HULUD "MISANTHROPY PURE"

Music:

Top 11 Favorites

1 - nine inch nails
2 - the god machine
3 - Shai Hulud
4 - Rollins Band
5 - Heather Nova
6 - Endpoint
7 - Guilt
8 - TOOL
9 - Corrosion of Conformity
10 - Bad Brains
11 - ISIS

...and the rest

Minus the Bear, Coheed And Cambria, Zombie Apocalypse, Shallow Water Grave, 27, Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, d.biddle, Kinghorse, The Enkindels, Metroschifter, Liz Phair, Lion Sized, Miles Davis, AFI, Elliott, Sonic Youth, Phish, Down, ARCH, L7, Cocobat, LMF, Pink Floyd, Silversun Pickups, The Doors, Skylab, Falling Forward, Slayer, Kyuss, Pennywise, Deftones, Puya, Jane's Addiction, A Perfect Circle, Catch-22, Ink & Dagger, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, John Coltrane, Mutha's Day Out, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Bleu, Poison The Well, The Black Heart Procession, Lucero, Brand New, Walls of Jericho, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Alkaline Trio, Weezer,...and so many more!!!

I'd rather be rawkin' out with The World Devourer


"Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable, or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"-Rob Gordon--"High Fidelity"


Movies:

Star Wars, The Alien movies, 300, Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Blood:The Last Vampire, Fight Club, Se7en, Donnie Darko, The Boondock Saints, The Princess Bride, Dune, Human Traffic, Amelie, Blade Runner, Reservoir Dogs, Serenity, The City of Lost Children, The Rocketeer, House of 1,000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Singles, High Fidelity, The Nightmare Before Christmas, 28 Days Later, Garden State, Next Stop Wonderland, The Goonies, The Neverending Story, Back to the Future, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, The End of Evangelion, Pulp Fiction, Equilibrium, Hayao Miyazaki's films, SLC Punk, Before Sunrise, Hellraiser I & II, Airplane I & II, The Machinist, Akira Kurosawa's films, Horror & Sci-fi movies in general...and many more!..

"With the shape I'm in, you could donate my body to science-fiction."--Rodney Dangerfield


Television:

Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Simpsons, The Green Hornet, Cowboy Bebop, Law & Order: SVU, CSI, Smallville, Dexter, Heroes, Firefly, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cutey Honey, Devil Hunter Yohko, Dirty Pair Flash, The Flash, Hell's Kitchen, etc...If channel-surfing was an Olympic sport, I'd be a gold medalist!..


Books:

Books and works by Chuck Palahniuk, Frank Herbert, Clive Barker, Jorge Luis Borges, Henry Rollins, Kia Asamiya, Otomo Katsuhiro, Hideaki Anno, H.P. Lovecraft, Chuck Klosterman, "The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon" by John Joseph...

Heroes:

"...in a world of disposable icons ..."--L7

My Blog

talk is talk - kill is kill...

"It's one thing to hold the hammer in your hand,But do you have it in you to pound the nail?"    
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:20:00 PST

starfuckers inc. this is not!

Knowing how much of a SHAI HULUD uber-fan I am, a friend asked me to interview the band for his site, Punknews.org. Here's the interview: http://www.punknews.org/article/30314 I will say that it felt...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:51:00 PST

perpetuating the stereotype

Today I had an inspection at a customer's workplace. This gentleman has a very Italian-sounding...or rather, very typical Italian last name. Not to mention his first name. During our conversation, hi...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:23:00 PST

how the mighty have fallen...or something like that

Each and every single day my faith in humanity is slowly eroded. I found out that at least three married couples I know are getting divorced. Talk about the complete and utter failure of the so-...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:12:00 PST

pre-33

"I'm about to have a nervous breakdownMy head really hurtsIf I don't find a way out of hereI'm gonna go berserk causeI'm crazy and I'm hurtHead on my shouldersIt's going... Berserk!I hear the same old...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:24:00 PST

crumbling towers

Should I be freaking out that I'll be turning 33 in two days? Part of me wants to hide under the covers. The other part doesn't give a rat's ass. I am so confused. Damnit!  ...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:11:00 PST

south floriDUH! nights

After the Coheed and Cambria show last night, a random drunk chick came up to me as we were leaving the venue and walking towards our car. She walked beside me and put her arm around me without saying...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:13:00 PST

punk rawk haircuts no more...

I have been getting my hair cut at the same barber shop for the past 15 years. Pretty much since I started college waaaaaaay back in '93. I went today to get a trim and find the place locked up and e...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:57:00 PST

help me ive got no soul to sell

During my never-ending work escapades and tours of Broward county, I encountered this: Gives you the warm fuzzies, doesn't it? See?...I'm not disdain and misanthropy pure ALL of the time... I do...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:46:00 PST

cuz when you take that bus...you get there!

Notes from the road... The bus stop is the last true bastion of multi-ethnic, varied economic income, and social status in our modern world. Especially at the corner of Sample Rd. and 62nd Ave. in Ma...
Posted by !juan against the machine! on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:32:00 PST