Mike Jurewicz’s Blog

March 22nd, 2008

Travel

Posted by MikeJurewicz in Travel

After talking with my friend Stasha last week I realize how much I want to travel. Go to unique places all over the world. So here is my list of places I want to visit before I die. I doubt I will be able to get to all of them in my life but here goes.

USA

  • Boston, MA
  • Seattle, WA
  • Portland, OR
  • Anchorage, AK
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Portland, ME
  • Denver, CO

Canada

  • Vancouver, BC
  • Toronto, ON
  • Montreal, QB
  • Edmonton, AL

Central America

  • Guatemala (Thanks to Stasha)
  • Costa Rica

South America

  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Peru

Europe

  • Ireland
  • United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
  • Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark)
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Switzerland
  • Russia

Asia

  • Japan
  • China
  • Hong Kong
  • Thailand
  • South Korea
  • Australia (I know it’s not technically Asia but in soccer they play in the Asian Federation)
March 19th, 2008

Books Books Books

Posted by MikeJurewicz in Books, Mike Jurewicz

I was never a big reader. I just couldn’t get myself to sit down and just read a book for enjoyment. I think I blame schooling for that because we are always forced to read a bunch of things that do not interest us so the thought of reading just made me almost automatically think it wasn’t going to be any good.

I remember in grade school the only book I actually enjoyed reading that I was made to read was The Outsiders. At the time of reading it I didn’t even know there was a movie based on it and after seeing the movie I felt the book was better. But there were many other books I was forced to read that just had no impact on me.

When in high school I read a few books for my enjoyment including The Godfather and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? I read The Godfather before seeing the movie and thought it was great read, mostly because of my infatuation for the Mafia. The later of the two, with one of the longest names for a book I’ve see, is about a young man growing up in a Catholic household and and going to Catholic school. These were all things that I could relate with having done it myself.

For a long time after that I really didn’t read anything other than magazines or the newspaper but a few months ago I bought myself Stephan Colbert’s book I am America (And So Can You) and really enjoyed it. This prompted me to go out and buy some more books. Now I really enjoy reading, I like being able to imagine how I think the characters would look and sound. It is just like watching a movie but one that you cast.

Here is what I am currently reading and what I intent on reading.

Currently Reading:
- Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob, the Mafia’s Most Violent Family by George Anastatia - A story about the bloody rise and fall of “Little” Nicky Scarfo and the Philadelphia Mob. Anastaia along with former wiseguy Nick “the Crow” Caramandi, now in the witness protection program, paint a violent series of events starting with the killing of the Don Angelo Bruno to Scarfo’s rise and overall paranoia over being knocked off. I’m not done with this yet because the book is so very long and it has just taken awhile to complete.
- Valis by Philip K. Dick - I’ll admit that my interest in reading this book came from the TV show Lost where Locke provides it to Ben to read while imprisoned in his basement. I have only just begun the book and so far really like where it is going. The main character, Horselover Fat, is also the narrator but telling the story in third person to try to find a better perspective of his problems. Fat is a drug user and is trying to find something meaningful in his life. I love how sometimes he breaks into first person only to correct himself or pretend like he is a completely separate person who is a friend of Fat’s.

Going to Read:
- A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho and Peter Thomas Fornatale - If you know me then you know I am a big wrestling mark (fan) and Chris Jericho is one of the best wrestling minds in pro wrestling history.
- The Last Gangster by George Anastasia - Another book about the Philadelphia mob except post Scarfo era. It is about an informant that gets himself into the mob to help the police and federal prosecutors bring down the organization.

March 13th, 2008

Musical Drive

Posted by MikeJurewicz in Music

For the past few months my drive to create music has dwindled.  Mostly because I have been working so much that when I come home I don’t want to do much other than have dinner and lay down.  Then my weekends I try to spend time with my friends and do packing.  Plus I still have that bad taste in my mouth about the back stabbing I received from the trend following misfits of life in my last band.

But the past week or so I have wanted to start writing again.  I’ve downloaded a couple of drum machine programs to my laptop and started grabbed my guitar and started playing to the beats.  I have this vision for writing and it will probably never pan out the way I want it to but I at least will try to get as close as possible to it.

I recently came up with an idea for a song.  A song with meaning without words.  I’m glad that when I threw this idea by Lane that he was more than happy to want to be involved.  He may not be the most technically sound musician but at least he has the drive and he knows where my heart is when writing this.  I love him for that.  I hope to get together with him to compose something.  I’m not expecting anything mind blowing out of the two of us but rather just something straight forward and from the heart.  This is becoming my number one goal to accomplish before the end of April.  I want to write this song and I want to play it for my friends.

I think there are two big reasons for this renewed interest in writing.  One is the music I have been listening to lately.  I find it so inspiring and so beautiful.  I finally see that words are not necessary in order to portray beauty, pain, happines, sadness and all those other emotions.  An entire Godspeed You! Black Emperor album can put forward all those emotions without a single word being sung.  Sure there are bands and artists out there that write wonderfully constructed lyrics that not only tug at your heart but make you think and wonder but you can’t always relate to everything they say.  Without the words it is far more open to interruption.  You can always understand in your own mind.  When there is a sad part playing you definitely know what it feel like to be sad and you can apply its feeling to anytime you were sad.  I may not make sense but I love the way that instrumental music makes me feel.

The second reason for the revival in my music endeavor is just how I have felt lately.  I’m a nostalgic person and I always look back on the past.  I miss the things that brought me happiness.  I regret the things I did that hurt those I care about (Yes I have regrets and I think everyone does.  Some just can’t admit to it).  I hate the things that have always bothered me.  I’m scared of my departure.  It’s just a rush of emotion hitting me all so at the same time and how better to let it out then by playing music?  I can’t get these thoughts out of my head nor do I want to get them out of my head because they are who I am.  I’m a mess I know, a fool probably, a lover most definitely, a friend, a son, a brother, a companion, a shoulder to cry on, the one crying on a shoulder, a dreamer, a loon, a hermit, a loud mouth, a drunk, a level head, etc.  So many things that make up who I am and how I feel.  Some good, some bad but all of them what makes me…me.  Sure I have spent countless hours of my days thinking about how much I love someone that I don’t have.  I don’t care, that’s me.  And all these emotions that make up me have driven me to begin writing again.  So that I can put how I feel out in music.  Yes there will still be times that I drown my sorrows in a beer or ten but I’m glad I still have my ability to write music.

Maybe I’ll play in a band again, more than likely I won’t.  I can’t stand the idea of someone taking my emotion output from me and making a mockery of it to be popular or be rich.  I’m perfectly content with writing music with my friends just to write music.