Postblink

I’ve been pretty busy lately, thus the inevitable lack of updates that happens once in a while… This is pretty important news for blink-182 fans. Even if there’s no reunion, it’s nice to see people get over stupid fights.

hello to you. it’s been a long time since i’ve posted anything here on the himynameismark site. i haven’t had it in me. these past two months have been the hardest times that i can remember, and i hope that we never see anything like this ever again. first losing our dear friend and longtime producer jerry finn, and then the plane crash that happened in september, taking our friends chris and che. even two months later, i still can’t believe what happened, and it’s too much to talk about. but let me say that i think about little chris every single day, and the world is not the same without him. he is one of the best people i’ve ever known. we travelled the world together, spending countless hours on busses and planes, in hotel lobbies and dressing rooms. we worked together, laughed, and played jokes on people. when i saw him in the studio, no matter if it were with blink-182, +44, or an unknown band i was producing, chris would walk right in, introduce himself, make some jokes, and make sure everyone was taken care of. he made everyone feel at home. like they were family. every person he met was a friend for life, and he could talk to anyone. it didn’t matter if it was the biggest star in the world or someone waiting to get into a show, little chris treated everyone as a friend. he was a dear friend to me. i’m so sad that he is not here right now. there are just no words.

i’m also so thankful that travis and DJ AM made it out of the plane that horrible night. travis is a brother to me, and since the crash he has gone through more than i can even imagine. from the day after the plane went down, when i saw him in the burn unit out in georgia, to the hospital here in LA, to seeing him at home, his recovery is nothing short of amazing. every day gets a little better. and not only is he my brother, but also the best drummer and musician i’ve ever seen. the man was born to play drums, and it is great to see him starting to get back into the studio and behind his kit.

as for me, i have been getting back to work as well. a couple of weeks ago i went into the studio with our lunar activities, to finish up their record. chris holmes and i recorded three more of their songs, and they are in the final mixing stage right now. then last week i went out to new york city to introduce all time low at the 2008 woodie awards for mtvu. the day i got back into town i went right into the studio with my friend richard gibbs, who scores films. he had a rough idea of a song for the movie he is currently working on, and he wanted me to come in and collaborate with him on it. we spent five straight days in the studio and came up with a really fun track for a movie called “fired up,” that comes out next year. it’s good to be singing again, and getting back into it. now this week chris holmes and i are working on a theme song for a tv show. today it passed the first round of approvals, and now it goes up to the big time producer people for their thoughts. hopefully it’ll be seen on a television near you very soon. check local listings.

in the midst of everything else that has happened lately, tom, travis, and i have all spoken together. first through a number of phone calls, and then a couple of weeks ago we all hung out for a few hours. they’ve all been great, very positive conversations. we’re just reconnecting as friends after four years of not talking. it’s a good thing. obviously the first question for a lot of people will be “does this mean a blink-182 reunion?” the answer is none of us know. we haven’t talked about it at all. right now it’s just good for the three of us to see one another, reconnect, and let the past be the past. the events of the past two months supersede everything that happened before. life is too short.

- www.himynameismark.com (Nov. 18TH, 2008)

So here’s my thought of the  day.

It’s incredibly sad that Proposition 8 passed in California. It’s incredibly sad that gay marriage is even an issue in our country. It’s incredibly sad that we as a nation have come so far and yet are still so far behind.

I’m not overly religious, but you know what they say – knowledge is power. So I’ve tried to gain at least a basic theological understanding. I’ve tried to see the conservative stance on this issue, but I just must be blind on the specific subject.

Here’s the deal. If you’re going to take the bible at face value and entirely literal, does it not read “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”?

It is not love to force the Bible down someone’s throat.
It is not love to turn your back on someone because they’re pregnant out of wedlock.
It is not love to deny someone’s sexuality if they are gay.

It is hate. Hate is anger. Anger is fear. What have you got to fear?

Keep an open mind.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged

Fortunately, for this nation and possibly the world, we elected Barack Obama the 44TH President of the United States this past Tuesday, not only renewing what it means to be an American in our nation but the world’s view of America. Unfortunately, what may be one of Obama’s first major struggles to deal with before even taking office on January 20TH, or at the very least the most personal may end up being the rights of protesters.

The Westboro Baptist Church, a small congregation comprised mostly of family members based in Topeka, Kansas, is the same church, led by Fred Phelps, that sends protesters to the funerals of veterans of the Iraq war. Their message of hate is spread, however disgustingly, legally through the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Despite enjoying this freedom, they run sites like www.godhatesamerica.com and condemn homosexuality, Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Jews and anyone they believe to support those groups.

Now, according to a recent press release from the church, they are planning on protesting the funeral of President-elect Obama’s grandmother. Claiming her influence on Obama led to his support of abortion and same-sex marriage.

Abortion rates, by the way, have decreased during democratic administrations according to records kept since the Roe v. Wade case.

So now we’ll have to see how the Obama family and friends deal with this tough time in their lives. Suggestions through out social web networks have urge for counter-demonstrators to be present, not unlike the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle group that attends the funerals of veterans and other service workers upon invitation to physically shield funerals from the Westboro Church. After the tragedies of September 11TH, a counter-protester stood outside the church in Kansas. He held a sign simply stating “Not Today Fred”.

Eighty-six others joined him in the days to follow.