God, Please Save These Troubled States

The Internet truly is a terrifying place. I mean, there's an entire legion of people out there who willingly enjoy Twilight. Sheesh. Lucky for you, you've got your friendly Buzz Guides to help you find all the wonderful, positive, and joyous things in the world. Each week, we'll bring you the stuff that gets our gears turning and our hearts melting. And this week, PanasonicYouth pens his second entry into the series. Don't miss out!

INTERNET

Let's just start off with the best. If you follow me on Twitter (WHICH YOU SHOULD, BECAUSE I BASICALLY DO A VERSION OF THIS EVERY DAY. GOD.), you'll remember this.

Ah yes, The Juggalog. It's just about complete, so you'll have the extreme pleasure of getting to read the whole thing. Basically, a guy gets a job selling merch for the Insane Clown Posse. He takes photos. He gives you insight into the most bizarre and fascinating subculture of all time. Enjoy the ride.

TECHNOLOGY

Yeah, I'm inventing a new category simply because I can. Last week, Netflix sent out these nifty discs that allow you to play anything in their Instant Watch catalog on your PlayStation 3. I bought a PS3 earlier this year because I wanted to JOIN THE 21ST CENTURY and because I grew up being denied video games because they were SATANIC. Plus, I live off Netflix! So now I can watch thousands of movies and tens of thousands of episodes of television shows on my TV. And the quality looks like a DVD. It's wild. Which brings me to my next category!

TELEVISION

This. This is what is consuming my life right now. All TEN SEASONS of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit are available for me to watch at any time of the day and I've watched 15 17 episodes since Sunday night. I plan to finish the second season by Sunday night. I don't know what precisely appeals to me about this show. Maybe it's that Olivia Benson (played beautifully by Mariska Hargitay) is such an outright feminist and there aren't many of those on TV. Plus, IT'S SO ENTERTAINING. Anyway, the 11th season is currently airing and I'm on my way to catch up with it. By the end of the month. Oh god HELP ME.

MUSIC(als?)

Something happened a week ago. Before coming home from touring with AFI, I went to my friend Kat's house in Michigan. And we watched RENT. I was a fan of the musical but, somehow, I had never seen the movie adaptation. IT IS SO GOOD. Not the same as the original production, but still, it is QUITE AMAZING. And since I got back on the 10th, I have done nothing but listen to the soundtrack for RENT. Guys. I really want to cover the theme song. And now I'm seriously considering a way to be in a production of this musical before I die. Also: JESSIE L. MARTIN. I NEED NOT SAY ANYTHING MORE.

FOOD

I don't think I can be an atheist anymore. Because, ever since going vegan, there's been on thing that just isn't right with the world: vegan cheese. It's just not that good. Follow Your Heart makes a decent substitute, but it has a strange taste to me. But now, the heavens have answered: Daiya Cheese. It stretches. It melts. And it is so ridiculously delicious. It is the best vegan cheese on the entire planet. LOOK AT THIS PIZZA RICHARD MADE WITH IT. Seriously, guys, if you were worried about giving up cheese to go vegan, you need not worry. Daiya is here and it is wonderful.

VIDEO GAMES

You get two of 'em today.

Let's start with the old one. I do not and have not ever played a first person shooter aside from Silent Hill like....8 years ago. They're generally not my thing, I'm weirded out by realistic killing in video games, and most of them are too SUPER MASCULINE for me to care about. But my friend got me into Resistance: The Fall of Man last weekend and I just beat it last night. WHY IS THIS SO FUN. I've never been good at dual joystick controls, yet I was able to get the hang of it. The game was smart, creepy, fun, and the other main character (the narrator) was actually a smart, non-sexualized female! Hurrah! Plus, you get to blow up SUPER SCARY ALIENS.

Katamari Forever, only available on PS3, is the greatest video game of all time. The King of The Cosmos needs your help repairing the solar system, so you, The Prince, must roll your "katamari" around and pick up all sorts of garbage and miscellaneous items. And that's it. You roll a ball around different "worlds," collect stuff, get bigger, and collect more stuff. Deceptively simple, absurdly hilarious, and insanely addicting. You will not regret it.

Enjoy!

Signing off,

Mark

On the heels of the release of their new album, Crash Love, perennial rockers AFI have announced a new string of tour dates, taking them throughout the West in January. Fans who have checked out the band's East Coast dates have been treated night after night with a mix of old and new songs spanning AFI's massive eight album catalog. I have been on tour capturing AFI In Transmission ... Check it ...