HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.30.09

Here it is… the last post before I head back to Illinois (before I head to Baltimore… before I head to Miami) so I’ll keep it short.

We went to see blessthefall and August Burns Red last night at Emo’s in Austin, and I can’t think of a better way to end my time here. Blessthefall was insane, the lead singer singing from hanging upside down from the rafters above the pit and 1-4 stage divers onstage at a time. August Burns Red was good too, especially since it was about 150 degrees in the pit and all the band members were fighting to keep from passing out.

I said goodbye to Kelly last night – and Kelly, if you’re reading, make sure this issue actually comes out, k? Ha I had fun this summer, hope you did too. (Follow her Intern Diary too, it’s better/less pointless rambl-y than mine.)

Thanks again to Tornado for the food for the road. If it wasn’t for you, Melissa and my mom sending me food I’d have gotten skinnier this summer haha.

I finished my Scream The Prayer Tour review Monday late so check it out if you haven’t and let me know what you think.

Here are the results to the survey so far:

You can still vote and I’ll post the results on my personal blog.

Which brings me to goodbye, follow my personal blog and Twitter if you like, and don’t be a stranger.

Peace,
Corey Erb

“Names is for tombstones.” – some dude.

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.27.09

Wait, it’s July 27? Huh. I guess two months isn’t that long.

Ah well since we last spoke, I worked at Doug’s house Friday since the internet out here is a drag. I worked on laying out the Paramore and Showbread features in InDesign most of the weekend. I’m not too experienced with designing spreads from scratch, so it was a challenge, but I had random creative inspiration for both of them and I think they look pretty decent. I finally got a large enough photo to start the Thousand Foot Krutch layout, which won’t be as creative so hopefully will go quickly.

I’m also proofreading like crazy, which brings to mind a question I often wonder: Does anyone actually care about spelling/grammar? Please take this quick one-question survey and help me sleep.

I started watching 24 season 7 Thursday night to count for swears for the new LIFEstyles section. Now, this wouldn’t be a big deal except back when I used to watch TV I watched seasons 1, 3 and 4 (I think) and each time I bailed about 3/4ths of the way through the season and I’ve never seen the end of any of them, which of course is the most important part. I can kind of fill in the spots when I notice that a character who used to be evil is now good, or when a character who used to be dead is back to life, but I made a promise to myself that I’d actually finish this season and I did yesterday! This is a monumental accomplishment in my life, so now I can die in peace.

I watched Metallica – Some Kind of Monster yesterday while working as well, which was not so monumental.

Tornado dropped off another cat for the Ranch yesterday. She’s a calico with white feet named Hope.

She’s chilling in the laundry room, meeting Marvin now. She’s a sweet cat, except meows a lot. Better quit that quickly if she’s going to be in there till I leave.

Friday I went to Scream The Prayer Tour but I’m mentioning that last since I hope by the time you read this I’ll have posted my review and photos.

I should do this more often,
Corey Erb

“Say what you will about me. Just spell my name right.” – P. T. Barnum

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.22.09

Looks like we’ll need more time to finish this issue so Friday won’t be the last day to work on it. Bummer.

I worked at Doug’s house today since he needed to be home for his wife, and it also helps seeing as I’ve blown up the internet at the Ranch twice this week. I spent most of the day tracking down and editing album covers for all the CDs we’re reviewing in this issue, minus a couple. I finished editing and laying out the Letters to the Editor section, and I’m proofreading all the copy in this issue.

It rained today for the first time in two months. I enjoy rain so I’ve been missing Miami and the daily rainstorm. Guess it won’t be long.

Work work work,
Corey Erb

“Poets are born, not paid.” – Addison Mizner

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.20.09

With all the writing out of the way, including five album reviews, one book review and one gadget review over the weekend, it’s on to layout and proofreading this week.

I also have to choose whether I want to go see August Burns Red and blessthefall in Austin next Wednesday with Kelly and Doug or if I want to try and go (by myself potentially since the others will see it when it comes to Austin after I leave) to see Emery, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Secret & Whisper, Kiros and others in San Antonio that same night. If I skip ABR/btf I can see that show August 4 outside of St. Louis, but I wouldn’t be able to make another date of the Emery tour. Decisions. Don’t think I can go wrong either way though.

It’s more likely that Kelly and I are going to Scream The Prayer Tour in San Antonio on Friday, so at least I’ll get to see that show.

I think I’m going to see how much driving and how many shows I can cram into that week and a half without going insane. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Wish I had more to say,
Corey Erb

“Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.” – T. S. Eliot

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.17.09

One week till deadline.

Finishing up my second batch of album reviews today. Castanets and Between the Trees were the easiest since I’d listened to each CD already, and I’m finishing Skillet and Hawk Nelson once I listen to them each another time. I’ll probably review The Glorious Unseen’s new CD on Sunday after I finish my gadget and book reviews. If so, that’ll make eight album reviews I did for this issue. So much for variety of opinion. I apologize in advance.

I filed a bunch of subscription cards while I was listening to music, and I came across one from my girlfriend’s relatively small birth town and one from a guy who lives on the same street as one of my good friends from home. No Rich Husbands today, though. Just thought you wanted to know that.

It’s been quiet around here with Doug gone so I’ve been quiet too, sorry. It’ll be down to the wire next week so I better get back to work.

Happy Birthday America,
Corey Erb

“Find a need and fill it.” – Ruth Stafford Peale

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.14.09

After finishing the Showbread feature last night, I finished the Memphis May Fire featurette tonight so all I have left to write are the extra CD reviews by the end of the week.

A pro motocross racer who’s currently in a correctional facility in Ohio wrote us a letter recently saying we was inspired by HM and wanting to know if he could put an HM sticker on his helmet when he gets out in December. I wrote him back today and put a few stickers in the envelope. I hope it makes it to him. Pretty cool story.

Doug, Kelly and I made a Wal-Mart and Jack in the Box run then did a Bible study on worship, our first since Kelly’s been here. We make an oddball family.

Doug’s wife is going in for surgery tomorrow so he’ll be out of the office taking care of her for a while. It’ll be different around here for a while leading up to deadline in a week and a half.

Apparently All-Star Games are boring,
Corey Erb

“Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” – Francis Schaeffer

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.13.09

Having writer’s block this close to deadline isn’t much fun. I finished my article on Thousand Foot Krutch last night finally, and today it was on to Showbread. Unfortunately, taking 10,000 words’ worth of raw quotes from Josh Dies and coming up with a 1,200-word feature article that is actually readable is somewhat of a challenge. I’ll hopefully be able to finish up tonight. I suppose if Doug or any potential future employers read this I probably sound like the last writer to hire, but hopefully my honesty won’t come back and burn me. I still have the Memphis May Fire featurette to finish up as well, though 400 words will feel like nothing after two 1,200-word beasts.

See? Optimism. Don’t call me a pessimist.

One thing that made me happy today was finding out that Staple is back together. Their last Cornerstone show was one of the best shows I’ve witnessed – easily worth skipping whatever mainstage band I skipped to watch it, Relient K I think. Ha! I’ll have to listen to their new stuff and make sure it’s a good thing they’re back before I get too excited though.

Also, I began reading Revelation last night. I’ve never read it so it should be a fun trip.

Light at the end of the tunnel is haunting me,
Corey Erb

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” – Unknown

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.10.09

Hmm, let’s forget about this week, ‘mkay?

Every time I said “Oh yeah, I’m gonna start writing my three stories now!” or “Oh yeah, I’m gonna post pictures from Warped Tour!” those were lies. Always something to keep me from doing either of those.

So, I make no promises for this weekend. I might make it out to the He Is Legend/Drop Dead, Gorgeous show at Emo’s tomorrow night, I might not. I might watch the Cubs-Cardinals game tomorrow afternoon, I might not. Who cares if it’s the only Cubs game I’ll likely get to watch before going home?

I got music for four more album reviews: Between the Trees, Hawk Nelson, Castanets and Skillet. So those will need to get done too, though again, the no promises thing.

I got a bunch of album reviews, including U2, The Devil Wears Prada, Emery and The Chariot from the last two issues posted, so there’s some proof of an accomplishment from this week.

Lord Save Us From Your Followers alternated between making me angry at being an American Christian and giving me hope that maybe all’s not lost, so it at least did a better job than most commentaries on Christian culture lately at not being completely depressing.

Have a better weekend,
Corey Erb

“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” – C. S. Lewis

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.9.09

Ugh! When it’s not spiders, it’s skunks, and while it’s still skunks it’s ants! My girlfriend thoughtfully sent me the ingredients to make that dirt/mud dessert, which was an old favorite in grade school, and I just yesterday got around to making it. But tonight after an otherwise productive day, I opened the cabinet to find a bunch of ants carrying off the bag of Oreos she crushed to make the dirt part.

So instead of the hot food I was looking forward to, I’m sitting here reluctantly eating my peanut butter sandwich and dried fruit because that’s the only “meal” I could throw together since I have yet to check to see how much of my other food is salvageable. Wonderful.

The Ranch smells a bit less like skunk today, though there are definitely still areas where the smell is uncomfortable. I just hope the skunk isn’t living anywhere under the house.

Other than all that mess, today was somewhat productive. I finished transcribing the Showbread interview finally, but I have a lot of work ahead of me since the notes and transcription are 13,830 words combined and I have to whittle it down into a 1,200-word feature. But I guess that’ll leave some interesting stuff to be posted online as a full Q & A.

I spent a good amount of time determining which album reviews have been turned in, assigning anything that hasn’t been reviewed and inquiring with any delinquent writers on the whereabouts of their reviews. I guess I should count myself with the delinquents since I have three new reviews to get done ASAP. One of the reviews is Skillet’s Awake, which came in this package for me the other day:

I’m not a PR major, nor should I be, but I don’t understand why they’d pay $7.10 to send a can of Rockstar with the CD. I could understand if Skillet was on the can, or at least if they went the ghetto route and slapped a Skillet sticker on the side. But to just randomly spend the extra $5 per kit to send an energy drink along with the review CD? Maybe they think jittery reviewers give more positive reviews. Don’t think I’ll try it, 280 calories of sugar would put me in a coma. I don’t think I’m very articulate or nice when I’m passed out.

Tonight, I’m going to try and forget my urge to go hunt down and murder every last ant in a 5-mile radius and watch the movie Lord Save Us From Your Followers while picking out pictures to post from Warped Tour. Probably not a smart idea since I could use some reassuring and I’m way frustrated with photo editing, but I’ll let you know how it goes.

Not not counting the days until I leave this deathtrap,
Corey Erb

“Treat the other man’s faith gently; it is all he has to believe with. His mind was created for his own thoughts, not yours or mine.” – Henry S. Haskins

HM Magazine Intern Diary: 7.7.09

Day two of living in Skunkville. If my indecipherable rant yesterday was indecipherable, I woke up at 6 yesterday because there was a horrible smell in the Ranch that I fully tried to sleep through but, with my nose, couldn’t. So I woke up and tried to determine what was making the house smell like burning rubber or burnt garlic but couldn’t so I went outside and hung out with the cats and read. I texted Doug since he had been over to pick up his dog Biscuit Sunday night and I usually assume shenanigans by default. The text exchange went roughly like this:

6:32 a.m.: Corey: Did u leave a stink bomb in biscuits place last nite?

11:18 a.m.: DVP: Haha. No.

I’m still not convinced. Anyway, since it decided to rain for the first time in 38 months I was forced back inside to try my best to work through it. Doug stopped by later to drop off the trailer and reported that it was a skunk that sprayed, so maybe I believe him.

No, I don’t, but let’s pretend.

That brings us to today, huh? Doug was in at his normal time and we went to work trying to ameliorate the odor with bottles of Fbreeze and carpet cleaner, candles and plug-in air fresheners. It at least made the Ranch smell like baking soda and vanilla and burnt garlic. But workable conditions for the time being.

I worked most of the day transcribing my interview with Josh Dies of Showbread. It wasn’t as easy as transcribing the Thousand Foot Krutch interview yesterday, since Josh and I talked for over an hour and nearly everything he said was interesting. Oh well, I’ll finish that up tomorrow and have the article done by Friday.

I also helped generate some advertising leads for the special Christian apparel section we’re running in this issue. Do you know of any t-shirt companies or anything like that with a Christian message? (Preferably that aren’t lame and/or look like they’re from 1993, but that’s my request not necessarily the magazine’s. Something like Faveur Clothing.)

Also, do you know of any effective, inexpensive ways to rid a house of skunk smell? I think the skunk (/Doug’s leftover 4th of July stink bomb) sprayed (/went off) under the house, probably provoked by the little orange doofuses, though they don’t smell like they got sprayed.

Peace in the Middle East,
Corey Erb

“Money doesn’t talk, it swears.” – Bob Dylan