*by crazysynful

Current Mood: drained

I received this message from ashley7x this morning:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXU5krH55OjRZGRuZzJ0a2RfMTNjZHB2M2Roag&hl=en

There's a project being developed for fans to send their condolences to the boys. If you'd like to be apart of this, spread the word and contact me.

I'm not going to give out her email address, but I suppose she'd probably be ok with anyone who wants to participate PMing her.

I've never used Google Docs so I'm not exactly sure how it works. I was wondering if I'm supposed to delete the text already there and type in my own? Then do I hit SAVE and it saves so anyone can see it, like a webpage? If anyone wants to explain to me, I'd be grateful.

Not gonna lie, I would love to be a part of the project so I can share my personal experiences and my adoration for the man. But those of you who have been around long enough know that me and the a7x fandom in general don't get along. And I'm afraid if I tried to participate, it would be inviting trolls back into my life or perhaps harassment. And this is NOT the time to deal with people calling me names, telling me what "a faggot" I am, or whatever other insults a7x fans want to throw at me because they don't like me.

But for those of you who don't invite trouble into your lives by merely breathing, and who want to gather with your fellow fans to mourn the loss and celebrate his life, I wanted to let you know about this project. Maybe you can participate and help your healing process along ♥

Current Mood: sad

There are moments in life when elements suddenly fit together like puzzle pieces, and you see the picture formed in front of you. Understanding dawns, a realization is had, and perhaps, truth is even found. Some refer to these as "A-HA!" moments.

"American Pie" is one of those songs that is always touted as a classic. And while it's about love and a loss that the songwriter deeply felt, the deceptively catchy chorus and rhythmic melody don't necessarily lend themselves to the true meaning or story of the lyrics which are overshadowed and lost amidst the music.

Recently, my brother & I rented one of those "play and sing along" video games and this song was on the menu, proving that the song's "pop flavor" is where the mass appeal lies, not so much the story the words tell.

I remember rolling my eyes when my brother chose it, and while I concentrated on playing the guitar parts correctly, I remember wondering for, not the first time, but what would turn out to be the last time in my life: what IS it with this song? By the time all was said and done, I was annoyed because my right hand felt cramped; it's over 8 minutes long. Up until a little while ago, I just never "got" that song.

Then I got a Google News alert in my e-mail Inbox. The headline read:

AVENGED SEVENFOLD Drummer Found Dead

I blinked and blinked, clicking the link and as I waited for the page to load, thought to myself, "Worst end of the year joke ever," especially with how 2009 seems to have been rife with loss of life. But as I began reading the story, a feeling of dread started swirling in my stomach. Details were vague, but there was also nothing to suggest it wasn't him. But when the original source story disappeared for about 10 minutes, I was filled with (what was ultimately false) hope that the story was just a mixup, maybe even a poorly conceived hoax.

SURELY the James Owen Sullivan that was found dead in his home on the afternoon of December 28, 2009 was NOT the same James Owen Sullivan who went by the moniker "The Rev" and is one of the most brilliant musical minds of his generation. THAT GUY is only 28 years old. THAT GUY is just beginning to scratch the surface of his vast & infinite talents. THAT GUY teased and fascinated us with glimpses of his unique but fantastic imagination on the last record, and THAT GUY has us all anxiously awaiting his next bout of greatness to be showcased on the upcoming record.

THAT GUY ... only a few months older than me, a hero to many, a friend/son/brother to few ... is now gone, and no doubt raising a noisy ruckus by chasing down pigeons or stallion ducks wherever he is.

When Avenged Sevenfold made an offical statement and I read it over and over, the chorus to "American Pie" slowly faded into the foreground of my mind, clear as crystal.

"So bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

And in my mind's eye, I saw words from the song flashing in the form of a neon sign:

The day the music died

My "AHA!" moment was had. I suddenly "get" what "American Pie," at its core, is all about.

I've lost an inspiration & someone who brought me great joy just by existing.

I was lucky enough to have his genius pointed out to me by a faithful disciple of his, and through her eyes, I saw him. For the first time in my life, I paid attention to a drummer and was rewarded for it. The Rev made me laugh, made my jaw drop, made me sit up straighter and even learn. When I started having a7x adventures, he made the very first one unforgettable with his insane behavior and unexpected sweetness. And on subsequent adventures, he seemed to play a key part in so many of my personal experiences.

He is my 2nd fave, only to M Shadows; I referred to him many a-time as "my non-sexual crush." He + Shadows were my favorite "team" amongst the a7x members. I even tried starting a fanclub for them: crazy_bastardz, based off of Shadows calling Rev "a crazy bastard" on the ALL EXCESS DVD and me figuring, "it takes one to know one." And of course there was our_x_savior, which I had planned on being the #1 Source for all things Rev. But as usual with all my good intentions, both clubs failed spectacularly despite my efforts. Didn't matter, though, as my love & adoration for the Bastardz and "my Savior" remained and grew. The Rev was the type of guy that hooked you for life; once he won you over, there was no escaping, and you didn't really want to anyways.

I'm so grateful to the Rev for having shared his gifts with the world, and for sharing moments of his time with me and mine. <3 Although I suppose < / 3 is more appropriate because today, my heart was cracked in that way that I'll learn to live with but never truly forget.

R.I.P. Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, and THANK YOU for everything. To say you'll be missed is like saying you were good on the drums: just doesn't come close to the truth about you. But the truth about you, Rev, was often beyond words. You were never afraid to be yourself, and often times, who you were was beyond the grasp of us mere mortals :) But we worshipped and adored you from afar, and we'll continue to keep you in our hearts. Or at least, as much of you as our hearts can contain ♥


December 28, 2009 - the day the music died.


ETA:

Current Mood: crushed

And here's me waiting to hear it's a mixup of the worst kind :(

HUNTINGTON BEACH - James Owen Sullivan, drummer and backup vocalist for the Southern California band Avenged Sevenfold, was found dead at his home on Monday, authorities have confirmed.

Sullivan, who went by the stage name The Rev, appears to have died of natural causes, Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo said. Police were notified by firefighters who had responded to Sullivan's home about 1 p.m.

Sullivan was 28.

The Orange County Coroner's Office is investigating the death.

More details to come.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/sullivan-226142-beach-drummer.html

EDIT: as of 11:03 p.m., clicking on that link takes you to a PAGE NOT FOUND message. So ... I am hoping against HOPE this is a mixup of the worst kind. I won't even mind the tears I'm crying if it turns out to be untrue.

EDIT 2: as of 11:15 p.m., the page is back, with this amended text:

HUNTINGTON BEACH James Owen Sullivan, a drummer and backup vocalist for the Southern California band Avenged Sevenfold, was found dead at his home on Monday, authorities have confirmed.

Sullivan, who went by the stage name The Rev, appears to have died of natural causes, Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo said. Police were notified by firefighters who had responded to Sullivan's home about 1 p.m.

Sullivan was 28. The Orange County Coroner's Office is investigating the death.

Avenged Sevenfold formed in Huntington Beach in 1999. Sullivan was a member from the beginning.

Since then, the five-man group has put out four albums and won Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2006. The group's self-titled fourth album hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2007. According to a message posted by Zacky Vengeance on the band's MySpace page, the group was hard a work on a fifth album.

By Monday evening, whispers about Sullivan's death had spread to the band's fan sites on the Internet, which quickly filled with messages of condolence.

EDIT 3: as of about 11:16 p.m., Burn Halo, led by James Sullivan HART (sorry), a good friend to all members of a7x, posted this which I saw on MySpace:

Burn Halo
Our most sincere condolences to Jimmy "the Rev" Sullivan, his family, friends and Avenged Sevenfold. He will be truly missed.

Mood: crushed
Posted 10 minutes ago

Edit 4: as of 11:35, Avenged Sevenfold made an official statement on their MySpace:

Monday, December 28, 2009
JIMMY "THE REV" SULLIVAN
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.

Jimmy you are forever in our hearts.
We love you.

M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ

Current Mood: shocked

Just hover over ANONYMOUS HOLIDAY LOVE and then click and be sure you LOG OUT OF LIVEJOURNAL cuz the whole idea is to be like a Secret Santa ;)

THE ANONYMOUS HOLIDAY LOVE MEME

Make yourself a thread and post the link in your journal so we can love you on and spread some holiday cheer :) Please & thanks!

*****

LJ put up this notice for paid users:

If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can now send 10 of your non-Paid friends a $10 coupon. Your friend will be able to purchase a Paid Account for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) for one year by enrolling in our automatic payment plan or make a manual payment of $15 (instead of $25).

Anyone want a coupon from me? I have 9 left.

If you have a paid account and want to offer your coupons, on the HOME page, go up to the FRIENDS header, hover over it, and then the HOLIDAY PROMOTION option is what ya want in the drop down menu!

*****

Reminder to all my Twat friends *gigglesnort*, LOVE SECRETS ARE NOW UP AT tw_lovesecret so if you asked for some, PLEASE CHECK ALL THREE POSTS!


Let me take this opportunity to wish all on my FList and any who happen across this entry very Happy Holidays ♥



*by thestarlet @ juicy_grapes

Current Mood: it's 82 degrees in here WTF?!?

http://www.flix66.com/videos/?id=76

Dude, Johnny looks FREAKY AS HELL (and my mistake thinking he could never look weirder than he did as Willy Wonka - tell that man he can't do something and he goes and does it!), but his lisp? Cracking me up.

Everything else looks trippy as fck, spesh Helena Bonham Carter.

And OMG, MATT LUCAS from Little Britain!! That's bizarre.

I also saw glimpses of a long dark haired man in an eye patch that I could swear was Richard Armitage but I'm under an influence AND w/o my glasses so I'm sure I'm wrong :P

I totally wanna go see this in 3D but the closest IMAX isn't close at all. Might have to make it happen though because this movie looks like it's gonna be wicked :) And I don't usually get excited for Tim Burton fare just cut it's Tim Burton fare but I've really liked the look of all that I've seen of this so far. Excited!



*by goodgal996 @ puffblinks

Tags: !public, johnny depp
Current Mood: excited

In reverse order, though, ha :P

Thanks to poking around news looking for the Coupon thingamabob, I came across the new STATISTICS PAGE. And via that, I've discovered that I have been friended by a few people recently. If you want me to know you friended me, be sure to drop me a line somewhere! Cuz otherwise, I'm so oblivious. Honestly.

So first off, HAIIII! Thank you for friending me, I'm uber flattered :) Not something that happens too much.

But ... there are some things you should probably know:

- I squee. A LOT. Really loudly. With tons of photos (not behind cuts a lot of the time but I keep 'em to 400 px wide to try and not kill your FPage too badly). Over the same dude(s). And it's ridiculous.

- I can be a serial updater. I can go a few days w/o updating at all, and then suddenly, BAM, I can update as many as 5 times a day. With really dumb, stupid sh*t, too.

- People don't like me. And they have no qualms about letting me know whenever they feel like it. So if reading about conflicts between individuals is something you're not into/offends you, this probably isn't the place for you cuz when it happens, I'm not one to shy away from mentioning it.

- If you don't comment/I find myself never commenting you, I'll remove you. Not right away or anything (like if you don't comment as soon as I add you, you're gone! LoL) and a comment on EVERY entry isn't required. But if it's been a month and I haven't heard from you? I'll be removing you. And I won't say anything/make a big to-do about it because that's not my style. THIS DOESN'T MEAN I THINK YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON, that I dislike you in any way, or have ANY other negative connotation. It just means as LJ friends, we're not compatible. It happens, and there are no hard feelings :) But if we can't find anything to relate to each other about, or you find yourself scrolling by me whenever you see me, I don't wanna be taking up anymore room on your FPage. But again, NO HARD FEELINGS if that ends up happening. I've actually made some of my best friends through this medium, so I like to really try and talk to people on here is all :P

- Avenged Sevenfold, particularly M Shadows, Kellan Lutz, and Johnny Depp are often featured here, along with cameos by Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, & Channing Tatum. I also am a fan of and maintain a comm for the lovely Kate Bosworth, and think Eliza Dushku is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

- Other random facts: as my UI says, I will forever love The Muppets, Mr. Depp, and pro-wrestling, yes, PRO-WRESTLING which I have been a fan of since the 3rd grade. I am interested in all things supernatural which is why I watch Ghost Hunters & Ghost Adventures, among other supernatural related programs, yes, including the fictional show of that same name. Buffy & Angel are my OTP. Orlando Bloom and I "have a past," lmao! Good Charlotte & Simple Plan are my other 2 favorite bands (besides A7X). And lately, alllllllll I do is complain about my job & boss. Got a family that I'm extremely close to and mention a lot, as well as spam you with pics with whenever we have a get together at our casa. I'm old, I'm fat, I'm not very attractive, but I have a big heart and if you're nice to me even once, you kinda have a grateful puppy dog for life. I'm loyal (to a fault) and nobody will ever love you like I will. Scary, I know, but I wanna drop a Truth Bomb on ya and make sure YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO WHEN YOU FRIEND ME!!

Think that's it. If you have any other questions/comments/concerns, you can always hit me up with them :)

*****

Just hover over ANONYMOUS HOLIDAY LOVE and then click and be sure you LOG OUT OF LIVEJOURNAL cuz the whole idea is to be like a Secret Santa ;)

THE ANONYMOUS HOLIDAY LOVE MEME

Make yourself a thread and post the link in your journal so we can love you on and spread some holiday cheer :) Please & thanks!

*****

LJ put up this notice for paid users:

If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can now send 10 of your non-Paid friends a $10 coupon. Your friend will be able to purchase a Paid Account for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) for one year by enrolling in our automatic payment plan or make a manual payment of $15 (instead of $25).

Anyone want a coupon from me? I have 9 left.

If you have a paid account and want to offer your coupons, on the HOME page, go up to the FRIENDS header, hover over it, and then the HOLIDAY PROMOTION option is what ya want in the drop down menu!


*by sadistic_kitten @ sadistic_treats

Tags: !intro info, !meme, !public
Current Mood: headachy