vegan sludge

http://veganatlas.tumblr.com

and

http://heavygan.tumblr.com

If you want to know what they are … you should probably click the links.

The bad: Sometime in the very near future, Vegan Sludge is going to go “offline.” The blog will not be deleted in case people still want to take a gander at old recipes and rants but, in order to focus more on my new online endeavor, it will not be updated any further.

While it took me some time to come to this conclusion, it is what makes the most sense for my goals in terms of having an internet “presence.” I’ve tried a few times to realign Vegan Sludge with the vision I have for it in my head and it’s always come up short because I’ve tried to do too many things with it. This new tumblr/website will be focusing solely on health/fitness from a vegan perspective and, hopefully, truly become a resource and network for other blogs, writers, athletes, and individuals working/interested in that area.

The good: I finally know exactly what it is I want to be doing with my life and this new website is just the beginning to it. I have HUGE plans for the site and intend to run it as if it were my job. My job that I happen to actually enjoy, that is. If fitness, weight training, activism, environmentalism, cooking, and positivity are things you can get behind, I’ll be posting a link up to the new blog in the coming days.

And to those of you who have been an attentive audience to this blog, I greatly appreciate each and every response, “like,” and re-blog that I’ve received - the ability to reach as many people as I have with this disjointed and haphazard blog is largely what has inspired me to start pursuing my bigger dreams and goals. Thank you for giving ear, eye, and tongue to my tangents, Top 5s, and recipes. I hope that you’ll check out the new blog once it is officially up and running.

and I came home to make a really bomb stir-fry for me and my girlfriend … and she had made me vegan jello cake again this year. And bought me a bottle of my favorite hot sauce.

Things I love about my life:

• My girlfriend.
• Being vegan.

While that’s all good and well …

If It’s Vegan It Fits My Macros

I’ve talked a lot about heavy metal and hardcore on this blog but rarely have I given due attention to my first musical love: pop-punk. Well, in order to fight the beginning’s of winter time blues, I’ve started pumping my ears full of the sugary goodness that took me from Blue Skies, Broken Hearts Next 12 Exits  and Mania to Milo Goes To College and Damaged.

And to any naysayers out there who say pop-punk is dead, I’m calling your bluff. Each one of these releases is chock full of bangers.

05. “Too Much To Lose” by I Call Fives
from the Rust Belt Lights split

The two offerings from I Call Fives on this split seem to embody my current back-and-forth position on life: equally positive and angsty, using the latter to amplify the former. I can get behind that. You should, too.

04. “Thomas Vs. Luongo” by A Loss For Words
from the Such Gold split

For some reason, this band has always been lumped in with the likes of Four Year Strong and Set Your Goals. Aside from having a slightly off-putting name, I don’t really understand the comparison - the vocals on this track are as smooth as a sheet of ice on a Minnesota road in mid-January, the hook is as crisp and cool as the other side of the people, and, maybe most importantly, mosh-calls and other cliches are nowhere to be found (unlike in this blurb).

03. “Keep Dreaming” by Diamond
from Don’t Lose Your Cool

If you’re into late-90s feel-good-even-though-I-feel-bad-Nada-Surf-esque tunes, this track is for you. Lace up your Sambas, throw on a cardigan, and get ready to pogo and chest tap your night away.

02. “Waiting” by Turnover
from Turnover

This track is one hell of a closer, perfecting the juxtaposition of catharsis and catchiness that many pop-punk bands strive for but, more often than not, fail to achieve.

01. It Never Goes Out by the Hotel Year

If I could have written any album released this year, it would be this. Translation: this is a perfect record and I cannot pick just one track to recommend.