National Emo Kid Beatdown Day

Someone with too much time on their hands has designated today (06/06/06) as the official National Emo Kid Beatdown Day, according to various sketchy MySpace pages. Here is a handy guide. Please note that the author of this site does not condone any actual emo violence. As Dashboard Confessional reminds us, "I can bend and not break. Or I can break and take it with a smile. I am so resilient. I recover quickly. I'll convince you soon that i am fine . . . So won't you hold me now? Won't you hold me now?"

That picture would have ground my gears when I was in high school. You know, that angsty time period when you are trying to figure out who you are - and you have this enormous chip on your shoulder like "No one can quantify me. Popular media cannot LABEL me!"

Also, if I currently have the same Docs as the girl in the picture, does that mean *I* am emo? I never even knew.

That reminds me of a hilarious freshman-year note that my friend Shannon made for me while "bored in SSR" (Silent Sustained Reading period every day after 3rd period). I came across it recently in a box of stuff (I don't throw anything away), and it nicely encapsulates both the fashion trends circa 1993, as well as the apparent horrors of conformity & groupie-ism to a 14-year old.

Thanks to the Ledbelly blog for the heads up on such an important national holiday.