Why do I like Walter White?

With the exception of an incredibly long winded and private message to a girl from my past, I have failed to write anything substantial since I graduated Hofstra with a degree in writing. Since graduation, and touring aside, I have pretty much found myself with a complete and utter lack of ambition to do anything productive. If I'm not doing anything, I can't write about anything, so I did what any normal 22 year old, single male who just lost a considerable amount of weight would do with his summer; lay in bed and binge watch Breaking Bad.

As a person, I am not someone who would be considered "ahead of the curve." I have never really bought into hype, whether it be about a band or a TV show. I have found that most of the time the pressure to seem like one is on the cusp of the next big thing makes some people "like" something for the sake of liking it, or fitting in, or whatever. And visa versa. I think a lot of people will outright hate something because everyone else hates it. I mean, Ben Affleck is literally the worst Batman ever, and he hasn't even been Batman yet. So I typically bide my time and wait till the hype dies down before I check anything out. I think this is why I really like Transit's "Young New England," because I waited till everyone had forgot it happened to listen to it and form an unbiased opinion.

Anyway, I have had an ample amount of free time on my hands, and figured that 5 seasons was long enough, bit the bullet and dove in.

I got hooked. It took me 2 weeks to catch up to the new episodes. There were days when I didn't leave bed for hours. Not to go to the bathroom. Not to eat. Not to answer the phone. I just stayed in bed glued to my laptop, engulfed in every second of the show.

The hype did not mislead.

*SPOILERS*

Last night was the Giants season opener, and man was it disappointing. After a few hours at the bar post game, sulking with the guys and distracting myself with Brittany from Mephem, I rushed home and checked to see if last nights episode was on demand, and you can bet your ass it was. So I watched it. I woke up this morning, with the on demand screen saver bouncing around and realized that in my drunken stupor, had either fallen asleep or forgot what happened. So again, without leaving my bed, I watched it a second time.

It was towards the end of the episode, when Hank is arresting Walt, that this thought struck me: "Why am I upset right now?"

Obviously, because I have come to love Walt and hate to see him taken down, but what if this wasn't TV?

Walter White, from the start, has been a huge asshole. He essentially blackmails Jesse into cooking meth with him and traps two complete strangers in an RV filling up with poison in the first episode alone. He goes on to let Jane choke to death on her own vomit, which in turn causes the mental collapse of her father subsequently leading to an airplane tragedy that impacts all of Albuquerque. He invades gang territories and gets Combo killed out of greed, blows up a nursing home to kill one guy, orders the execution of 10 people at the hands of Neo-Nazis, manipulates laundromat employees to clean his meth lab which results in them getting deported and drives his brother-in-law into oncoming traffic. This is all on top shooting Mike (the one guy that Walt can possibly relate to, because he too was in the business for his family), and poisoning Brock. Not to mention using Jesse, at all times, as an expendable pawn and forcing him to kill Gale.

Gale, a fucking weirdo like me. If there was one guy on the show that I could relate to, it was the dude who sang operas in his house alone while he made tea. And it pained me to see him killed, but I forgave Walt.

If this guy existed, everyone would be stoked that he was arrested.

But I sat in my bed, feeling physically sick watching Walt get cuffed. And what was more disturbing to me, was my excitement when the Nazis showed up to save him, despite Walter clearly calling off the hit.

Why do I want to see this man win?

You may be saying: "Bilder, he isn't so bad. He was just doing all this for his family."

And to you I say, I hate his family. Straight up. His family sucks. Skylar sucks. Walt Jr. sucks. Hank sucks. Marie totally sucks. The only person in Walt's family that I like, besides him, is Holly.

Skylar cheats on him, Walt Jr. forsakes him, Hank belittles him and Marie sucks.

I can't agree with his motives, because his family sucks so hard.

Then you can argue: "But Bilder, Bryan Cranston is just such a good actor. That's why you love Walt."
To which I say, yea, you're totally right, but that doesn't excuse the character of his actions.

The only logical answer I can derive at is that I am clearly a sociopath who wants to see this criminal take on the law and succeed.

...well that, and the fact that he is so wood-damn brilliant.

I think the difference between Walt and all the other criminals on TV is that he is the MacGyver of criminals. The dude makes a car battery with sponges and nickels, melts a lock with Etch-a-Sketch crap, blows up a fucking building with a rock. Walter White is a mad genius and I love him because of that.

Other than that, I am truly at a loss. I  can't think of why I like this guy, and as much as I do. Everything this man does is apprehensible, and yet I don't want him to go to jail. And that I why I am urging you to save Walter White.

http://www.savewalterwhite.com/

Feel free to stir up some conversation with me about this.  Like I said, I just started watching the show, so I have totally missed out on having serious discussions about it.

This is my Everest.

Its been 8 months since I last posted a blog. I have attempted many times since then to write something, but I ultimately wound up leaving the posts unfinished and un-posted. Why? Probably because half way through them I felt like I was writing them for selfish reasons when I intended to write them for, I don't know... unselfish reasons? Who even cares? Not what I'm trying to write about.

I intend on finishing this post because I am going into it knowing that I am writing it for selfish reasons. Today, I need this. And to be honest, I don't really give a fuck about anyone other than myself right now.

... Anyway.

I started my last semester of college. It is rather bittersweet. I'll give you all the benefit of the doubt and assume I don't need to spell out why it's bittersweet. I will say that despite taking 18.5 credits, and having an incredibly hard time figuring out what to write for my 3 creative writing courses, this is turning out to be my best semester of college. Finishing on a high note.

Speaking of high notes, I stopped smoking pot... kinda. I don't condemn pot, I just don't think its for me right now. I just can't make it a staple of my escape at the moment; gin suits me just fine.

On to other things that I am "quitting" I think I'm just about done with social media. I am all about expressing yourself, I'm doing it right now, but I actually hate everything everyone posts on the internet. I don't even find anything even slightly amusing anymore. And moments of true spiritual clarity and intelligent insight are essentially extinct. All I see is bland, cliche and redundant attempts to get "likes." And to be honest, I think I'm out of the "getting likes" game. Not to mention that my facebook has basically become a dumpster for event invites. Which is fine, I'm guilty of that myself. But it is the only thing that happens, at least for me, on there anymore. So I'm out, for now. I don't plan on deleting any of my social networking profiles, I'm sure they will prove useful at some point, I just don't feel like seeing everyone post such hackneyed garbage all the time. Which brings me to the "asshole moment" of this post:

Everyone, go get an original voice. Stop posting about how sad you are. Stop posting about the weather. Stop posting about how everyone else is posting about the weather, subsequently making you apart of the very conversation you loathe so very much that you felt it was absolutely necessary to post about. Take those last two sentences and substitute "weather" with "sports." And probably most important, stop posting about why you're single.  Start posting about why you shouldn't be single! I think you'll find yourself in a better predicament.

^Now I know that by that I fall into the category of "people who post about people posting," and often times I do fall into that category, but try not to lose sight of the point I'm attempting to make, which is, you all spend so much time trying to be edgy and different that you wind up being the same as everyone else, and you, and probably your life, suck because of that.

Moving on.

I lost around 80 pounds recently. www.drbos.com if you're interested. No, I didn't exercise. No, it wasn't hard. No, it isn't fake food. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it really works. To break it down for you, you spend 105 days retraining your metabolism to handle real food. They give everyone a free consultation, and they'll tell you how likely you are to see success. So if you're trying to shed some, check it out.

And now that I am not completely repulsive anymore, I think I am ready to date. I would have ended that last sentence with "again," but I don't think I ever really did the whole "dating" thing as defined by my dictionary widget. I have been talking to a few girls, and whether or not they feel like we connect on any sort of romantic level, I at least proved to myself that I still have the capacity to talk to girls in a quasi-intimate tone. I also, hopefully, put an end to a rather destructive relationship that has carried on well past its time. So now that all the pieces are in place, I can finally, and officially move on.

Alright, I guess I'll get to shit people "care" about now. If you bothered reading this far, congrats. Here is the payoff.

In December, Bellwether entered the studio with Vinnie and Brett of I Am The Avalanche. I think I speak for everyone in the band when I say that it was one of the most enriching experiences any of us have ever had musically. Personally, I learned a lot about the process of putting together songs in a way that was foreign to me and felt a sense of camaraderie that I never felt in this type of setting before. I feel like a better musician because of that. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

Prior to this last recording experience, I had dealt with two kinds of producers: the producer who is out for your wallet, and the producer that flat out doesn't give a fuck. Not to discredit these gentlemen, the products came out great (see Valet Parking's "Black Out" and The OverUnder's "First Come, First Served") but I walked away from these experiences relatively similar to the way I walked in, in terms of knowledge and emotion. Maybe Mike Watts taught me a little about recording bass with a pic and cutting the fat out of songs. And Maybe Paul Leavitt let me use the same bass that was used on Thrice's "The Artist in the Ambulance" (or so he claims). But once you look beyond that, all I have to show for those experiences are two EP's that I had relatively no hand in writing and that sound better than anything either band put out before that.

For the first time with this last EP, I felt a real connection with Vinnie and Brett. Walking away from our first pre-pro session (which I consider the first real pre-pro session I've ever been apart of) I knew that we we're in good hands. Not only did they listen to our demos near religiously, they showed up with a plethora of ideas to change and improve the songs. You could tell they actually gave a shit about the music.

Now this post is already long as fuck, so I'm gonna try not to bore you with too many details, but lets be honest, this post is more for me than you.

 *DISCLAIMER*
What I am about to write is in no way an attempt to discredit the efforts of anyone in Bellwether. Everyone played a huge and integral role in writing and recording all of these songs. And without the collaboration of everyone in the band, as well as Brett and Vinnie, these songs wouldn't be half of what they are. I am incredibly grateful that I was privileged enough to work with people so in tune with each other, and I think if there was any other combination of people in the studio, these songs would have suffered. Desmond, Harry, Dutch, Nick and Kyle are all as much apart of this as I am.

This is the first EP that I have been apart of where I primarily wrote the music. Out of the 5 songs, I essentially wrote the bulk of the guitar and bass parts for 4 songs with a heavy hand in the arrangement of all of them. Lyrically, I worked incredibly hard on two songs and as far as content goes, I believe they are some of the strongest and most meaningful lyrics I have ever written and I feel that people will really connect with them. So needless to say, I am incredibly invested in this product. These songs are all a culmination of a lot of hard work and they reflect the feelings and attitudes of myself and everyone in the band in regards to a collection of times that made us all who we are individually, and as a group. I feel that these songs all stand out from anything I have ever written before and show a more versatile side of Bellwether that may have gone unnoticed otherwise. I am incredibly proud of these songs, and I am eager to share them with everyone. I hope the excitement is mutual.

There are a handful of standout moments from this whole thing that I will remember for the rest of my life. The first came during one of our last pre-pro sessions.

We were essentially done making changes to most of the songs, and were getting ready to buckle down and get the new ideas locked in. Roots (which is going to be the song that closes the EP) was still in limbo. Vinnie felt that the chorus was too wordy and that the melody didn't stand out, and all of us were so used to hearing the songs the way we had originally written them that we couldn't come up with anything else.

The next time we met, Vinnie took out his phone and played us a recording of him in his apartment playing the song on an acoustic guitar with the melody he came up with...

I am having a staggering time putting how this feels into words...

I guess for this to make any sense, you'd have to know that I really look up to Vinnie. When you think about bands from Long Island that really paved the path, you think of Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, maybe Glassjaw, and The Movielife. Without these bands, I probably wouldn't be playing the type of music I am playing. Lets be honest, without them, who would this generation of Long Island musicians in Pop-Punk look up to? They really set the tone for Long Island, and that is why so many great bands in the genre come from here. That is why Long Island has its kind of sound. That is why the scene here prospers. "Long Island Pop Punk" is a genre all its own that is hard to duplicate if you aren't from here.

So to have one of Long Island's finest come to me and play me a recording of him playing my song, and then to actually pick up a guitar and play my song for me was an experience, that for me, someone so invested in my music and in the scene, is so hard to put into words.

The next moment came after we finished our last session at Westfall Studios. Desmond, Brett and I stood out in the cold talking for a bit, and Brett spoke to us about the importance of passing what we learn down to the next band to use and build on. We are nothing if not a community of people striving for the same thing, and when you reach one plateau, you have the choice to move on up alone, or pass the rope down to those who need it next. If my memory serves me correct, for Brett the band that tossed him the rope was RX Bandits. He told us about what he learned from them, and what he passed on to us. The whole conversation made me think about what I'm doing a little differently. I have an obligation to make music for myself, that will never change. It is who I am, and without it, as cliche as it sounds, I have nothing. But now, I have a responsibility to carry on a legacy, a tradition, of helping those who strive as much as I do grow the same way Brett and Vinnie helped me grow. For me, this makes what I'm doing all the more important. It added a layer of depth to the kind of person I want to be.

The last moment came in Vinnie's kitchen, when we officially finished tracking. We were saying our thank yous and good byes when Vinnie and Brett stopped us and showed a sincere sense of caring toward us. We were about to embark on tour, and they left us with some advice that may have been incredibly obvious, but the fact that it came from both of them was incredibly touching. Not to say that I didn't expect them to be caring people, its just that when someone you look up to so greatly shows compassion like that, it means a lot. I never thought they were just out for money, but if anything proved it, it was this moment.

I will forever have an undying sense of gratitude to Vinnie and Brett. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am or who I am now, and I have to say I am a better person and musician because of them. I'm not sure if they will ever see this, but thank you guys, for everything. I can't wait to get to work on a full length with you guys!

The EP is coming into its final stages and should be out in the near future. We are still working on a title, but if I had to choose one, I'd go with "Ranz des Vaches."

Look it up.

Across the room, I hope to watch you writhe again soon.

A few weeks back I posted about a friend who passed and made a vow, if you will, to go to the bar Benchwarmers once a week on Thursday's just to keep in touch with some of my friends that I had fallen out of touch with since High School. So far I have been able to keep this promise to myself.

Throughout the weeks I have seen and spoken to a handful of people that I haven't seen in years. Some of them, like Rich and Dewey from the class of 07 and even kids like Matt G who I really haven't been able to speak to since elementary school. And of course the few kids from my grade that I somewhat got along with like Kevin, Luis and Tom.

In high school I was friendly with everyone, but I wasn't really friends with anyone with the exception of the kids in the music and drama departments with few exceptions. Since I was in Valet Parking in high school, most of my friends we're supplied by the scene. This remains true to this day. Some of my purest and longest friendships happened because our bands happened to be on a bill together. So most of the time when I run into someone who I wasn't particularly close with from my grade, and they happen to acknowledge my existence, the exchange goes a little like this:

Christina: Hey! How are you?
Me: Well. How are you?
Christina: Good!

And then she will continue her way to the bathroom and I will go back to sipping my beer up against the wall. However, last night something unprecedented happened, and that is the reason I am writing this.

Last night a girl I graduated with, Nicole, spotted me at the bar and shouted across the room to get my attention. I finished purchasing my beers and walked over to her and we actually had a conversation. Now I know this doesn't seem like that big of a deal but to a degree it really is.

I personally feel that since social networking sites have basically taken over the majority of peoples lives, the need to be openly social with people outside of your close friends circle is almost unnecessary, because you get enough of those people on your newsfeed.

So for Nicole, a person who I was never really friends with, to initiate a genuine exchange really brightened up my night. In fact, I would say it was the highlight of my night.

I don't know if Nicole will read this (I added her on facebook last night so who knows) but if she does:

Thank you :)

Nobody move, nobody get hurt.

Be prepared to call me an asshole. 

For awhile now I have been hearing this overwhelming outcry for "support" in the scene. "Everyone should be supporting everyone else's bands regardless" seems to be the ethos today. I think this is bullshit. 

I don't know what happened to most people. No one has a backbone or thick skin anymore. Every comment, critique, criticism is taken as a verbal threat and because of this no one is allowed to have an opinion that differs from the masses. 

This may not be the most pleasant thing to read, but it is the reality of things, and that is not everyone gives a fuck about you or your band. I certainly do not and deep down neither do you. It is absurd to say that the scene is "close minded" because not everyone likes everyones band despite genre. If that was the case everyone would of bought tickets to Friday's Bamboozle to see Skrillex because he was once in a band. And do to the 6 degrees of separation, it actually makes more sense to have done that then it does to support every band you ever meet ever. 

Now please don't get me wrong, I believe there should be some comradery in the scene, but it should not be forced or demanded. What makes the scene so wonderful is that it is the truest form of democracy. If a band is good, people stand behind that band and support. Kids will come to their shows, other bands will spread the word and that band will gradually see success if they continue down the right path in the right way. To infringe on that process by denying people the right to decide for themselves what they like and insisting that everyone like everything is tyrannical and will ultimately lead to more people getting upset when they discover a band isn't as supportive of another despite the idea that no matter what we should all support one another. 

Everyone needs to come to grips with these facts: 

1: Everyone perceives things differently. Me not liking your band does not hinder you from what you are doing. 

2: Everyone talks. When someone says they don't like this, that and the other thing about your band, they aren't "talking shit", they are just talking. It means nothing more than that they dislike what you like. It does not hinder you from what you are doing. 

3: The scene doesn't get better if everyone just got along. The scene needs controversy, the scene needs different flavors. It makes things interesting and keeps things fresh. 

4: Some bands suck and are made up of shitty people. Supporting bands like that is stupid and counterintuitive. 

We are all different. Lets just accept that. So if you want to support every band in the scene, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to do the same. And don't try and make an asshole out of me because I disagree with the way some bands conduct themselves and therefore withhold my support from them. I am not shit talking, I am just talking. 

What happened to integrity?

I feel the need to preface what I am about to write (as I do with most of my posts) with a disclaimer. What I am about to write is not an attack on any one entity, person or band. It is merely my opinion about the state of the Pop Punk scene. There is a very good chance that my opinion will differ from yours. This does not mean we can't be friends. This does not mean I hate you. All this is, is a series of observations that lead me to feel the way I do about certain things. I have been an active member of the Pop Punk community for 11 years. What I am about to write is about some things I have noticed in those 11 years. 

Before The Wonder Years released The Upsides, the state of Pop Punk was in a strange place. There was a period of time where the majority of bands we're either catering to the hardcore scene or the pop scene. This is not to say that bands we're not attempting to be Pop Punk bands, they just we're not seeing the success or the attention that was given to pop punk bands before them. For some reason, I don't exactly know why, The Wonder Years changed this. 

When The Wonder Years did release The Upsides, it was as if they took a defibrillator and jump started the heart of the Pop Punk scene. All of a sudden, kids we're very much getting back into Pop Punk. At least that is how it seems. 

The phenomena that The Upsides created needs to qualification. If you are reading this, I am sure you already know what I am talking about. Its like everyone went out and got a "I'm not sad anymore" tattoo, or took a picture of them holding a piece of cardboard that read the same. There was even a company manufacturing bracelets with the slogan on it. It took on a persona much larger than just an album. It became a lifestyle; a mantra. 

Although The Wonder Years helped reboot the Pop Punk scene, they soon became (in my opinion) the scenes greatest liability. In order for a scene to work, many bands need to be apart of it, otherwise we don't have a scene, we have a monopoly.

Lets now juxtapose this with what I will call, for all intents and purposes, the Drive-Thru Era of Pop Punk. If you don't know what I am talking about, I suggest you wikipedia that shit now. Spend the next 3 hours reading about the bands on that label and then come back to this blog.  

Aside from the giants like Blink-182 and Green Day, the bands on Drive-Thru Records dominated the Pop Punk scene. And what was great about them is that each band offered a unique and interesting sound of their own. Bands that really stick out are New Found Glory, The Movielife, Allister, Home Grown, Fenix TX, Something Corporate, The Starting Line, Rx Bandits, Midtown, Senses Fail, Finch, Day at the Fair, Houston Calls, The Early November, Dashboard Confessional, Hidden in Plain View, Hellogoodbye and Halifax. Once again, if you don't know these bands, go look them up. 

These bands offered diversity and flavor to the scene. Chances are if you knew about one of these bands, you were a fan of at least 3 others on the label, and they didn't necessarily had to have been a Pop Punk band. As a whole, they were putting out music that more people could relate to, that had a timeless message and was catchy enough to be on the radio while still preserving the integrity of the scene. The Drive-Thru Era, in my opinion, were the Golden Years of Pop Punk. Not because I like these bands more than the ones that around now (although that is true), but because these bands have longevity. These bands will live on forever in the hearts and minds of the fans that were around when they were popular. Today bands will be remembered for as long as it takes for the next band to release an album that kids can vaguely relate to. 

I feel like there is little to no integrity today. Today it feels like it is less about music and more about who has more reblogs of a picture of themselves wearing a Man Overboard hoodie, eating pizza in one hand and drinking Arnold Palmer in the other. It seems to me that to most kids its about the fashion and the internet. Where as back when Drive-Thru was around, there was no tumblr, so you liked a band for the music. And you liked that band forever. 

When The Wonder Years released The Upsides, it was huge. I couldn't go anywhere without someone talking about it or seeing someone wearing a shirt with Hank the Pigeon on it. Until The Story So Far came out with Under Soil and Dirt. And the cycle repeats. Now I can't escape hearing people rave about that album or wearing The Story So Far merch. 

Please let me make this clear. I am not at all upset that these bands are seeing success. I am a fan of both. The point that I am trying to make clear is that it appears that kids are more caught up in the here and now of the scene and aren't embracing the over all beauty of the culture like everyone did way back when. It kind of sucks to think about it like that, but that is just the way I see things. Today it feels like its about trying to steal another bands thunder. What I would really like to see today is a handful of bands that just feed off of each others momentum and energy, in a big way. 

I can't believe it happened again this year.

This post is coming a little later than I hoped, but the issue, at least to me is still important and is worth mentioning.

2 Thursdays ago, I got out of work at around 2AM and I don't know why, but I felt like going to a bar. I have never been too fond of bars, I'd much rather drink at home or a friends house, but at 2AM I guess I decided it would be easier to just sack up and go to a bar. I went to Benchwarmers, it is right around the block from my house and it is frequented by kids I used to be considerably close with, so I figured what the hell. As I walked in, I wasn't surprised to see some old faces from my past and I was rather pleased upon entry to see these people. I was greeted with a big cheer from my friend Rich, who actually texted me earlier in the week to catch up. We hugged and we both were visibly happy to be with one another. Unfortunately this first sentence that was spoken to me afterwards was "Joey Ryan died today."

Since I have graduated high school, I have lost 3 friends. Joey was the most recent. I was never too close with any of them, but I was close enough that when ever I ran into anyone of the 3, we would have a rather long and in depth conversation. We all got a long and we all had a mutual respect and appreciation for one another. So each one of their deaths has impacted me on some level.

Much to my dismay, I was away both dates of the services for Joey. I send my absolute utmost respects to his family.

Last Thursday, I once again returned to Benchwarmers and was pleased to see even more familiar faces. This time the bar was raising money for Joey's family, so a lot of people I haven't seen in a long, long time were all there. People I once considered at one point close friends, but haven't really kept in touch with.

After speaking to a few people for sometime I decided that I am going to try to come to this bar every Thursday. Not because I want to get drunk, but because I am sick of telling people that "It has been too long." I hope I never have to utter that phrase again. The truth is, there are plenty of people I care about, that I haven't really kept up with since we all started going to college, and I don't want the next time I see them to be when they are in a casket.

We all live in an age where human interaction has been reduced to saying "happy birthday" on someone's facebook wall when they pop up in your feed. That sucks. That is the fucking worst. For me, there are too many people I can't imagine loosing, and I am going to let my actions show that. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile, you can't always be waiting for people to enter your life, because sometimes it's too late. So take some time out of your life and visit the people that you care about, even if you haven't seen each other in awhile. Get the fuck off facebook! Stop staring at pictures of people you once knew and go out and get to know them over again. Lets all start acting more like people. The world will become a better place if we all try a little harder to be more personable and to maintain friendships.

Much love and respect to Brian Cerdelli, D.J. Villegas and Joey Ryan. Forever cherished and missed. All 3 gone too soon.

Nobody else can tell us how to live our lives, we're not running anymore.

I am going to try my hardest to make this short and to the point. My entire life I have been able to overcome every obstacle thrown my way except my parents. For years now they have fought me on pursuing music instead of conforming to the regular conventions of life. Tonight, my parents and I had a fight not to unlike the ones in the past. The bottom line is that they don't get it, and they never will unless they see for themselves.

I don't ask for too much from anyone, but this weekend is my 21st birthday and I am asking anyone who cares enough to read this to do me this one favor. Please come to the show this Sunday at Broadway and go ape shit. I am going to try my hardest to get my parents to come out to the show, because they haven't been to a show of mine in years. I want to show my parents why I am as passionate about music as I am, and why I wont settle for anything else. And I can't do that without your help. Some people may never understand why we do what we do. The least we can do is attempt to explain ourselves.