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Monday, September 10th, 2007
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1:28 pm - If I Wasn't Such A Cynic, I'd Think This Was A Joke
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| Friday, September 7th, 2007
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9:59 am - This Makes Slightly Less Sense To Me Than Astrology...
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| Friday, March 23rd, 2007
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12:50 pm - "Warriors" And "Victims"
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While on tour, I finished reading a book called <i>Building The Bombs</i> by Charles R. Loerber. The book is mostly just a brief history of the Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) in America. In the appendix, the author addresses an interesting question, the contents of which have started creeping in from the back of my mind in my everyday dealings ever since I read it. The question was, “why are some people so opposed to nuclear weapons and the NWC?” The author’s answer to this question went on to summarize an argument as old as the bomb itself. He more or less reiterates the obvious; that no sane person could be in favor of all out nuclear war and that people differed only on the manner in which to prevent it. Is nuclear war best averted through the development of a massive weapons arsenal and hence the mutual assured destruction of any country that dared launch a pre-emptive attack? Or is it best to not have any weapons around at all thus decreasing the likelihood that other countries would stockpile nuclear arms to protect themselves from you? He then cites the great physicist Freeman Dyson who proposed a reason for these diametrically opposed philosophies in his book <i>Weapons and Hope</i> (I’ve never read this book, I’m just saying what he said). Dyson explains that people possess worldviews that can generally be classified into what he calls “warriors” and “victims”. In short, the “warriors” are realists who accept all the world’s imperfections as a given yet work to preserve it for the survival of both themselves and others while the “victims” are idealists who worry about the future of an imperfect world and strive to rebuild it; even from the bottom up if necessary (I probably fall a good bit to the “victim” side of this classification). The problem, the author goes on to state, is that since both of these worldviews are so divergent, these two groups of people often have a very difficult time communicating with each other. Of course, this extends beyond nuclear weapons. I know it is nothing really revelatory, but with this philosophy in mind, I’ve come away with a new perspective from many conversations with people lately. That is to say, I deal with both sides of this coin more than I care to talk about and I’m very much beginning to see why a seemingly good person will often take part in a seemingly awful thing. Case in point, people will compromise their ideals to exceed in a corporate environment. They’re not wicked people, but they accept the system for what it is and realize that if they ever want to make a way for themselves and their family, they best keep their opinions to themselves and do what’s expected. Consequently, the further they get up that ladder, the further they’re removed from their ideals and the more they have to lose by going back to them or implementing them, even though they’re in a position that allows them an opportunity for a greater change. Conversely, an idealist in this situation will continually question whether or not decisions made and actions performed are in the best interest of all parties involved and since no “warriors” are going to get anywhere by allowing “victims” to stand in the way of progress, the system will reward the “warrior” and punish the “victim.” And the more that idealists, be they of an ethical, religious or altruistic origin, are removed from positions of leadership, it would seem to me less likely that any system would successfully be able to fix itself. In fact, one could probably argue that a given system would get even worse. I guess the point of all this is that, when you think of it this way, humanity’s progress has been championed through the work of these “victims”; folks who had a vision and saw a better way and, in many ways, we’re all better off for it. I don’t really have a whole lot of history on hand to back this up, but it seems that most of the great civilizations of the world prospered by recognizing the need for idealists and bringing them into positions of leadership (either accidentally or on purpose) when the “warriors” of that society afforded them the peace and security to do so. On the other hand, the “victims” recognized that they needed the “warriors” to survive. The ones that did not acknowledge this symbiotic relationship did not last. And here’s the part that scares me right now. When I look around this country, I don’t see any real “victims” in power and I don’t see any “warriors” making much progress in the way of peace and security. And the scariest part is that I don’t think that either group feels like they need the other.
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| Friday, March 9th, 2007
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1:25 pm - February Radio Show
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Better late than never...
February 2007 Show
1:10:44 96 kbps MP3 Format (49.75 MB)
Playlist:
1. Fay Wray - Tonight I Just Don't Give A Damn
2. Gregory Isaacs - Mr Cop
3. No Means No - Rags And Bones
4. The Strike - Where Did We Go Wrong?
5. Doug Sahm -(Is Anybody Going To) San Antone
6. The Bottle Rockets - Idiot's Revenge
7. Henry Fiat's Open Sore - (Proud To Be The) Black Sheep
8. Rockpile - When I Write Book
9. Fear - More Beer
10. Mudhoney - Hate The Police
11.Drag The River - Portland
12. Kris Kristofferson - To Beat The Devil
13. Thin Lizzy - Fighting
14. The Dubliners - The Old Triangle
15. The Wipers - Youtrh Of America
16. The Dukes Of Hillsborough - Danica McKellar
17. Crash Mitchell - Satan Moved To Nashville
18. Loretta Lynn - Success
19. Against Me! - Joy
20. Jack Palance Band - Heaven
current music: Sugar - Besides
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1:24 pm - A Confederacy Of Dunces
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I just finished reading A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Bean recommended it to me and now I'm recommending it you. Of course, I wasn't culturally astute enough to pick up on Don Quixote-isms of the main charcater, Ignatius J. Reilly, while reading it, but I suppose that, having just read other folks opinions of the book, Ignatius could probably best be described as a slobbish and lazy version of the Miguel de Cervantes hero. At any rate, it was a damn funny book despite the morbid circumstances surrounding its authorship. The manuscript was found by the author's mother 11 years after he committed suicide in 1969. She forced a college professor to read it, who thought enough of it to get the book published. It won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.
current music: Mike Watt - Ball-Hog Or Tugboat?
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| Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
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3:44 pm - Perhaps This Is Why Communism Failed?
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The bus station downtown is run by half-wits. You can't buy a daily bus pass for the PSTA bus system because it's a HART transit center, even though the PSTA buses run routes through there. The cheapest passes they sell for the PSTA buses are the 20 ride passes that cost $40, but they don't accept credit cards if you're short on cash. There's no ATM at the bus station. The people who sell the bus passes won't make change for you because they're "not allowed", but if you only have a twenty dollar bill when you board the bus you can't get change from them either. You can change your twenty dollar bill in the change machine and choose your option of receiving 20 one dollar Sacagawea coins or 80 quarters. However, if you do decide to change your twenty dollar bill to carry the much lighter load of 20 one dollar Sacagawea coins, then you still won't have exact change for the $2.50 bus fare. If you try and get four quarters for one of your one dollar Sacagawea coins at the same change machine you're then screwed because the change machine won't accept your one dollar Sacagawea coin even though it just gave you 20 of them. If you ask the bus station employees for help they don't know anything, but if you swear and curse the change machine, people who don't even work there can then tell you that there is another change machine that will give you four quarters for one of your one dollar Sacagawea coins. There's four change machines in four different locations scattered throughout the bus station and when you do finally find the one you need and rush to the bus stop to catch your bus you have to wait for another 10 minutes because the bus is running late anyway which means that you could have gone to the ATM around the block to get money to buy the 20 ride pass for $40 instead of walking around all day with 17 one dollar Sacagawea coins and 2 quarters. If anybody who worked at the bus station actually rode the bus then they might be aware of some of these issues, but since they probably don't or may just be foolish souls, I'm going to start paying for everything down there with one dollar Sacagawea coins.
current music: Pegboy - Strong Reaction
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| Wednesday, January 10th, 2007
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12:32 am - Songs
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| Sunday, December 31st, 2006
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9:23 pm - Happy New Year's Folks! Here's My Top Ten Full-Length Releases Of 2006
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Of course, this would be different if I made it even six months from now, since I'll hear a lot of things that were amazing and released this year in the next six months I'm sure, but here it is now. Yea...it tends toward the punk/indie side of things, but that's only becasue those are the sorts of things that come my way first.
Top Ten Favorite Full-Legth Releases That I Heard In 2006
1. Billy Reese Peters "Almost Heaven" - The long overdue full length from these Gainesville fellas. Enjoy the songs on here because they'll only play beer commercials and classic rock covers live.
2. Johnny Cash "A Hundred Highways" - Some of the last songs Johnny Cash recorded before his passing. I think this record easily stands up against the other American Recordings.
3. The Draft "In A Million Pieces" - In all honesty, I wasn't too impressed with The Draft when they started playing out. This record changed my mind and then some.
4. The Hold Steady "Boys And Girls In America" - I know this band has become the the darling of every indie rock critic in the western world, but I loved Lifter Puller and I love The Hold Steady. Not as good as earlier releases, but I am still really into this record.
5. Off With Their Heads "Hospitals" - If I were to rank these in order of favorites, this would probably be number one.
6. Gram Parsons "The Complete Reprise Sessions" - I know all this was recorded in the early 70's, but it was released this year and these songs featuring Emmlou Harris, Elvis's backup band and others, is favorite music ever put down on tape. Comprised of Gram's two solo full-lengths along with a bonus disc of unreleased/rare material.
7. Radon "Metric Buttloads Of Rock" - Surprise, surprise. Yes, I like Radon a lot. While not perfect by any means, the amazing songs on here more than make up for the not as amazing songs.
8. The Thermals "The Body, The Blood, The Machine" - Score another win for The Thermals.
9. Toys That Kill "Shanked!" - Best weird, awesome cat-themed record of 2006.
10. Watson "Killing Momentum" - Watson is Richie, Paul and Dave from Clairmel and Jeff from the The Dukes. Easily my favoite CD by a Tampa band and probably my favorite from a FL band.
Honorable Mentions: Drag The River - It's Crazy, Dan Padilla - S/T, The Dukes Of Hillsborough - Telling Time By Our Vices
There were a lot of good seven inches released this year too. Here's my top three:
1. Blotto / Modern Machines split 7" - Two amazing bands, Blotto from Tokyo and the MoMacs from Milwaukee, offer up some of their best songs yet on this Snuffy Smiles split.
2. Future Virgins S/T 7" - New band featuring Mike from the Jack Palance Band and Ashley from Sexy. As if that means anything to most people.
3. Grabass Charlestons "When The Funk Hits The Fan" - Some of the best songs yet from another great Gainesville band.
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| Saturday, December 16th, 2006
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8:26 pm - December Edition of Sooooo Intense Radio
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The December ish of the Sooooo Intense Records radio hour is up and available for listening at your convenience! Check it out!
December 2006 Show
1:02:57 96 kbps MP3 Format (44.27 MB)
Here's a playlist:
1.Otis Redding - Intro/I'm Depending On You
2. MC5 - Tonight
3. The Draft - Wired
4. Chaos LR - Self Respect Is Priceless ( Schiltz Is Cheap)
5. Mission Of Burma - Academy Fight Song
6. Captain Beefheart - Diddy Wah Diddy
7. Rivethead - We Don't Fuck Around
8. Lightnin' Hopkins - Prison Blues Come Down On Me
9. Supersuckers - The Captain Must've Been High
10.The Damned - Neat Neat Neat Damned Damned Damned
11. The Thermals - Power Doesn't Run On Nothing
12. Tiltwheel - Fuck You This Place Was Dead Anyway
13. Robert Gordon & Link Wray - Red Cadillac & A Black Moustache
14. Dinosaur Jr. - Not You Aagin
15. Parasites - Young And Stupid
16. The Byrds - You Don't Miss Your Water
17. Roky Erickson - I Think Up Demons
18. Bobby Austin - Here Comes The Bride
19. The Because - Unbearable Lightness Of Being
20. Drive-By Truckers - The Night GG Allin Came To Town
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| Friday, December 15th, 2006
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3:52 pm - At Least He Doesn't Have To Put Up With Anymore Bull Shit Music
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Ahmet Ertegun, a man whose distinction in bringing some of my favorite records into existence, was second only to the artists who recorded them, passed away yesterday.
Some of the albums him, his brother Nesuhi and Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler helped bring into existence are Ray Charles - The Genius Ray Charles, John Coltrane - Giant Steps, Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man The Way That I Loved You, Roland Kirk - Volunteered Slavery, Led Zeppelin - II, MC5 - Back In The USA, Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis, all of the late great Doug Sahms records on Atlantic, the list goes on and on. In many ways, Ahmet and company were in large part responsible for the most significant part of many of these artist's careers. Ahmet also wrote songs that appear on many of these records. In memory of his passing, I urge the mainstream music community of today to stop and reconsider their approach to...well...just about everything.
He was recently portrayed in the movie "Ray", by another noteworthy citizen, Curtis Armstrong, a.k.a. Booger.
current music: Lucero - That Much Further West
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| Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
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4:11 am - Sooooo Intense Website and Radio Show #1
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Well, I've finally managed to get the Sooooo Intense Records website online. Behold! The work of an amateur Dreamweaver user.
Also did my first "radio" show which is the real excitement here. If you'd like to listen I think you can go here and download the MP3 file. I plan on doin' one of these a month and will try and post a notice when it's up.
Here's the playlist from this one:
1. Toys That Kill - They Tied Up All The Lace
2. The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You
3. Otis Clay - Trying To Live My Life Without You
4. Watson - Crack The Code
5. Grandpaboy - Take Out Some Insurance
6. Radon - Rehab Barbie
7. Faces - Silicone Grown
8. Lifter Puller - To Live And Die In L.B.I.
9. Delroy Wilson - Cool Operator
10. Ray Price - I'll Be There
11. Watershed - She Picks The Songs
12. Grabass Charlestons - When The Funk Hits The Fan
13. Off With Their Heads - Theme Song
14. Screaming Trees - Night Comes Creeping
15. Pentagram - Be Forewarned
16. The Preachers - Who Do You Love?
17. King Friday - Lonnie
18. Graham Parker & The Figgs - Local Girls
19. Hot New Mexicans - Walk The Day
current music: Fifth Hour Hero and Saint Catherines split
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| Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
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4:51 pm - Ha! Ha! I Fuckin' Love America in 2006!
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"Teacher Bill Morgan walks into his third-grade class wearing a black Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and begins snatching up pencils, backpacks and glue sticks from his pupils. He tells them the items now belong to him because he "discovered" them. The reaction is exactly what Morgan expects: The kids get angry and want their things back."
At least he didn't rape the children after getting them drunk, burn the classroom, give out blankets infected with smallpox and then round the surviving class members up to be taken back to Europe and sold into slavery.
In all honesty, Native American history was pretty sugar-coated in schools when I was growing up and I'm all for truth and justice, but this guy is taking things a little too far. I think the important thing for kids to learn at that age about Thanksgiving (or period for that matter, because many adults still haven't seemed to grasp this concept) is that, yes, at some point in world history, two diametrically opposed sects of people got along with each other for one day. Besides, I'd wager the treatment of the Wampanoag by the first English pilgrims wasn't near as bad as the treatment the Powhatan received by the Jamestown settlers, or the Seminoles by Andrew Jackson or the whole of the Native American population by the U.S. militia between the years, oh...say about 1609 to 1917.
Yes, I suppose the first Thanksgiving could be viewed as one of the few highlights throughout that whole miserable ordeal. While I know most Native American groups do not share this sentiment, it's really the one small, but mostly clear spot on an otherwise badly tarnished silver gravy dish. Let's not fuck that up shall we?
current music: V/A - Jamaica to Toronto, Soul, Funk and Reggae
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| Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
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7:01 pm - Yes! The 25 Greatest Science Books Of All-Time!
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*click* for nerds.
Also, speaking of nerds, check out the Wikiepedia entry on nerds. Especially of interest is the origin of the term:
"The term "Nerd", meaning "square", goes back at least to 1951, when Newsweek reported the usage as relatively new in Detroit, Michigan."
"Yet another theory traces the term to Northern Electric Research and Development, suggesting images of employees wearing pocket protectors with the acronym N.E.R.D. printed on them."
"Finally, oral history at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute holds that the word was coined there, spelled as "knurd" ("drunk" spelled backwards), to describe those who studied rather than partied. (This usage predates a similar coinage of "knurd" by author Terry Pratchett.)"
current music: Mega Smegma - Blatant Satanists
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| Thursday, November 16th, 2006
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3:28 pm - Dude!
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| Thursday, October 12th, 2006
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3:46 pm - And This Is Why Wikipedia Is So Awesome
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| Wednesday, October 11th, 2006
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1:09 pm - European Vacation
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Here is the internet complanion to the Tim Version Dukes Of Hillsborough UK Tour Journal that appeared in Razorcake #33. I have a tendency to get rather wordy when I write and over half my original got edited! So this is really just some of what got cut out.
current music: St Germain - Tourist
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| Monday, October 2nd, 2006
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11:13 am - Little Boy Touchers
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I can say this about the whole Mark Foley thing as he makes that all important transition form "U.S. Congressman" to "child molester". At least he's moving up a wrung on society's stepladder.
current music: Marty Stuart - The Marty Party Hit Pack
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| Friday, September 29th, 2006
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10:23 am - Middle East History
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This was linked to via FARK. I thought it was pretty cool. Apparently, the Mongols were total badasses. Looks like they left out the change in Israel's borders after the war with Egypt in 1970 though. Or I'm just confused and don't know what I'm talking about which is the more likely scenario.
current music: Mark Lannegan - The Winding Sheet
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| Wednesday, September 20th, 2006
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10:06 am - Life
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I was listening to a Bertrand Russell record the other day and after thinking about his speech and reflecting on the $1000 vet bill I will be paying this afternoon, I'd like to offer up for consideration a rule of life that I belive no creature, great or small, dim or intelligent, multi-cellular or uni-celluar can avoid. The rule is as follows. We all, regardless of the level of conciousness associated with the choices made, have but two options.
Option One: Do what is necessary, through either force, cunning, cooperation or underhandedness (and in some cases even by accident or instinct), to seek out for oneself an acceptable perch on the proverbial mountain of shit that is inherently intertwined and inseparable from one's mortal existence. Sometimes these mountains of shit are built by the species to which one belongs, as in "King Fuck of Shit Mountain." Sometimes they are built by one who happens upon a higher perch, as in "shit rolls down hill." Sometimes they are built by nature, as in "shit happens." Oftentimes though, these mountains are a group effort; a joint construction project from all these accursed contributors. For some, a perch just up the mountain of shit is an acceptable position. For, one on the side of a moutain of shit faces shit on a daily basis in only one of four directions. They are not buried in shit as those in the valley below oftentimes are. Of course, there is shit above them and below them, but, if there they remain, only an avalanche will find them likely to be buried in shit. Others, however, will find satisfaction with nothing less than the very summit of Mt. Shit. This is a desirable position for, from this zenith, one can enjoy a strategic view of all those who wish to suplant them on this summit. They afford themselves the lone spot on the mountain where shit is not to be found in any direction but below them and no avalanche can bury them. The cunning ones also find that they may rain shit down on those below them at their discretion. However, abuse of shit-throwing may cause instability and the ensuing landslide may remove them from the coveted summit. For example, what do Nero, Ken Lay and Mussolini all have in common? They threw too much shit off the top of the mountain. Shit can also be thrown from any perch on the mountainside and a similar effect can bring down the perpetrator from even the lowest altitude. Case in point, Scott Stapp and Jim Bakker. Regardless of one's position on the mountain and aside from the evolutionary benefits afforded to the species to which one belongs from having existed at such a perch for an extended period of time, all sentient beings take satisfaction at the fact that they are not stuck on a lower perch, or even worse in the valley of the mountain of shit, while simulatenously pining for the benefits afforeded to those at a higher perch. Some try to bring others with them to higher perches on the mountain. These are the folks who get pets or start families, so as to say to their children, "Son, look around you, when I am gone this perch and all the shit on it will belong to you. Just look how far up the mountain of shit our ancestors have come! Perhaps, someday, with some hard work that perch up there belonging to Bob Denver's family may belong to you or your childern!" Others, will feign help and work with you to attain a better perch on the mountain of shit and then kick you back down the hill when you least expect it. Lawyers and aspiring corporate executives, for example. Regardless of one's position, there is a common thread which binds all mortal life togther. This, of course, brings us to option two.
Option Two: We're all standing in shit, so, at best one can learn to enjoy it; at worst, one can just try not to get buried in it.
If you disagree with this treatise, try this simple experiment. Pick a person from history and think about what they did with their life. Chances are their motives at particular times in life can be classified as "Option One" or "Option Two". For example, Genghis Kahn and Julius Ceasar are clear cases of people who followed Option One. Ceasar, however, threw too much shit off the mountain. Buddha chose Option Two with an emphasis on enjoying the shit while Lao Tzu just tried to not get buried in it. Many famous artists, thespians and musicians are clear cases of instances where Option One was doggedly pursued for a time before coming to rest on their laurels in Option Two. Oftentimes, people are born near the summit and, while showing some partialities towards Option Two, George W. Bush for example, are dragged to the summit by those who have chosen Option One, i.e. Dick Cheney and company. Some species of animal have evolved into the roles chosen by their ancestors. Lions and wolves have evolved in an Option One environment, while pigs, content to wallow in their own shit, have adapted well to Option Two.
Think about it.
current music: Otis Ruch - The Essential
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| Tuesday, September 19th, 2006
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11:25 am - Tampa, FL Trivia!
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Love him or hate him (personally, I love him), it's hard not to be familiar with this album cover:
Well, the photo taken for this cover was taken at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory right here in Tampa, FL on Howard Ave. That's right!
current music: Elvis Presley - Complete Sun Sessions
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