In case you were not aware of it, there are Nazis in the country music industry. Strange place for them I know but there it is. This is something I got irritated by a while back but I am just now getting around to writing about. I have a lot of those lined up in the back of my head, so be prepared.
About the Nazis. Remember the Dixie Chicks? They had the nerve to criticize the second dumbest man in politics (GW thanks God for Dan Quayle every day...) publicly. "Well, Hell, Bubba, we cain't have that! (Sound of tobacco juice missing spittoon) That there's just plumb un-pay-tree-ottic!"
http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/dixie.chicks.reut/
So, summing up the above, the corn pone idiot industry pulled the DCs record because they spoke out about what they believe in. "Great Horny Toads BillyBob, we cain't let 'em git away with that! Criticizin' ol' Dubya, where they think they at, Russia?!"
Hello?? Any active neurons in there?? This is America! We have freedom of speech! The Constitution (long word boys, I know, read slow, OK?) guarantees freedom of expression. If it didn't, half the sub-moronic crap that passes for country music would be savagely repressed. The DChicks are smart, making them an oddity in their profession, and they pay attention when they are out and about in the world. We are not liked out there and the current regime is to blame for that situation. They are allowed to comment on that. Censoring them for it is the work of tyranny, something we as Americans should fight against, not support.
Nazis. In the country music radio industry. They are there, even if they think "Gestapo" is some kind of fancy Eye-talian soup. The Dixie Chicks are now my favorite country music artists.
It amazes me that the Dixie Chicks get slammed with that sort of crap while brainless no talent hicks like Toby Keith can, from what I have heard, use terms like "raghead" without catching any hell for it. Sorry, but if there is truth in that, then he's a racist, and that's wrong. It has nothing to do with patriotism or supporting our troops or anything like that. The entire Arabic population of the world did not attack us, a bunch of extremists did. We have extremists in this country too, but they don't represent all of us, and I can't stand them either.
So good on the Dixie Chicks, good on free speech, and fuck off to the country music industry. Hope the swastika looks good on your big-ass belt buckles.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A Rigged Game
Make no mistake about it, the game is rigged. Ladies, argue all you want, but you have got it set up so we can't win. Men get the shaft for not sharing their feelings, but when they manage it, they better not be the wrong ones. Because if they are, then we are mean heartless bastard lazy unappreciative wrong-headed badguy fill in the fucking blank.
I have a wife. I have an ex-wife. There is no doubt in the world that I traded up when I got this wife. No question. However, this still does not change the fact that the communication game between the genders is rigged. Case in point.
We were in bed one evening and got into an argument about something. Don't remember about what, it was most likely about something I did or didn't do, probably more or less a legit beef, nobody has to tell me I'm plenty flawed. I was, however, not entirely wrong. I believe ninety plus percent of issues between people have blame to lay on both sides; those who don't believe this aren't trying to solve problems they're trying to be right. So we're lying there, my wife castigating me for not talking to her, not telling her how I feel, and I have a logjam in my throat. Nothing will come out and it's because I just KNOW where it's going to go. It's going to go to the land of The Man Is Wrong again, and nothing I can say is really going to change it. But I'm trying, despite how hard this is I'm trying to share my feelings. The inherent futility is what is filling up my mind and this is what I manage to tell her. "I feel like I can't say anything," I say, "because I feel like whatever I say I'll be wrong." It may not be the issue for her but it is the issue for me, it is definitely what I am feeling. Does it open a dialogue? Does it create a space for us to share our divergent points of view. No. Of course not. After a long pause she flings the covers off and storms out of the room, leaving me lying alone to drift off to a troubled sleep feeling confused and angry.
Why the Hell would I want to share my feelings after an experience like this? Why would I not just tell her nothing is wrong when the wrong answer causes a worse reaction then no answer?
I have a wife. I have an ex-wife. There is no doubt in the world that I traded up when I got this wife. No question. However, this still does not change the fact that the communication game between the genders is rigged. Case in point.
We were in bed one evening and got into an argument about something. Don't remember about what, it was most likely about something I did or didn't do, probably more or less a legit beef, nobody has to tell me I'm plenty flawed. I was, however, not entirely wrong. I believe ninety plus percent of issues between people have blame to lay on both sides; those who don't believe this aren't trying to solve problems they're trying to be right. So we're lying there, my wife castigating me for not talking to her, not telling her how I feel, and I have a logjam in my throat. Nothing will come out and it's because I just KNOW where it's going to go. It's going to go to the land of The Man Is Wrong again, and nothing I can say is really going to change it. But I'm trying, despite how hard this is I'm trying to share my feelings. The inherent futility is what is filling up my mind and this is what I manage to tell her. "I feel like I can't say anything," I say, "because I feel like whatever I say I'll be wrong." It may not be the issue for her but it is the issue for me, it is definitely what I am feeling. Does it open a dialogue? Does it create a space for us to share our divergent points of view. No. Of course not. After a long pause she flings the covers off and storms out of the room, leaving me lying alone to drift off to a troubled sleep feeling confused and angry.
Why the Hell would I want to share my feelings after an experience like this? Why would I not just tell her nothing is wrong when the wrong answer causes a worse reaction then no answer?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Harry Potter Redux, And Then I'm Done
Sooooo I was wrong. So sue me. It would have made a much better story than it was if it was closer to my theory. BTW, THIS IS THE LAST TIME POTTER IS THE SUBJECT OF MY BLOG!! Knew Harry was going to live, knew Snape and Pettigrew were going to die. What the hell was she thinking with that precious little epilogue. Like I couldn't figure out that Harry and Ginny were going to get married and have kids and send them to Hogwarts and by the way Harry's son has a rebellious stubborn streak? Like I couldn't figure out Ron and Hermione got married? Please. Why was so much stuff left unresolved? After Voldemort croaks it there's like five pages of wrap up and four of them are talking to Dumbledore's portrait. Big things left unresolved. Draco and Harry? The Defense Against the Dark Arts Professorship? Themes developed throughout the series and then dropped like a dead rat at the end. A big deal was made about the 'major character(s) dying...' Then the ones that died were arbitrary. Except for Fred Weasley, but hey, he had a twin so that's all right. How did George and the other Weasley's deal with that? Did the three heroes ever graduate Hogwarts? Why did Dumbledore have to know EVERYTHING. He did come off as a puppet-master, and I did think less of him after the book ended. Aberforth? Aberforth? Anyone there? He plays a pivotal role in the fight and then poof, he's gone.
Sorry JK, but you ended the series with sloppy and lazy writing. I am done talking about it.
Sorry JK, but you ended the series with sloppy and lazy writing. I am done talking about it.
Friday, July 13, 2007
On A Lighter Note
Ok, I'm a geek, I admit it. So if you don't like or care about the Harry Potter books, don't bother reading this post.
The last book is due out in a week or two and I believe I have unravelled what happened at the end of Book Six to set up the finale.
Remember, you heard it here first.
Dumbledore is currently only MOSTLY dead, there's a big difference between mostly dead, and all dead.
He won't stay that way. He's only dead technically. I have a number of reasons for thinking that.
Firstly, JK grieved extravagantly when she killed Sirius (if you believe he's dead) and I don't think she's going to kill someone even more important, particularly before the last book.
Secondly, any literary character who's totem, if you will, is a phoenix is destined to rise again.
Thirdly, at the time he was blasted by Snape, it was impossible to kill him with the Killing Curse. I will explain.
When Harry and Dumbledore went into the cavern with the Horcrux, they were in an area where water could not exist (see Harry's efforts) but the island was in the middle of a lake. Filled with Inferi. Which are undead. What would be better to keep and preserve Inferi than a lake filled with not water but Draught of Living Death (this potion has the appearance of water, mentioned by Slughorn earlier in the book, also mentioned briefly in the first book). Therefore, to slake the agony of the poison he was consuming Dumbledore sucked down a few liters of said potion. Being who he is, he realized it. Cut to the battlements. He knows he is heading towards a period of zombiehood and when the fewmets hit the windmill he gets Harry out of the way because Harry is the vulnerable one. In comes Draco and what does Dumbledore do? He gets him talking, delays things, to give the potion time to reach full effect. Enter Snape. Snape and Dumbledore are both serious Legillimens/Occlumens, so without speech Snape is filled in and suddenly...he can fulfill his Unbreakable Oath and still not betray Dumbledore. He hits him with the curse and all it does is blow him off the battlements. I reiterate: you can't kill what's already dead. The fall smashed him up, but I have full faith in Madame Pomfrey to mend him and cure the poison in his system. Cut to the funeral. You never see the body. At the end, the Phoenix calls. Phoenix=rebirth. The death-like state is why the portrait is sleeping, I believe, I don't think it will wake in Book 7 unless he's got another trick up his sleeve.
Dumbledore is not dead, but yet JK can say he is without lying to her public because he will no longer be dead when the potion wears off.
This will not become immediately apparent, as Dumbledore will work from the shadows for much of the last book.
Watch out for Aberforth Dumbledore, the Professor's brother and owner of the Hogshead in Hogsmeade, he has some pivotal part to play yet in this.
At the end Harry will not die, but will be offered the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor. After all, who could be better?
Those of us who care will find out in mere days...
The last book is due out in a week or two and I believe I have unravelled what happened at the end of Book Six to set up the finale.
Remember, you heard it here first.
Dumbledore is currently only MOSTLY dead, there's a big difference between mostly dead, and all dead.
He won't stay that way. He's only dead technically. I have a number of reasons for thinking that.
Firstly, JK grieved extravagantly when she killed Sirius (if you believe he's dead) and I don't think she's going to kill someone even more important, particularly before the last book.
Secondly, any literary character who's totem, if you will, is a phoenix is destined to rise again.
Thirdly, at the time he was blasted by Snape, it was impossible to kill him with the Killing Curse. I will explain.
When Harry and Dumbledore went into the cavern with the Horcrux, they were in an area where water could not exist (see Harry's efforts) but the island was in the middle of a lake. Filled with Inferi. Which are undead. What would be better to keep and preserve Inferi than a lake filled with not water but Draught of Living Death (this potion has the appearance of water, mentioned by Slughorn earlier in the book, also mentioned briefly in the first book). Therefore, to slake the agony of the poison he was consuming Dumbledore sucked down a few liters of said potion. Being who he is, he realized it. Cut to the battlements. He knows he is heading towards a period of zombiehood and when the fewmets hit the windmill he gets Harry out of the way because Harry is the vulnerable one. In comes Draco and what does Dumbledore do? He gets him talking, delays things, to give the potion time to reach full effect. Enter Snape. Snape and Dumbledore are both serious Legillimens/Occlumens, so without speech Snape is filled in and suddenly...he can fulfill his Unbreakable Oath and still not betray Dumbledore. He hits him with the curse and all it does is blow him off the battlements. I reiterate: you can't kill what's already dead. The fall smashed him up, but I have full faith in Madame Pomfrey to mend him and cure the poison in his system. Cut to the funeral. You never see the body. At the end, the Phoenix calls. Phoenix=rebirth. The death-like state is why the portrait is sleeping, I believe, I don't think it will wake in Book 7 unless he's got another trick up his sleeve.
Dumbledore is not dead, but yet JK can say he is without lying to her public because he will no longer be dead when the potion wears off.
This will not become immediately apparent, as Dumbledore will work from the shadows for much of the last book.
Watch out for Aberforth Dumbledore, the Professor's brother and owner of the Hogshead in Hogsmeade, he has some pivotal part to play yet in this.
At the end Harry will not die, but will be offered the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor. After all, who could be better?
Those of us who care will find out in mere days...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Sieg Heiligevater
Pope Benedict is an absolute moron. I cannot believe the shit this guy talks. Has he figured out what millenium we live in? If you haven't seen the article then read this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSL1048495520070710/
Utter nonsense. What next, is he going to announce a crusade? I can't wait for the excommunicatons to start. Benedict has put organized religion back five hundred years.
He can say "oh yeah, we're the descendents of the apostle Peter" all he wants, but the truth is that the Patriarch of Rome won a power struggle between the heads of the five original patriarchates; Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. That was what made the Pope the Boss. Not some direct line to God. Read your history. If he is the heir of Peter, well, I don't remember any stories from the Bible about Peter wearing ermine and satin. Is this what comes of having a Pope that served in the Hitler Youth? Cassock and jackboots? Will the flock enter the confessional only to hear from the other side of the screen "Ve haf vays of makink you talk!"?
So in an age of growing ecumenical behavior the Pope decides to put the rest of the world in its place. "We can talk and cooperate with other branches of Christianity, as long as they know we are the real church, not them." This from the head of a denomination that has made up so much of its theology and practices it makes one dizzy. It's about power and control, which is what the heads of the Hebrew church were about when Jesus was around. He came to bust up that system; up with compassion and down with rules. Then once he was gone here comes another uber-structured power-hungry hierarchy and most of his message got lost.
Hey Benedict, if God is up there he's up there for everyone, and he doesn't give a shit about your pointy hat.
Nice job Pope. Way to focus on things that matter. Gonna take your ball and go home?
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSL1048495520070710/
Utter nonsense. What next, is he going to announce a crusade? I can't wait for the excommunicatons to start. Benedict has put organized religion back five hundred years.
He can say "oh yeah, we're the descendents of the apostle Peter" all he wants, but the truth is that the Patriarch of Rome won a power struggle between the heads of the five original patriarchates; Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. That was what made the Pope the Boss. Not some direct line to God. Read your history. If he is the heir of Peter, well, I don't remember any stories from the Bible about Peter wearing ermine and satin. Is this what comes of having a Pope that served in the Hitler Youth? Cassock and jackboots? Will the flock enter the confessional only to hear from the other side of the screen "Ve haf vays of makink you talk!"?
So in an age of growing ecumenical behavior the Pope decides to put the rest of the world in its place. "We can talk and cooperate with other branches of Christianity, as long as they know we are the real church, not them." This from the head of a denomination that has made up so much of its theology and practices it makes one dizzy. It's about power and control, which is what the heads of the Hebrew church were about when Jesus was around. He came to bust up that system; up with compassion and down with rules. Then once he was gone here comes another uber-structured power-hungry hierarchy and most of his message got lost.
Hey Benedict, if God is up there he's up there for everyone, and he doesn't give a shit about your pointy hat.
Nice job Pope. Way to focus on things that matter. Gonna take your ball and go home?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
First Things First
So here I go, jumping on the blog bandwagon like a hundred million other self-important peons eager for a venue. Why am I doing this? Lots of reasons I guess, writing practice, making myself think, like that. Mostly though I am sick to death of being the nice guy who doesn't argue and who's politically correct and doesn't put himself forward. Well, here I'm not going to apologize for anything I write and anyone who doesn't like it can piss off. Go read somebody else's. I didn't do it for you anyway. Therapy. I already know I'm full of more anxieties than six volumes of Charlie Brown comics and that medication and counselling only go so far. I know how flawed I am and how fucked-up I am. I know I'll never be rich or famous or live up to my potential. It won't matter if I live another sixty years it will feel like six weeks and then the lights go out. So I'm going to take it out on the world via the blogosphere and any one out there can read it or not.
So. What can the reader expect from me? Mostly off the cuff commentary sometimes about stuff I like (books, f'r instance), probably much more about stuff I can't stand (George W. "The Organ Grinder's Monkey" Bush). Possibly some verse. Maybe some book reviews. Existential ranting. We'll just have to see. Whatever it will be I own it. It's me and nobody else and I will say what I want to say. In this tiny little kingdom, mine is the power and the glory, even if its not forever.
So. What can the reader expect from me? Mostly off the cuff commentary sometimes about stuff I like (books, f'r instance), probably much more about stuff I can't stand (George W. "The Organ Grinder's Monkey" Bush). Possibly some verse. Maybe some book reviews. Existential ranting. We'll just have to see. Whatever it will be I own it. It's me and nobody else and I will say what I want to say. In this tiny little kingdom, mine is the power and the glory, even if its not forever.
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