6.27.2008

DETHKLOK CONCERT-TYPE THEATRICAL HYBRID EVENT

DethGene and DethBrendon
Dethklok, playing the Nokia Theater in Manhattan on 6/25/08

It was my first time at the Nokia Theater (where, yes, they display phones on the walls and have a "charging station" for your "handheld"), and I realized that the last time I'd been in that space was back when it was the Astor movie theater... I'm pretty sure I saw the re-release of 2001 there a few years ago.

My crew of folks, like many others in attendance, chose to skip the opening act. Dethklok went on around 10PM. Seeing full-length animated music videos for each song was pretty cool ("Murmaider" being a standout), though I wish overall I had a better view of the real, physical band. The photo above was taken during the encore, "Hatredy", which was dedicated to George Carlin and for which they had no animation and turned up the stage lights.

It's hard to think of the Dethklok show as a totally legit concert, but it was certainly an event, and I had a really good time. I've had a bit of a heterosexual man crush on Brendon Small for quite some time, having been a big Home Movies fan, and it was very cool for me to see him up there rocking out.

The performances of the songs were more or less note-perfect to the recordings on Dethalbum, which is, I suppose, what one would expect and many would desire. I'm always left a touch cold by rote performances, but when you have to sync your rocking to pre-recorded video well enough so that your singing matches your cartoon counterpart's lips, I guess there's nothing to be done other than slave yourself to a click track. Then again, drummer Gene Hoglan is known as "the atomic clock" so maybe I'm off the mark here.

One minus point was the sponsorship by some videogame called "Bad Company". As a mark of how old I am, when I saw the banner for it out by the merch area I briefly assumed it was an advertisement for a new Bad Company album, so it was significantly less hilarious to me to discover its true nature. Really, at any other rock show I'd be pretty offended by being advertised to with a pre-show video clip, but considering Dethklok's source as an ad-supported television show I kinda let it slide.

Soon enough, Dethklok will be opening for Flaming Tusk.

6.10.2008

thank you, Rep. Kucinich

Well, my deadline for Impeachment by the Ides has well passed. However, I was very pleased to hear this morning that Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced a "Notification of Intent to Offer Resolution" of articles of impeachment against president George W. Bush. I assume he felt that the timing was appropriate, what with the long-awaited publication of Phase II of the Senate Intelligence Committee Reports on Prewar Iraq Intelligence (short version: surprise! The Administration lied about everything everyone's been saying they were lying about all along. Whee!)

Now, I'm not terribly well versed in Congressional protocol but my assumption is that the Resolution has not technically been presented for consideration by anyone. However, the entire text was read into the Congressional Record. The entire text can be found here, in .pdf form, but rather than reproduce it in its entirety below I will, rather, include the Article headings which go a long way to telling the whole story of why it is vital that Bush be removed from office.

There's little likelihood of all thirty-five articles making it into any final impeachment, and several of the Articles, while certainly scathing damnations of Bush and his Administration, are probably not appropriate for impeachment (at least, on their own), but it is a fairly complete litany of the Administration's more proveable crimes. The order of presentation is somewhat questionable as well, but this is niggling. I've highlighted my personal favorites in bold:

Resolved, That President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

ARTICLE I.—CREATING A SECRET PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN TO MANUFACTURE A FALSE CASE FOR WAR AGAINST IRAQ

ARTICLE II.—FALSELY, SYSTEMATICALLY, AND WITH CRIMINAL INTENT CONFLATING THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 WITH MISREPRESENTATION OF IRAQ AS AN IMMINENT SECURITY THREAT AS PART OF A FRAUDULENT JUSTIFICATION FOR A WAR OF AGGRESSION

ARTICLE III.—MISLEADING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO BELIEVE IRAQ POSSESSED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, SO AS TO MANUFACTURE A FALSE CASE FOR WAR

ARTICLE IV.—MISLEADING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO BELIEVE IRAQ POSED AN IMMINENT THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES

ARTICLE V.—ILLEGALLY MISSPENDING FUNDS TO SECRETLY BEGIN A WAR OF AGGRESSION

ARTICLE VI.—INVADING IRAQ IN VIOLATION OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF H.J. RES. 114

ARTICLE VII.—INVADING IRAQ ABSENT A DECLARATION OF WAR

ARTICLE VIII.—INVADING IRAQ, A SOVEREIGN NATION, IN VIOLATION OF THE UN CHARTER AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

ARTICLE IX.—FAILING TO PROVIDE TROOPS WITH BODY ARMOR AND VEHICLE ARMOR

ARTICLE X.—FALSIFYING ACCOUNTS OF U.S. TROOP DEATHS AND INJURIES FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES

ARTICLE XI.—ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT U.S. MILITARY BASES IN IRAQ

ARTICLE XII.—INITIATING A WAR AGAINST IRAQ FOR CONTROL OF THAT NATION’S NATURAL RESOURCES

ARTICLE XIII.—CREATING A SECRET TASK FORCE TO DEVELOP ENERGY AND MILITARY POLICIES WITH RESPECT TO IRAQ AND OTHER COUNTRIES

ARTICLE XIV.—MISPRISION OF A FELONY, MISUSE AND EXPOSURE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN THE MATTER OF VALERIE PLAME WILSON, CLANDESTINE AGENT OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

ARTICLE XV.—PROVIDING IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION FOR CRIMINAL CONTRACTORS IN IRAQ

ARTICLE XVI.—RECKLESS MISSPENDING AND WASTE OF US TAX DOLLARS IN CONNECTION WITH IRAQ CONTRACTORS

ARTICLE XVII.—ILLEGAL DETENTION: DETAINING INDEFINITELY AND WITHOUT CHARGE PERSONS BOTH U.S. CITIZENS AND FOREIGN CAPTIVES

ARTICLE XVIII.—TORTURE: SECRETLY AUTHORIZING, AND ENCOURAGING THE USE OF TORTURE AGAINST CAPTIVES IN AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, AND OTHER PLACES, AS A MATTER OF OFFICIAL POLICY

ARTICLE XIX.—RENDITION: KIDNAPPING PEOPLE AND TAKING THEM AGAINST THEIR WILL TO ‘‘BLACK SITES’’ LOCATED IN OTHER NATIONS, INCLUDING NATIONS KNOWN TO PRACTICE TORTURE

ARTICLE XX.—IMPRISONING CHILDREN

ARTICLE XXI.—MISLEADING CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ABOUT THREATS FROM IRAN, AND SUPPORTING TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN IRAN, WITH THE GOAL OF OVERTHROWING THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT

ARTICLE XXII—CREATING SECRET LAWS

ARTICLE XXIII—VIOLATION OF THE POSSE COMITATUS ACT

ARTICLE XXIV.—SPYING ON AMERICAN CITIZENS, WITHOUT A COURT-ORDERED WARRANT, IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW AND THE FOURTH AMENDMENT

ARTICLE XXV.—DIRECTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES TO CREATE AN ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL DATABASE OF THE PRIVATE TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND EMAILS
OF AMERICAN CITIZENS
(ed. note: I have a feeling 'numbers' will be edited to read 'calls' in the final draft)

ARTICLE XXVI.—ANNOUNCING THE INTENT TO VIOLATE LAWS WITH SIGNING STATEMENTS, AND VIOLATING THOSE LAWS

ARTICLE XXVII.—FAILING TO COMPLY WITH CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS AND INSTRUCTING FORMER EMPLOYEES NOT TO COMPLY

ARTICLE XXVIII.—TAMPERING WITH FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS, CORRUPTION OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

ARTICLE XXIX.—CONSPIRACY TO VIOLATE THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

ARTICLE XXX.—MISLEADING CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO DESTROY MEDICARE

ARTICLE XXXI.—KATRINA: FAILURE TO PLAN FOR THE PREDICTED DISASTER OF HURRICANE KATRINA, FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A CIVIL EMERGENCY

ARTICLE XXXII.—MISLEADING CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, SYSTEMATICALLY UNDERMINING EFFORTS TO ADDRESS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

ARTICLE XXXIII.—REPEATEDLY IGNORED AND FAILED TO RESPOND TO HIGH LEVEL INTELLIGENCE WARNINGS OF PLANNED TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE US, PRIOR TO 911

ARTICLE XXXIV.—OBSTRUCTION OF INVESTIGATION INTO THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

ARTICLE XXXV.—ENDANGERING THE HEALTH OF 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS

I suppose putting the issues related to the Iraq War first satisfy the "if it bleeds, it leads" dictum of public relations, but personally I think the strongest arguments for impeachment lie further down, in discussion of secret laws, extralegal imprisonment, etc.

Remember: the importance of impeachment is not in the satisfaction of punishing a Very Bad Boy, it's the official, public repudiation of the anticonstitutional actions of the current Administration and the intent to make sure the Executive Branch of the United States Government cannot continue on this course.

6.06.2008

ST! video now on YouTube

Well goll-lee, I guess we're a real live band now that we've got video on Teh YourTurbs.

Enjoy these clips from our record release show at Don Hill's on 4.25.08. Remember, you can download the whole show for free from seizethem.com. And, of course, our EP is still available on collectible, digipaked CD and via the iTunes Music Store Seize Them! - Seize Them! - EP and Amazon.com's MP3 store.

Cleoporchcat:




Drinking Song:




Ramble Tamble:


6.04.2008

Barack Obama For President

My sincere congratulations to Barack Obama for securing the probable Democratic nomination for the presidency. This morning I made my first-ever monetary contribution to a presidential campaign by donating here, and I strongly suggest you do the same. Obama has been able to come this far primarily with funding generated by small donors, and that needs to continue.

We, as a nation, now have the opportunity to elect this man and, thereby, indicate to the rest of the world that we're willing to join them in the 21st century as responsible global citizens. My great hope is that what can loosely be called "my generation", those of us 18-35 or so, will continue to rally behind Obama. It's our future we're deciding here, and if we want to get any kind of a decent start undoing the horror created by our predecessors it begins with this election.