12.01.2008
Flaming Tusk photo op
FT buddy Andrew Lynch dropped by the house yesterday to take some Flaming Tusk band photos for our upcoming profile on metal-rules.com. I fiddled with a color treatment on one of my favorites, with the following result:
10.30.2008
W.
Last night as we were on our way out of the theater following a screening of W., my ladyfriend and I were asked to record an interview with a Swedish radio journalist regarding our feelings on both the movie and the actual man. Since I've apparently represented the entirety of America on the Swedish airwaves, I suppose it's appropriate now to spout my feelings to the rest of the world.
When I first became aware of the existence of W., my reaction was that it's simply far too easy to take two-plus hours' worth of shots at our still-President. How, I thought, could a comedy about a self-parody really be all that interesting? It wasn't until much later that I learned the movie had been directed by Oliver Stone, and while I'm by no means a fan of all, or possibly even most, of Stone's films I was was intrigued enough to put W. on the "will see" list.
I think it's not giving too much away to say that the movie charts the course of George W. Bush's life from his induction into a frat at Yale until just before the 2004 presidential campaign (also, the boat sinks!). Structurally, it intercuts his distant past with more recent past in an attempt to evoke resonances between events in Bush II's first term and his troubled history.
To use a term of technical film criticism jargon, my reaction to the movie was more or less 'meh'. I do give credit to Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser for attempting to draw Bush as a semi-real character rather than a pure caricature. What they could not overcome was the fact that George W. Bush simply isn't a very interesting man.
So Bush is an alcoholic, privileged rich boy who's had everything handed to him his whole life and suffers from extreme Daddy Issues? Gee, that's fresh and compelling. And how do you draw an audience into the inner life of a guy who pretty clearly lacks one? The closest we get is visualization of Bush's "happy place": being all alone on the field at the empty Texas Rangers stadium.
Far too many scenes build to, essentially, punchlines consisting of well-known Bushisms with which we are all too familiar. There's an overall lack of drama stemming from the audience's foreknowledge of every single event that's going to happen. This, of course, is an issue with any biopic or historical fiction, but what one generally hopes for is interesting characters and an evocation of the tension those characters felt during the events in question. In W., the Grand Events are generally dispensed with via stock (and/or artfully altered) news footage after which we are treated to dramatizations of conversations had by the Big Players Involved. Maybe the revelation of Dick Cheney's grand worldview of American Empire is supposed to be shocking but, really, how can it be at this stage?
Speaking of said players, I must give credit for both best performance and most interesting characterization in W. to Jeffrey Wright for his portrayal of Gen. Colin Powell. Making Powell the sympathetic character in the Bush administration was most likely a gimme for Stone and Co., but it does work. Conversely, Thandie Newton's Condoleezza Rice is simply a silly cartoon. Elizabeth Banks's Laura Bush is boring as hell, but then again so is Laura Bush. Richard Dreyfuss is excellent as Dick Cheney and deserves praise for a relatively subtle performance given his source material.
Swedish Radio wanted my opinion on how W. was likely to affect the Bush legacy. I told them that Bush's legacy was written long before this film, and that even without it Bush will be remembered at best as a President who not only failed in everything he attempted to do (unless the plan was to create a state of perpetual war and chaos, which is entirely likely), but diminished the power and stature of the United States to such a degree that American hegemony over world affairs is likely over forever.
If that latter point is true perhaps I should be grateful to W.
When I first became aware of the existence of W., my reaction was that it's simply far too easy to take two-plus hours' worth of shots at our still-President. How, I thought, could a comedy about a self-parody really be all that interesting? It wasn't until much later that I learned the movie had been directed by Oliver Stone, and while I'm by no means a fan of all, or possibly even most, of Stone's films I was was intrigued enough to put W. on the "will see" list.
I think it's not giving too much away to say that the movie charts the course of George W. Bush's life from his induction into a frat at Yale until just before the 2004 presidential campaign (also, the boat sinks!). Structurally, it intercuts his distant past with more recent past in an attempt to evoke resonances between events in Bush II's first term and his troubled history.
To use a term of technical film criticism jargon, my reaction to the movie was more or less 'meh'. I do give credit to Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser for attempting to draw Bush as a semi-real character rather than a pure caricature. What they could not overcome was the fact that George W. Bush simply isn't a very interesting man.
So Bush is an alcoholic, privileged rich boy who's had everything handed to him his whole life and suffers from extreme Daddy Issues? Gee, that's fresh and compelling. And how do you draw an audience into the inner life of a guy who pretty clearly lacks one? The closest we get is visualization of Bush's "happy place": being all alone on the field at the empty Texas Rangers stadium.
Far too many scenes build to, essentially, punchlines consisting of well-known Bushisms with which we are all too familiar. There's an overall lack of drama stemming from the audience's foreknowledge of every single event that's going to happen. This, of course, is an issue with any biopic or historical fiction, but what one generally hopes for is interesting characters and an evocation of the tension those characters felt during the events in question. In W., the Grand Events are generally dispensed with via stock (and/or artfully altered) news footage after which we are treated to dramatizations of conversations had by the Big Players Involved. Maybe the revelation of Dick Cheney's grand worldview of American Empire is supposed to be shocking but, really, how can it be at this stage?
Speaking of said players, I must give credit for both best performance and most interesting characterization in W. to Jeffrey Wright for his portrayal of Gen. Colin Powell. Making Powell the sympathetic character in the Bush administration was most likely a gimme for Stone and Co., but it does work. Conversely, Thandie Newton's Condoleezza Rice is simply a silly cartoon. Elizabeth Banks's Laura Bush is boring as hell, but then again so is Laura Bush. Richard Dreyfuss is excellent as Dick Cheney and deserves praise for a relatively subtle performance given his source material.
Swedish Radio wanted my opinion on how W. was likely to affect the Bush legacy. I told them that Bush's legacy was written long before this film, and that even without it Bush will be remembered at best as a President who not only failed in everything he attempted to do (unless the plan was to create a state of perpetual war and chaos, which is entirely likely), but diminished the power and stature of the United States to such a degree that American hegemony over world affairs is likely over forever.
If that latter point is true perhaps I should be grateful to W.
10.24.2008
criticism!
No musical thing I've ever been involved with has been reviewed before. Before now, that is.
Venerable metal blog Chronicles Of Chaos has written up Flaming Tusk's Abigail EP in their Demos department. Read the review.
Venerable metal blog Chronicles Of Chaos has written up Flaming Tusk's Abigail EP in their Demos department. Read the review.
10.20.2008
regarding Sarah Palin
A longtime reader (hi, Dad!) wrote me to express his surprise that I hadn't written anything about Sarah Palin in this space. Perhaps I've been attempting to ignore her so as not to feed the troll.
I would write Sarah Palin off as a cartoon, a self-parody and a caricature if it weren't for two things: the success of her demagoguery and the insult to women she embodies.
The former is, of course, the reason she was brought onto the McCain ticket. In addition to transparently and cynically attempting to attract disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters, McCain's campaign realized that Palin was perfectly cast to play well to white suburbanites and rustics suffering from Authoritarian Personality. She's somebody they can "relate to" who is "like them". While McCain had to attempt to appeal to the majority of Americans, Palin was tasked with currying the favor of reactionaries, racists, medieval-minded Christianists, jingoists and homophobes. Her affected "golly-goshdarnit" aspect puts an apple-cheeked mask on the grinning demon of insinuation, hissing at us to wonder "who Barack Obama really is". Let's not forget that the base she is pandering to isn't merely the bedrock of a political party, but the lowest and meanest parts of human nature.
Her candidacy is an insult to American women, particularly those who've devoted their lives to achieving some kind of political parity with men. However, it's not merely the fact that she was chosen specifically because she is a woman which causes offense, or the attempted manipulation of the female electorate evidenced by her selection. Rather, it is the particular stereotype of femininity she chooses to adopt as her public persona.
It's popular to characterize Sarah Palin as stupid. I find it difficult to believe that anyone can achieve political success, especially on the national stage, by being staggeringly unintelligent. Even George W. Bush, who is by no means an intellectual, clearly has a type of fratboyish social smarts. However, it is clear that Palin is more than happy to appear, accurately or otherwise, like a rampaging airhead. Proudly oblivious of key foreign policy ("what's the Bush Doctrine?"), unable to name credible news publications that she reads to inform herself, inability to speak in public without clumsily relying on GOP talking points... the list continues to grow. She epitomizes two of the most contemptible aspects of modern right-wing politics: the populist appeal of total ignorance ("hey, she's an idiot like me! I really relate to that!"), and the denial of responsibility via rejection of reality as evidenced by her reaction so far to Troopergate.
As an aside, this may be brilliant positioning for her role as Vice President, since under Cheney it has become clear that the new purpose for the VP office is to manage all the outrageously illegal activities that the White House cares to undertake. The Republicans, via Alberto Gonzales and many others, have clearly demonstrated their belief that public expressions of abject incompetence are a viable legal defense against charges of criminality. Perhaps by installing as Vice President a woman who goes out of her way to cultivate an aura of ditziness the nascent McCain administration is merely taking the next logical step to cover the ass of the Imperial Presidency.
In sum, the women of the United States have been offered as their political champion a picture perfect cliché of the subservient, ignorant, photogenic Conservative Woman. Her politics, of course, are also essentially anti-woman, what with her refusal to recognize that the decisions to carry her daughter's pregnancy to term and to essentially force her daughter into a loveless marriage with the mullethead who knocked Bristol up are choices. Palin's antique religious philosophy doesn't do her gender any favors, either. I shudder to think of the impact her election may have on a generation of American girls, and that's sad. Her elevation to office should be a cause for celebration, and it would be if her place was taken by any number of other, vastly more qualified women.
For me the possible election of a McCain/Palin ticket smacks far too heavily of a dystopian sci-fi novel in which the President dies in office to be replaced by a moronic religious zealot who decides that launching all our nukes at Canada is exactly what Jesus wants.
Remember, everbody: turnout, turnout, turnout. Go vote.
I would write Sarah Palin off as a cartoon, a self-parody and a caricature if it weren't for two things: the success of her demagoguery and the insult to women she embodies.
The former is, of course, the reason she was brought onto the McCain ticket. In addition to transparently and cynically attempting to attract disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters, McCain's campaign realized that Palin was perfectly cast to play well to white suburbanites and rustics suffering from Authoritarian Personality. She's somebody they can "relate to" who is "like them". While McCain had to attempt to appeal to the majority of Americans, Palin was tasked with currying the favor of reactionaries, racists, medieval-minded Christianists, jingoists and homophobes. Her affected "golly-goshdarnit" aspect puts an apple-cheeked mask on the grinning demon of insinuation, hissing at us to wonder "who Barack Obama really is". Let's not forget that the base she is pandering to isn't merely the bedrock of a political party, but the lowest and meanest parts of human nature.
Her candidacy is an insult to American women, particularly those who've devoted their lives to achieving some kind of political parity with men. However, it's not merely the fact that she was chosen specifically because she is a woman which causes offense, or the attempted manipulation of the female electorate evidenced by her selection. Rather, it is the particular stereotype of femininity she chooses to adopt as her public persona.
It's popular to characterize Sarah Palin as stupid. I find it difficult to believe that anyone can achieve political success, especially on the national stage, by being staggeringly unintelligent. Even George W. Bush, who is by no means an intellectual, clearly has a type of fratboyish social smarts. However, it is clear that Palin is more than happy to appear, accurately or otherwise, like a rampaging airhead. Proudly oblivious of key foreign policy ("what's the Bush Doctrine?"), unable to name credible news publications that she reads to inform herself, inability to speak in public without clumsily relying on GOP talking points... the list continues to grow. She epitomizes two of the most contemptible aspects of modern right-wing politics: the populist appeal of total ignorance ("hey, she's an idiot like me! I really relate to that!"), and the denial of responsibility via rejection of reality as evidenced by her reaction so far to Troopergate.
As an aside, this may be brilliant positioning for her role as Vice President, since under Cheney it has become clear that the new purpose for the VP office is to manage all the outrageously illegal activities that the White House cares to undertake. The Republicans, via Alberto Gonzales and many others, have clearly demonstrated their belief that public expressions of abject incompetence are a viable legal defense against charges of criminality. Perhaps by installing as Vice President a woman who goes out of her way to cultivate an aura of ditziness the nascent McCain administration is merely taking the next logical step to cover the ass of the Imperial Presidency.
In sum, the women of the United States have been offered as their political champion a picture perfect cliché of the subservient, ignorant, photogenic Conservative Woman. Her politics, of course, are also essentially anti-woman, what with her refusal to recognize that the decisions to carry her daughter's pregnancy to term and to essentially force her daughter into a loveless marriage with the mullethead who knocked Bristol up are choices. Palin's antique religious philosophy doesn't do her gender any favors, either. I shudder to think of the impact her election may have on a generation of American girls, and that's sad. Her elevation to office should be a cause for celebration, and it would be if her place was taken by any number of other, vastly more qualified women.
For me the possible election of a McCain/Palin ticket smacks far too heavily of a dystopian sci-fi novel in which the President dies in office to be replaced by a moronic religious zealot who decides that launching all our nukes at Canada is exactly what Jesus wants.
Remember, everbody: turnout, turnout, turnout. Go vote.
10.16.2008
WARNING: EXTREMELY BRUTAL
People of the world.
NYC extreme metal band Flaming Tusk has just released their first EP, Abigail, onto an unsuspecting world.
To download it for free, in pretty much every possible digital format, visit flamingtusk.com and click on Music, or visit our bandcamp.mu page, or use this handy embedded player:
TOTALLY NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MELTED FACES
NYC extreme metal band Flaming Tusk has just released their first EP, Abigail, onto an unsuspecting world.
To download it for free, in pretty much every possible digital format, visit flamingtusk.com and click on Music, or visit our bandcamp.mu page, or use this handy embedded player:
10.09.2008
title imminent
The Flaming Tusk demo has been promoted to the Flaming Tusk EP. Title TBA.
Add flamingtusk.com to your RSS feed reader, or just, y'know, keep checking back.
Plus I'm sure I'll announce it here.
Hail.
Add flamingtusk.com to your RSS feed reader, or just, y'know, keep checking back.
Plus I'm sure I'll announce it here.
Hail.
9.25.2008
you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
People are flipping the hell out about the Canon EOS 5D MKII and the fact that, in addition to stills, it shoots 1080 HD digital video as well. A primary culprit in the hype about this functionality seems to be Vincent Laforet and this blog post of his.
Now, I do not disagree that the 5D MKII is most likely a very nice camera, and furthermore I think the 1080 video capture feature is pretty cool. What it most certainly is not, however, is a game-changer in the professional cinematography world.
Vincent claims, or at least repeats claims, in that blog post that the 5D MKII shoots "full resolution 1080p RAW footage". This is wildly inaccurate, as a brief glance at the official specs sheet makes plain. To quote:
Movie Type: MOV (Video: H.264...)
H.264 compression is not at all RAW. Not even close. It is, in fact, quite highly (if nicely) compressed*. So let's not dupe people into thinking that they're getting RAW HD video footage from this camera.
Vincent also quotes an unnamed "top commercial film editor who regularly edits RED camera footage" as saying that the 5D MKII's low-light performance is “far superior to the RED camera”. From the test footage that I've seen, this is impossible to say. It is clear that the 5D MKII applies a quite strong gamma curve to the image (and other color processing), rolling the shadows off into oblivion. Granted, this is a very common procedure in video post (crushing contrast), but the fact that the 5D MKII is doing so in-camera makes it impossible to tell how noisy the shadow areas actually are. Applying permanent gamma curves in-camera is also by no means a hallmark of RAW footage. If you actually look at RAW 2K, 3K or 4K footage (from, say, the RED One camera) you'll notice that it actually looks rather desaturated and has fairly flat contrast... until you apply your own color and gamma curves. This, friends, is the point of RAW video capture: to give you maximum possible pixels and minimum pre-processing of the image so you have a beautifully pixel-rich canvas on which to work your color grading magic in post-production.
As another nitpick to set against the claim that this camera will somehow be widely adopted for professional (or even pro-am) cinematography is the fact that you are limited to a 30fps framerate. No 24 or 25 fps capture? No varispeed for fast or slow motion? Good luck interesting most cinematographers.
Also, while Canon-compatible still lenses are very nice I seriously doubt you're going to find any cinematographer who's itching to stop using the huge variety of extant PL-mount cinematography lenses made by Cooke, Angenieux and others.
In summary, while the 5D MKII seems to be an excellent DSLR the 1080p video capture feature is likely to be used as nothing more than a nice added-value functionality for stills photographers and photojournalists. I find it highly improbable that it will find any significant adoption in the cinematography world. And please, let's not continue to make wild claims about RAW 1080 video capture.
*What sets "raw" apart from "not raw" image capture isn't so much lack of compression (even though that's what I seized upon in the post above), it's whether or not the image has been "demosaiced" (or, if you prefer, de-Bayered) into an RGB image. AFAIK there's no way to generate an H.264 file that isn't RGB or YUV, meaning that the image must have been de-Bayered at some point and is therefore no longer "raw".
Now, I do not disagree that the 5D MKII is most likely a very nice camera, and furthermore I think the 1080 video capture feature is pretty cool. What it most certainly is not, however, is a game-changer in the professional cinematography world.
Vincent claims, or at least repeats claims, in that blog post that the 5D MKII shoots "full resolution 1080p RAW footage". This is wildly inaccurate, as a brief glance at the official specs sheet makes plain. To quote:
Movie Type: MOV (Video: H.264...)
H.264 compression is not at all RAW. Not even close. It is, in fact, quite highly (if nicely) compressed*. So let's not dupe people into thinking that they're getting RAW HD video footage from this camera.
Vincent also quotes an unnamed "top commercial film editor who regularly edits RED camera footage" as saying that the 5D MKII's low-light performance is “far superior to the RED camera”. From the test footage that I've seen, this is impossible to say. It is clear that the 5D MKII applies a quite strong gamma curve to the image (and other color processing), rolling the shadows off into oblivion. Granted, this is a very common procedure in video post (crushing contrast), but the fact that the 5D MKII is doing so in-camera makes it impossible to tell how noisy the shadow areas actually are. Applying permanent gamma curves in-camera is also by no means a hallmark of RAW footage. If you actually look at RAW 2K, 3K or 4K footage (from, say, the RED One camera) you'll notice that it actually looks rather desaturated and has fairly flat contrast... until you apply your own color and gamma curves. This, friends, is the point of RAW video capture: to give you maximum possible pixels and minimum pre-processing of the image so you have a beautifully pixel-rich canvas on which to work your color grading magic in post-production.
As another nitpick to set against the claim that this camera will somehow be widely adopted for professional (or even pro-am) cinematography is the fact that you are limited to a 30fps framerate. No 24 or 25 fps capture? No varispeed for fast or slow motion? Good luck interesting most cinematographers.
Also, while Canon-compatible still lenses are very nice I seriously doubt you're going to find any cinematographer who's itching to stop using the huge variety of extant PL-mount cinematography lenses made by Cooke, Angenieux and others.
In summary, while the 5D MKII seems to be an excellent DSLR the 1080p video capture feature is likely to be used as nothing more than a nice added-value functionality for stills photographers and photojournalists. I find it highly improbable that it will find any significant adoption in the cinematography world. And please, let's not continue to make wild claims about RAW 1080 video capture.
*What sets "raw" apart from "not raw" image capture isn't so much lack of compression (even though that's what I seized upon in the post above), it's whether or not the image has been "demosaiced" (or, if you prefer, de-Bayered) into an RGB image. AFAIK there's no way to generate an H.264 file that isn't RGB or YUV, meaning that the image must have been de-Bayered at some point and is therefore no longer "raw".
9.22.2008
whew.
Good lord, a lot of mail piles up when you aren't paying attention to anything but work for three weeks. I guess that means there's still a world out there.
As Good As Dead was a pretty great experience overall, and it feels good to be done with working on my first feature film as a crew member. My hope that taking on a freelance job as a RED tech would allow me to meet some good people and move closer to my ultimate career goals was pretty well validated, fortunately. If I'm very lucky I might get to have some small hand in the post process for the movie but even if I don't I did impress quite a few folks with my editing and made some excellent contacts.
We had the wrap party at swanky meatpacking district club Tenjune, which was nifty even if the open bar only lasted two hours, and I had the pleasure of indtroducing my special ladyfriend to Cary Elwes. Good stuff, good stuff.
Seize Them! appears to have landed a monthly residency at Tribeca nightspot Uncle Mike's, which we're all quite excited about. Our first show of the series is this Saturday, 9/27, at 10:15PM. Come on by if you're in the area.
Flaming Tusk has begun recording our "2008 Demo", as we're calling it. Looks like we're going to have five songs ready to go in a couple of weeks. The goal is to book a debut show for Halloween night. If all else fails we'll just throw our own party, of course.
As Good As Dead was a pretty great experience overall, and it feels good to be done with working on my first feature film as a crew member. My hope that taking on a freelance job as a RED tech would allow me to meet some good people and move closer to my ultimate career goals was pretty well validated, fortunately. If I'm very lucky I might get to have some small hand in the post process for the movie but even if I don't I did impress quite a few folks with my editing and made some excellent contacts.
We had the wrap party at swanky meatpacking district club Tenjune, which was nifty even if the open bar only lasted two hours, and I had the pleasure of indtroducing my special ladyfriend to Cary Elwes. Good stuff, good stuff.
Seize Them! appears to have landed a monthly residency at Tribeca nightspot Uncle Mike's, which we're all quite excited about. Our first show of the series is this Saturday, 9/27, at 10:15PM. Come on by if you're in the area.
Flaming Tusk has begun recording our "2008 Demo", as we're calling it. Looks like we're going to have five songs ready to go in a couple of weeks. The goal is to book a debut show for Halloween night. If all else fails we'll just throw our own party, of course.
9.08.2008
imaginemerunningbywhileshoutingthis
Hoo boy, so much going on.
I am writing from the set of the in-progress indie thriller feature film As Good As Dead, on which I am performing the services of a RED camera technician. Basically this means that I try to keep the cameras running (they're using two), and I back up all the footage from the cameras and deliver it to the post facility the production is using. It's been pretty fun so far, if tiring, and it's cool to get to work with Cary Elwes, Andie MacDowell, Frank Whaley, Matt Dallas and Jess Weixler.
They're still in search of an editor, which is a bit painful for me. When the producer dropped by the room where I was working to announce to the production staff that an ad needed to be placed so they could find an "experienced editor" I turned around and said "well, there's me!". Sadly, my lack of feature credits precludes me from consideration (for now, anyway) despite having quickly thrown together an edit of part of a scene that was praised highly by several producers and inspired the director to say to me "that's really good! You're a good editor. Want to cut the movie?". The director, sadly, does not have a lot of clout on this particular picture. Still, I'm trying to be a good sport about it and I hold out some small hope because the production is having a tremendously difficult time finding an editor with the necessary experience who will work for the amount of money they're offering. We shall see.
Band stuff is going pretty well. Seize Them! has a show coming up on 9/27 at Uncle Mike's in Manhattan, and Flaming Tusk is in preparations to play our debut show on Halloween.
Congratulations and kudos to my friend, author Chris Krovatin (better known to his bandmates as Stolas Trephinator), on the release of his latest novel, Venomous. Pick it up if you're into dark YA fiction. I'll begin reading my personalized copy right after I finish White Noise.
I am writing from the set of the in-progress indie thriller feature film As Good As Dead, on which I am performing the services of a RED camera technician. Basically this means that I try to keep the cameras running (they're using two), and I back up all the footage from the cameras and deliver it to the post facility the production is using. It's been pretty fun so far, if tiring, and it's cool to get to work with Cary Elwes, Andie MacDowell, Frank Whaley, Matt Dallas and Jess Weixler.
They're still in search of an editor, which is a bit painful for me. When the producer dropped by the room where I was working to announce to the production staff that an ad needed to be placed so they could find an "experienced editor" I turned around and said "well, there's me!". Sadly, my lack of feature credits precludes me from consideration (for now, anyway) despite having quickly thrown together an edit of part of a scene that was praised highly by several producers and inspired the director to say to me "that's really good! You're a good editor. Want to cut the movie?". The director, sadly, does not have a lot of clout on this particular picture. Still, I'm trying to be a good sport about it and I hold out some small hope because the production is having a tremendously difficult time finding an editor with the necessary experience who will work for the amount of money they're offering. We shall see.
Band stuff is going pretty well. Seize Them! has a show coming up on 9/27 at Uncle Mike's in Manhattan, and Flaming Tusk is in preparations to play our debut show on Halloween.
Congratulations and kudos to my friend, author Chris Krovatin (better known to his bandmates as Stolas Trephinator), on the release of his latest novel, Venomous. Pick it up if you're into dark YA fiction. I'll begin reading my personalized copy right after I finish White Noise.
8.01.2008
the truest freedom is having no rights at all, I guess
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Hey, guess who officially doesn't have any 4th Amendment protection anymore? You, citizen, if you're crossing the border into the United States.
The Washington Post has revealed that it is Department of Homeland Security policy that their border agents may seize, "absent individualized suspicion", "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.'"
Additionally, the DHS reserves the right to "share copies of [the data] with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons". Also, they can hold on to your belongings as long as they desire... most likely just enough time to grab all those nude photos you took of your girlfriend during your vacation to the French Riviera that you thought you'd so cleverly stashed in that hidden directory.
All joking aside, though, this is unbelievably outrageous. Having your laptop (or, remember, "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,") seized indefinitely to be scoured, copied, shared and sifted for any hint of wrongdoing (or wrongthinking, one must assume) "absent individualized suspicion" is not only the definition of unreasonable search and seizure, it is blatant tyranny.
Have a nice trip, citizen.
Hey, guess who officially doesn't have any 4th Amendment protection anymore? You, citizen, if you're crossing the border into the United States.
The Washington Post has revealed that it is Department of Homeland Security policy that their border agents may seize, "absent individualized suspicion", "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.'"
Additionally, the DHS reserves the right to "share copies of [the data] with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons". Also, they can hold on to your belongings as long as they desire... most likely just enough time to grab all those nude photos you took of your girlfriend during your vacation to the French Riviera that you thought you'd so cleverly stashed in that hidden directory.
All joking aside, though, this is unbelievably outrageous. Having your laptop (or, remember, "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,") seized indefinitely to be scoured, copied, shared and sifted for any hint of wrongdoing (or wrongthinking, one must assume) "absent individualized suspicion" is not only the definition of unreasonable search and seizure, it is blatant tyranny.
Have a nice trip, citizen.
7.23.2008
developments
Many things are happening.
Firstly, I've made the transition from full-time employee to freelancer and I think I'm going to be much happier. I expect to get a fair amount of editing work through the company I previously worked for full-time, and I'm free to seek out other work elsewhere. What made all of this possible was an opportunity (thanks be to DJ Porkcube) to work with OffHollywood Digital as an on-set technician for the RED Digital Cinema cameras they rent out to major productions. I'm really looking forward to that... I love being on a film set full of professionals working at the top of their game, and no one can deny that I like playing with expensive, hi-tech toys. So, ideally, I'll be able to pick up a couple of days of work each week being a RED pimp and a couple of other days of editing work, which will leave me with ample time to work on things for my bands Seize Them! and Flaming Tusk (no website just yet, folks).
Secondly, huge congratulations to my friends in Boston-area band The Luxury for winning a slot as an opening act for Coldplay's August 4th show in Boston. The show is sold out, but if you happen to be going give The Luxury some love and t-shirt dollars. They gathered enough votes in the WFNX-sponsored contest to land them in the top three, which meant they'd get presented to Coldplay as a potential opener, and then Coldplay chose them. Good on ya, guys.
Thirdly, plans have been made to fly to Columbus, Ohio next month to continue shooting the Everything, Kansas documentary. We've had a few setbacks with some of our interview subjects going through some major life upheavals, but the project moves forward. Also, I'll be up in Boston this weekend to attend Christa Terry's party for the release of her book iDo: Planning Your Wedding With Nothing But 'Net and to shoot some followup footage with her and her husband Tedd.
Fourthwise, Seize Them! will be playing the world famous Knitting Factory New York on August 15th, quite late in the evening. We're very excited about this and anyone who can get to the city should definitely come on out. Details are available at the seizethem.com Gig Calendar.
Firstly, I've made the transition from full-time employee to freelancer and I think I'm going to be much happier. I expect to get a fair amount of editing work through the company I previously worked for full-time, and I'm free to seek out other work elsewhere. What made all of this possible was an opportunity (thanks be to DJ Porkcube) to work with OffHollywood Digital as an on-set technician for the RED Digital Cinema cameras they rent out to major productions. I'm really looking forward to that... I love being on a film set full of professionals working at the top of their game, and no one can deny that I like playing with expensive, hi-tech toys. So, ideally, I'll be able to pick up a couple of days of work each week being a RED pimp and a couple of other days of editing work, which will leave me with ample time to work on things for my bands Seize Them! and Flaming Tusk (no website just yet, folks).
Secondly, huge congratulations to my friends in Boston-area band The Luxury for winning a slot as an opening act for Coldplay's August 4th show in Boston. The show is sold out, but if you happen to be going give The Luxury some love and t-shirt dollars. They gathered enough votes in the WFNX-sponsored contest to land them in the top three, which meant they'd get presented to Coldplay as a potential opener, and then Coldplay chose them. Good on ya, guys.
Thirdly, plans have been made to fly to Columbus, Ohio next month to continue shooting the Everything, Kansas documentary. We've had a few setbacks with some of our interview subjects going through some major life upheavals, but the project moves forward. Also, I'll be up in Boston this weekend to attend Christa Terry's party for the release of her book iDo: Planning Your Wedding With Nothing But 'Net and to shoot some followup footage with her and her husband Tedd.
Fourthwise, Seize Them! will be playing the world famous Knitting Factory New York on August 15th, quite late in the evening. We're very excited about this and anyone who can get to the city should definitely come on out. Details are available at the seizethem.com Gig Calendar.
7.04.2008
this is what the world is for, making electricity
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do?
get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?
If we must define the Anthem of the Summer as The Song I Can't Stop Listening To, then I'm declaring for MGMT's "Time To Pretend".
In perhaps the only way fitting for a summer brainworm, Time To Pretend seems to be the sole really worthwhile track on MGMT's album, Oracular Spectacular, but let's not be curmudgeons in the face of joy. "Electric Feel" is pretty damned good, too. "Time To Pretend" hits me right in the heartbone with what are, let's face it, gimme lyrics tuned specifically to my particular species of rootless suburban refugee. A wink and a nod to ya, boys... your alchemist knew what she was doing when you two went into the retort.
get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?
If we must define the Anthem of the Summer as The Song I Can't Stop Listening To, then I'm declaring for MGMT's "Time To Pretend".
In perhaps the only way fitting for a summer brainworm, Time To Pretend seems to be the sole really worthwhile track on MGMT's album, Oracular Spectacular, but let's not be curmudgeons in the face of joy. "Electric Feel" is pretty damned good, too. "Time To Pretend" hits me right in the heartbone with what are, let's face it, gimme lyrics tuned specifically to my particular species of rootless suburban refugee. A wink and a nod to ya, boys... your alchemist knew what she was doing when you two went into the retort.
6.27.2008
DETHKLOK CONCERT-TYPE THEATRICAL HYBRID EVENT
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.
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
and Amazon.com's MP3 store.
Cleoporchcat:
Drinking Song:
Ramble Tamble:
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
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.
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.
5.21.2008
make me famous, using democracy
Seize Them! has entered yet another contest, this time with the intent of landing a slot at this year's Lollapalooza festival. Unlike the Ourstage thing I mentioned previously, you can actually go vote for us directly by following this link.
Vote early, vote often (once per day per email address... personally I've got four or five addresses to use), in the grand Chicago tradition. The number one band right now has 1020 votes after three days of vote casting, while we've got somewhere around 40, so as you can see we have a way to go.
Any and all voting is greatly appreciated.
Vote early, vote often (once per day per email address... personally I've got four or five addresses to use), in the grand Chicago tradition. The number one band right now has 1020 votes after three days of vote casting, while we've got somewhere around 40, so as you can see we have a way to go.
Any and all voting is greatly appreciated.
5.07.2008
5.05.2008
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