Video of the Day

"Ba ba ba ba ba" by The Mr. T Experience

Video of the Day: Live II

"Bikeage" by Face to Face (Descendents' cover)

Video of the Day: Live

"Coolidge" (with a hint of AC/DC) by Descendents

Cashing-In on Christ

Last weekend my family and I took a trip to Mardels in search of the new Veggie Tales DVD (and yes I see the total irony of the situation). While there we browsed the kids section for a good 30 minutes before leaving (I was also looking to see if they had an extended edition version of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, but it seems that such a thing doesn’t exist). During said browsing I noticed a few different types of Bible action figures. The one that really struck me was an action figure of Jesus with an accompanying set of the cave in which he was buried. I was so stunned by the thing that I literally had to pull my wife over and show it to her.

Now I have never been a fan of things like Christian t-shirts or any other marketed display of Christianity. It has nothing at all to do with the religion because I would find Buddhist or Jewish things of this nature just as crass and offensive. I see the t-shirt that proclaims “His pain is your gain” with a graphic depiction of a nail being driven into a hand to be vastly different than a cross that someone might wear as a necklace. One is a simple expression of faith and the other is an in-your-face expression of superiority (at least that is how I have always interpreted them; I highly doubt that is what the people wearing them are thinking though).

As I’m standing in this Christian book store, I began to wonder how much of this stuff being sold as “Christian” stuff was being produced by those who are devout or if they were being produced by those who found an easy market to make money in. Think about it…the Bible and everyone/thing in it are not protected by copyrights. All of this stuff is public domain, so that means that anyone can make a shirt, slap the name of Jesus or God on it and say “hey I made a Christian product” and not worry about copyright infringement or having to pay anyone royalties, etc. On top of that, what makes office supplies “Christian” office supplies? How are they really any different from the stuff that you can buy at Staples, Office Depot, Target, or Wal-Mart?

Despite all of my questions and semi-ill feelings, I still patronize Mardels from time to time because they really do have the best selection of Veggie Tales stuff around and we just love those talking vegetables and fruits. Oh what a tangled web we weave.

Powell on Gates

Finally someone is making some sense of this mess. This is yet another reason why I like Colin Powell. Gotta love sensibility…too bad it is in short order these days.

Department of Justice is Mad at Oklahoma?

I’m not really a fan of this English only stuff, but this story makes we want to vote for it just to spite the Attorney General.

That all having been said though, it does go to show that this issue is a bit more complicated than people might have realized.

Currently Listening – The Donnas Edition

I just found out that The Donnas are releasing a greatest hits CD, so in honor of this release I’m doing an all Donnas edition of Currently Listening.

1. “Save Me” (from Bitchin’)
2. “Rock & Roll Machine” (from American Teenage Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine)
3. “Hey, I’m Gonna Be Your Girl” (from The Donnas)
4. “Drivin’ Thru My Heart” (Turn 21)
5. “Hot Boxin’” (from Get Skintight)
6. “Pass It Around” (from Spend the Night)
7. “Checkin’ It Out” (from American Teenage Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine)
8. “40 Boys in 40 Nights” (from Turn 21)
9. “Take It Off” (from Spend the Night)
10. “Get Rid of That Girl” (from The Donnas)

My Stances on the Major Issues

I thought that this would be a fun little exercise to lay out exactly where I stand on many of the major issues of the day. I’ve been working on this for a couple of days and it’s a pretty long list, but I’m sure that I’m missing some issues. If there are any big ones that I’ve forgotten, please let me know and I’ll work on a sequel post.

Issue: Abortion
Stance: Pro-choice
Reason: Abortions are horrible things and should be prevented, but the ultimate decision on the matter belongs to the pregnant woman (and the man potential father) and not the government. I do however support the ban on late-term abortions. If the baby is developed enough to survive outside of the womb (which is usually the case in the third trimester), and the mother no longer wants to continue the pregnancy, the baby should be born and given up for adoption.

Issue: Health Care Reform
Stance: Opposes government run health care and/or single payer systems
Reason: This issue is not my forte. What I do know is that the current system is broken and needs to be reformed. What I also know is that the government should not be the one in control of the health care system. Should the government provide better regulations? Sure. Should the government examine the insurance and malpractice laws? Absolutely. Should the government take over the system? No.

Issue: Gay Marriage
Stance: Supports gay marriage and/or civil unions
Reason: This is an equality under the law issue to me. Personally I believe that the 14th Amendment already provides legal precedent to support gay marriage. I would prefer that the government get out of the marriage business all together and just provide civil unions, leaving “marriages” to religious institutions. Since I doubt that is going to happen and the war over the word marriage is going to rage on (needlessly) I’ll settle for civil unions that provide exactly the same legal protections/responsibilities for homosexual couples that marriages provide for straight couples.

Issue: Gun Control
Stance: Believes that gun ownership is protected by the 2nd Amendment
Reason: I do not like guns but the simple fact is, gun control laws do nothing to prevent criminals from obtaining guns. I am perfectly fine with background checks and waiting periods but at this point there are more than enough laws on the books to cover gun control issues.

Issue: Separation of Church and State
Stance: Supports complete, but reasonable, separation
Reason: This issue is harder to lay out in a quick paragraph than the others to this point.
1) Prayer in school – Teachers and/or faculty should not lead prayers in class in public schools. Moments of silence are fine.
2) Religious clubs in public schools – As long as all religions have the opportunity to start clubs (like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes) then they are fine. But if any one religion is given preference, then all religious clubs must be banned.
3) Monuments to the Ten Commandments – Monuments (for lack of a better term) that have been in/on a court house, legislature building, etc. for years should be left alone. New monuments should be discouraged if not outright banned unless they include other legal historical references (like the Code of Hammurabi, English common law, etc.).
4) “In God We Trust” – The Supreme Court has ruled that “In God We Trust” does not violate the establishment clause of the Constitution since the term has been repeated to the point of being nearly meaningless. Also, “God” is a universal term that does not specify one religion over another.

Issue: Military
Stance: Supports a strong and smart military
Reason: This is a blanket issue that I will try to specify a bit more below.
1) War in Iraq – I support the war in Iraq and have since Bush was in office. At this point I think that we (the US government and military) have a moral obligation to the people of Iraq to not leave them in a worse position than we found them. Before we invaded, they lived under a authoritarian dictator, but the people knew how to play the game and survive. If we leave before things are properly secure and a viable government is in control, then we will be leaving them in chaos and for the average Iraqi on the street, that is not a better situation than it had been under Saddam.
2) War on Terror – The war on terror may need to be reevaluated. In the long run we must win over the hearts and minds on the Islamic world and our current strategy may not be the best way to do it. What the better strategy would be, I’m not sure, but it would be worth looking into.
3) Military Pay and Benefits – Our soldiers deserve the highest pay and best benefits possible. Our veterans, especially those who have seen combat, deserve health care coverage for life and a good pension. That’s the least that we can do for those who have risked their lives for us.

Issue: Environment
Stance: Supports initiatives to clean and protect our environment
Reason: This is another blanket issue.
1) Global Warming / Climate Change – We don’t know enough about the long-term weather patterns of our planet to say for certain that human activity is causing global warming/climate change. That having been said, we should and must do everything possible to keep our planet clean, cut back on and stop pollution, protect wild life and endangered species, etc.
2) Clean Energy – We need to move away from the use of fossil fuels for a multitude of reasons (the two biggest being their limited supply and our national security). There are ways to harvest the energy of the wind and the sun that would produce little to no pollution versus the current fossil fuel systems. Nuclear is also a viable, temporary, option. Until we develop better methods to fuel our vehicles (solar and wind power would work great for power grids but not cars), we must increase our own oil production and refinement to get us through the growing pains of changing to the newer, cleaner forms of energy.
3) Recycling – We should provide recycling options for the citizenry (via either curb-side or drop off locations), but recycling should not be mandated by the government.

Issue: Welfare
Stance: Supports continuing welfare programs
Reason: I believe that one of the government’s core functions is to provide a safety net for the citizenry. One way of doing that is a welfare program. This program should not be a way of life but instead a hand up to help those through the really rough times. Those in the program must be required to work (either at some kind of job or through community service) to get benefits.

Issue: Social Security
Stance: Undecided
Reason: Social Security is in trouble, that is a fact. I have heard good arguments for and against privatizing the program. In general I like the idea of privatizing some of Social Security but not all of it. How that would actually work, I have no idea…hence the undecided.

Issue: Taxes
Stance: Supports a simplified tax system
Reason: Our tax code is a mess. We need a simplified system that helps people keep more of their money. The best solutions would wither be the Fair Tax or a progressive flat tax (in which those who make under $50,000 a year pay no taxes but get no refunds and the absolute highest percentage paid by anyone would be 20-25%).

Issue: Term Limits
Stance: Supports term limits for members of the US Senate and House of Representatives
Reason: Too many fools have made life long careers in politics and Washington, DC. The have lived so long in the capital that they have completely lost touch with the American people. At the most those in office should be limited to three terms in the Senate (total of 18 years) and 8 terms in the House (total of 16 years), but I would be completely fine with limiting it to two terms in the Senate and five or six terms in the House.

Issue: Campaign Finance
Stance: Supports public financing of all elections
Reason: Not to be crass or harsh, but our elected officials are whores. They spend more time whoring themselves and their votes out to donors than they do actually doing the job that we have hired and are paying them to do. The best way that I can think to solve this is to completely take money out of the equation. TV stations would have to provide air time for candidates (paid for by the governments election funds) negating the need to buy spots (seeing as the TV stations rent the airwaves from the public anyway, this is only fitting IMHO). The tiny details would need to be hammered out, but the basics would be that candidates are provided with funds to run their campaigns. The funds would be a finite amount that they would have to manage. Other groups could still organize and run campaigns on specific issues or against specific candidates, but they could not financially support any one candidate.

Issue: Constitutional Amendment Banning Flag Burning
Stance: Opposes
Reason: It may be crass, stupid, and disrespectful but burning the flag is a form of protest and thus is protected by the 1st Amendment. Besides if someone is dumb enough to buy a flag and light it on fire, as long as it doesn’t burn or damage anyone else’s property, then more power to them.

Issue: Drugs
Stance: Supports decriminalization, if not outright legalization of drugs
Reason: Drug abuse is a medical issue and prohibition has failed miserably. It didn’t work with alcohol and it hasn’t worked with drugs. Legalize it, tax it, and treat it like the medical issue that it is. The price will go down and the crime involved will go away.

The Birth Cert. Issue

I have stayed away from the Obama birth certificate issue because it honestly sounded like whacked-out paranoia, bigotry, and hatred to me. For some reason the issue just will not go away. I finally read a story on the matter, this one, and I thought it laid things out pretty well. This issue is one that really needs to just go away (Bill O’Reilly thinks that it is “bogus”), but the most sure fire way to make that happen is for the President to provide his birth certificate and prove that he was born in Hawaii. Sadly, even if that does happen, many who believe in the conspiracy theory will not change their minds.

Currently Reading

At the moment I’m working on two books. Hopefully I will finish both.


Title: The Buried Book (Amazon, Encyclopedia.com)
Author: David Damrosch (LibraryThing.com, PEN American Center)
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, LLC (Official, Macmillan)

The tag line on the cover of this book is what caught my eye – “The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh” – and so far the book had been worth the trip to the library (even though I found this book on accident, but isn’t that often how you find the best things in the library?).

The Epic of Gilgamesh (Wikipedia, AncientTexts.org), possibly the first epic ever written, comes from ancient Mesopotamia and is believed that it “originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh.” The epic survived and flourished through the various Mesopotamian societies/empires (the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians) until it eventually disappeared for nearly 3,000 years before being rediscovered in the 1800s and it is this part of the epic’s history that The Buried Book covers. The epic was hugely influential on everyone from the Hebrews to the Greeks to the Syrians. In fact the story of Noah found in the Bible, directly parallels the story of Utnapishtim as told in the epic.

I first read the story of Gilgamesh in mythology class at OCCC. Like other classic hero tales from antiquity, it is a fun read and it also has greatly influenced our societies and that is what fascinates me the most.




Title: Death’s Daughter (Amazon, Penguin Group)
Author: Amber Benson (Official Blog, Wikipedia, The Essence of Amber)
Publisher: Ace Books (Official, Wikipedia)

Amber Benson will probably always be known as Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (heck that’s how I know who she is), but that seems to be only a small part of this talented young lady’s career. I heard of Death’s Daughter when Benson was on the NPR/PRI show Here and Now during her book tour. What caught my ear about the book was that she described it as a classic hero tale ala Joseph Campbell, but with a female character as the hero.
The book starts with Calliope Reaper-Jones (our hero) who is working in some office job in NYC. She hopes to break into the big-time fashion/publishing world but so far is stuck in a rut. Some strange things start to happen and then she remembers (thanks to some fancy food magic) that she is Death’s daughter. Right after retrieving her memories, she learns that daddy dearest has been kidnapped.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the book, but so far it is enjoyable, even if the hero is a bit of a self centered brat.

Just When You Thought TV Had Completely Run Out of Ideas…

Two words – Pet Court.

What will they think of next?

Top 10 Fantasy Films

Fantasy, science fiction, and horror often get lumped together into a big uber-genre by book and video retailers. And while I understand why it is done, it often gives the impression that these three distinct genres are actually one genre. It is true that these genres often overlap and the lines become very blurred, but what sets apart the fantasy from the science fiction and horror is magic. At its core, fantasy is the modern extension of mythology and folklore. It is the hero’s tale that Joseph Campbell wrote about and I think that is one of the reasons why I am so drawn to it.

Now I am not expert on the subject, but someday I hope to be. So here is what I think of as the Top 10 Fantasy Films/Series.

10. The Dark Crystal
9. The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy
8. Pan’s Labyrinth
7. The Chronicles of Narnia series
6. The Princess Bride
5. The Harry Potter series
4. Highlander
3. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. The Wizard of Oz
1. The Star Wars trilogy*

Honorable Mentions –
Groundhog Day
Clash of the Titans

Other Fantasy Film Lists –
ING: Top 25 Fantasy Movies of All-Time
IMDB: Top Rated “Fantasy” Titles
Top 10 Classic Fantasy Movies of the 1980s
Top 10 Fantasy Movies

* Note – I am referring to the original Star Wars trilogy only.

Bill Raid Interviews Dave Smalley (DYS, Dag Nasty, ALL, Down By Law)

Bill Raid has posted a great interview with punk rock legend Dave Smalley. Smalley is someone who I admire greatly and would love to interview myself someday.

Quote of the Day

As living beings we can never know whether or not God exists. Any statements of certainty on either side strikes me as hubris. But to each his own.

-- A reader of The Daily Dish

Nazi Gnomes?

I’m not kidding.

Creepy Kids

Here is a list of the 15 Creepiest Kids in Movies as compiled by the folks at Inside Movies Blog.

Currently Listening

1. “Closer” by Hagfish (from Hagfish)
2. “A Praise Chorus” by Jimmy Eat World (from Bleed American)
3. “Suddenly Cool” by The Methadones (from Not Economically Viable)
4. “Scary Eyes” by The Pavers (from Local 1500)
5. “Look Me Up” by The Riverdales (from Phase Three)
6. “Don’t Look Back” by The Truents (from Cheap Shots and Low Blows, Vol. 1: The TKO Singles 1997-1998)
7. “Escape Velocity” by Sicko (from More Bounce to the Ounce Disc 1)
8. “Busy” by Jawbreaker (from Unfun)
9. “Stuck with Me” by Green Day (from Insomniac)
10. “Looking Back on Today” by The Ataris (from So Long Astoria)

Calling a Spade a Spade

There was a time in which I enjoyed reading the blog Talk To Action. I mostly enjoyed it because it was probably the first blog about religion that I had come across. I even posted on the site from time to time, but stopped when I got an email from one of the webmasters stating that my posts were not what this site was looking for. See apparently the entire purpose of this website is to “talk about the religious right” (and by talk they mean attack). So I stopped going to the site on a regular basis but would poke my head in every once and a while, and I still got email updates from the site, but I rarely read them.

Today I looked at one of said emails and it honestly made me sick. It wasn’t the content specifically, but the fact that it was so incredibly derogatory and hateful, all in the name of tolerance and fairness. What a joke. There is no difference between what these people are doing versus what those they disagree with are doing. Both sides are using religion to pursue and promote their own goals. The people at this site are polemics who hide under the label of academia. Now not everyone involved in this site are raging conservative damning polemics, but those who aren’t are often hard to find in the deluge of the rest of the bunch.

If you are looking for the latest set of left wing religious propaganda…I mean opinion, then Talk To Action is the place for you. If you are looking for genuine discussion of religious issues, then you best keep on trucking because this place TTA will surely disappoint.

And the List Grows

I seem to have a habit of making “enemies” out of follow local (and formerly local) bloggers. I can now safely count four bloggers that I used to be able to interact with that now pretty much cannot stand me (or at least completely rip me a new one if I make the mistake of popping my head up in their neck of the woods). Two of them are ultra-liberals and two of them are hard-line conservatives. I guess that I have a talent for spreading the anti-love. *sigh*

Everything in Moderation

Just about everyone has heard the old adage “everything in moderation.” It makes sense that having one beer is okay, but having 20 is a bad idea. It makes sense that eating a couple of Oreos is okay, but eating the entire box…not so much. And so on. I think that it is safe to say that most would agree to its wisdom, except where it comes to politics.

One of the things that stringent liberals and conservatives have in common (aside from often being blindly arrogant polemics) is their disdain for moderates. On the left, liberal blogs rip into “Blue Dog” Democrats like Dan Boren like a lion tearing into a gazelle. On the right, talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh speak of their hatred of the “mushy moderates.” Moderates are accused of having no principles, riding the fence, following the polls, etc., etc., etc. In some cases, these are valid critiques but I think painting all moderates with such a wide brush is just silly and intellectually dishonest. There are people who truly agree with Democrats on some issues and Republicans on others. There are also others who are conservative or liberal, but not hardliners about it. They may agree with much of the core values and principles but think that those on the fringes are loony.

So my question is why are moderates in politics so despised? If we can all agree that moderation is a good thing, why is it a bad thing in governance?

More Books for My Library

I’ve found some more books that I’ve just got to have someday or my library. If anyone is trying to decide on what to get me for Christmas this year…

Fingerprints of God by Barbara Bradley Hagerty (Amazon)

The Evolution of God by Robert Wright (Amazon, Official)

The Buried Book by David Damrosch (Amazon)

The last book is one that I picked up yesterday at the library and have just started to peak into. It is the story of the loss and rediscovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh. So far it is utterly fascinating.

Religion a Parasite & Rational “New Atheists”?

There have been a lot of interesting posts lately on the topic of religion over on Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish (so many that it is hard to keep up with). Sullivan himself seems to be on vacation, so the blog is being manned by a handful of other folks at the moment. One in particular, Robert Wright, has written two quiet interesting posts – Are the “New Atheists” Really Rational? and Is Religion a Great Big Parasite?.

From the story (from the “New Atheists” post; emphasis mine) –

I agree that the “new atheists” see their mission as advancing reason. But I think this self-conception can abet self-delusion, making it easier for them to be blind to their own lapses of reason.

[…]

What explains this lapse of reason on the part of the champions of reason? I’d guess that their vision is being warped by adversarial instincts—by their their sense of opposition to religious people, or at least to religious beliefs. Human beings naturally, without even thinking about it, cast their enemies in unflattering light, and “virus” is certainly an unflattering label.

This human tendency to view enemies through a biased lens points to another flaw in the thinking of the “new atheists”—their belief that when religious people display seemingly irrational intolerance or hatred, the root of the problem is religion. No, the root of this irrationality is the same as the root of Dawkins’ and Dennett’s irrational deployment of the term “virus”. When you view people or ideas as your adversaries—view them in zero-sum terms—your unconscious mind does the rest of the work, making you conceive them and depict them in less flattering terms than is objectively warranted. That perception brings out the worst in religion and always has. It doesn’t exactly bring out the best in science, either.

Money Quote (from the Parasire post) –

As I said, sometimes the effects of religion are positive and sometimes they’re negative. My point was that when Dan Dennett and Richard Dawkins use the term “virus” to describe religious belief generically, they’re implying that all the effects are bad; the popular connotation of “virus,” after all, is “parasitic.”

I think that Mr. Wright has made some excellent and fair-minded points in these posts. But honestly I’m just scratching the surface with these since there are a slew of them on this topic lately at the Dish and they are hard to keep up with (I have a few saved in my email to go back to later).

The more that I read Wright’s work, the more I like what I see, I’m especially interested in checking out his book The Evolution of God. And to top it all off, the man is from Oklahoma (Lawton to be exact). You can read more about Mr. Wright here.

The “Most Trusted” Newsman in America is a Comedian?

According to this story, the results of a recent online poll of 9,000 people by Time magazine showed that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show is the “best source for trustworthy news.” Stewart received 44% of the vote while Brian Williams of NBC News received 29%, Charlie Gibson of ABC News received 19%, and Katie Couric received 7%.

Online polls are obviously unscientific, but it is still sad and telling that we have such little faith in our news organizations that people feel they can trust a comedian more than a newscaster.

The linked story also includes its own version of the poll. So far in that poll Stewart is in first place, Bill O’Reilly is in second, Williams in third, Glenn Beck in fourth, and Gibson in fifth (oh and Couric is still last).

How is Our Money Being Spent?

You don’t want to know.

Walking the Walk May Do All the Talking For You

According to this story, the way you walk says a lot about you as a person or at least as an employee. I’m not sure that I totally buy the claims, but it’s an interesting list nonetheless. Depending on the day, I could be any number of these but generally I fall into the “Eyes Down,” “Slumped Over Shoulders,” “Slow Walker,” and “Always Behind the Group.” Apparently none of these leave a good impression to some employers. Just my luck. *sigh*

Gotta Love Canadian TV

PunkNews.org is reporting that the CBC and comedian Mary Walsh are working on a pilot for a new punk themed sitcom called Rise Up.

From the story –

The show will feature Walsh as aging punk rocker Siouxie Power, who moves her family from small-town Newfoundland to an upscale Toronto neighborhood after winning the lottery. The character of her former husband (and presumably bandmate) has the stage name of Spook Sparks.

The Canadians have it all…Bob and Doug McKenzie, Degrassi, The Kids in the Hall, and now this! Hopefully we'll get the show on DVD sometime soon. It sounds like a riot.

Are You an Aspiring Fantasy or Science Fiction Writer?

Tor Books and SciFi magazine are doing a world wide search for the next great fantasy / sci-fi author in their War of the Words contest. Those entering the contest must have a full length novel ready to go (80-150K words long), and cannot have anything previously published with a trade publisher (self publishing is okay though). You can get the full list of rules and regulations here.

Thanks to A Dribble of Ink for the find.

Finally Something to Look Forward to from Weezer

Weezer is getting ready to release their seventh album, but honestly who cares about that. Here’s the really amazing news – the band is preparing a deluxe edition reissue of their album Pinkerton!

I also found this bit interesting –

Now, look. If you haven't been paying attention, youve got to check this out: The Rentals have released a great new EP: "Chapter Two It's Time To Come Home", the second installment of their 'Songs About Time' album. The Rentals are helmed by Matt Sharp, original (1992-1998) bass player for Weezer, and they are half way thru an extraordinary year long recording journey, where every day is documented, every week a short film is made, and 4 times a year the fruits of their recording labors are posted for listening/purchase, till the album is completed and released as a wicked box set. Is anyone else in music doing this? I think not. You really need to do yourself a favor and check out the music, films and photos over on TheRentals.com. Ive been really digging it myself, as are a lot of people who have taken a minute to
discover whats going on there.

The last I heard, things were really bad between Matt Sharp and his former band mates. Maybe they have put all of that mess behind them. Personally I think that Weezer without Matt Sharp isn’t really Weezer.

Thanks to PunkNews.org for the find.

Is NYC Ready for the Naked Cowboy…in Office?

Well, he’s running for Mayor.

Worried That You’re Going to Get the Ax?

Check out the 9 Signs You’re About to Get Fired.

I’m # 6. BIG TIME!

Currently Listening

1. “Step Back and Let’s Go Pop” by The Figgs (from Low-Fi at Society High)
2. “Hey Jealously” by The Gin Blossoms (from Outside Looking In: The Best of The Gin Blossoms)
3. “C’mon” by Go Betty Go (from Worst Enemy)
4. “What a Wonderful World” by Joey Ramone (from Don’t Worry About Me)
5. “International Pop Overthrow” by Material Issue (from 20th Century Masters-The Millennium Collection: The Best of Material Issue)
6. “Already Gone” by The Methadones (from This Won’t Hurt)
7. “Rosie” by The Smugglers (from Rosie)
8. “We Got Something” by Tinted Windows (from Tinted Windows)
9. “Hold Me” by Weezer (from Make Believe)
10. “Away She Went” by ALL (from Everything Sucks Demos)
11. “Surrender” by Cheap Trick (from Heaven Tonight)
12. “Half of You” Wakeland (from Magnetic)
13. “Casemaker” by Sinkhole (from Punk USA)
14. “Moaner” by Hagfish (from The Blasting Room)
15. “I Let It Go” by The Thermals (from Now We Can See)

10 Questions with Jesse Smith of the Roustabouts and The Flood

I first saw the Roustabouts when they opened up for the Hudson Falcons and The GC5 (along with The Doozers) at the Music Dimensions location on N. Western. That night I was blown away by all four bands, but mostly by the Roustabouts. Their music was high energy and they could play like nobodies business. Since that night, I’ve been a huge fan. When they finally released an album I was not only thrilled to have a Roustabouts CD but I was completely blown away with what I heard. The Roustabouts’ one and only album, The Only One, is by far my favorite album released by an Oklahoma based artist and one of my favorite records on all time. Since that time Jesse has played in the bands Skyline Picture Show, The Condition, The Great Midwest, and currently he plays in The Flood. In my humble opinion, Jesse is the best drummer in Oklahoma (the next would be the guy who played drums in Mr. Crispy…I think he’s in The All-American Rejects now, but I could be wrong on that last part) and probably the best drummer in punk rock next to Bill Stevenson (ALL, Descendents, Only Crime). But better than all of that, Jesse is a super cool, nice, and humble guy.

This interview was conducted via email in June-July 2009.

Find out more about Jesse’s bands – Roustabouts, The Flood, Skyline Picture Show, The Condition, The Great Midwest

Dave: What is the status of the Roustabouts reunion? How has it been playing with those guys again?

Jesse Smith: We just play shows on our own terms at the moment. Playing once or twice a year really makes it special when we do get together and play. We have way better turnouts at our shows too when we don't play every other weekend. Playing with those guys is always amazing. It's like we never stopped playing together. We all just click so well together. So I would say we're on a permanent hiatus as apposed to broken up.

Dave: Speaking of the Roustabouts… Do you think that the band suffered from the stigma and/or label of being an oi/street punk band? Granted this label never fit (even when your music had a stronger oi/street punk influence and you did those great Sham 69 and Clash covers), but I think it was attached to the band more because of the bands that you played with then your own music. If fact, when listening to the Roustabouts music one can easily hear a variety of influences; this is especially evident in your album The Only One (which is my one of my favorite albums of all time and by far, my favorite release by an Oklahoma based band) which I see as a perfect mix between pop punk, oi/street punk, and post-hardcore, with a hint of emo (and by emo I mean the Fugazi / Hot Water Music type of emo).

Jesse: Yeah we got tagged as a street punk band quite a bit. We used it and it got us a lot of great shows and I think we had a universal sound that lots of different people from different genres could enjoy. We covered classic punk rock songs that went over very well with the street punk crowd as well. We released "The Only One" on Haunted Town Records which was primarily a street punk label and played with lots of other street punk bands so the label kinda stuck with us. After touring in support of the album we started writing new material that was a little more complicated musically. We used new chord structures and minor chords and even had some different time signatures. If you listed to the 3rd song "Find Your Own Way" on "The Only One" you can hear the beginning of this sound. A lot of people didn't like these new things. I think that is a downfall of the "street punk" genre. Most of the people that listen to that style of music have a very narrow acceptance of music. Anything that is outside of their box is "emo" or just something that they want no part of. We tried reaching a new audience but the band was on it's way to the end.

Dave: Over the years, the sound of the Roustabouts definitely evolved. How did the band and your music grow over the years? Was the change intentional or did it just happen?

Jesse: We were all still in high school when we started the band. So of course our music and style was going to change a bit. We were all very very young and still kids pretty much. I think the fact of us growing up personally had a lot to do with our songs and writing changing and maturing. I can remember having to sit outside so many clubs across the the U.S. on our first tours because I wasn't old enough to be in the bar. We grew up and all started getting into different music. So it naturally made it's way into our music.

Dave: After the Roustabouts broke up, you played in Skyline Picture Show. What happened with that band?

Jesse: We were around for a couple years. We were very heavily influenced by '90s and grunge music. Our singer/guitarist Nick moved to Los Angeles so we were forced to call it quits. We only played a hand full of shows.

Dave: Currently you are playing in The Flood and you’ve recently also played in The Condition and The Great Midwest. What’s the history of those bands? Why did The Condition and The Great Midwest break up? Any plans for a CD with The Flood?

Jesse: I actually joined The Flood when their original guitarist left the band. Daniel who was in the Roustabouts with me plays guitar in The Flood and I've known all those guys for years so they asked me to join when they had a opening. It's my first band playing guitar in but I love it. The Condition was formed right after the Roustabouts first split up. Pretty much same story as The Flood. I joined after their bassist left. We actually played several Roustabouts songs and re-wrote some of the final Roustabouts songs that never got finished. We haven't played together in a while, kinda on a hiatus. I played drums in the very short lived The Great Midwest. I was in 3 bands at the time and decided that was too much and I left the band. They decided not to keep going without me I guess. The Flood just released a 5 song EP and 10" vinyl! It is available at all of our shows.

Dave: Who have been your favorite bands to play with over the years? What have been your favorite places (cities and local venues) to play in?

Jesse: The Roustabouts always will be my favorite band to ever be in. We were together for eight years and it was basically my first band. I seen the whole U.S. and got to record and release and great album with those guys. I have so many great memories as a result of that band and will cherish that forever. The Flood would have to come second. I'm having a great time with those guys and it's a totally new style of music for me. It's a good excuse for me to play guitar more as well which was what originally got me into playing music. I think locally my favorite place to play now is VZDs. My all time favorite play in OKC in the old Green Door which is now The Conservatory. My favorite places we've ever played across the country would have to be Seattle, WA; Conway, AR; Rapid City, SD; San Diego, CA; Kansas City, MO & Wichita, KS. I can't remember most of the names of the venues so I'll just leave it at the cities.

Dave: How many different instruments do you play? Which is your favorite?

Jesse: I just play drums, guitar and bass. I'm lucky enough to be good enough at all of them that I can play in bands playing three different instruments, not all at once of course. I don't think I favor any specific instrument. I think I'm the most talented at drums. I like playing the guitar though just because it's easy just to pick one up and start playing. You can't exactly pick up a drumset to play while you sit out on your front porch.

Dave: This is a High Fidelity inspired question. What are your Top 5 All Time Favorite bands/artists, albums, movies, books/authors, and TV shows?

Jesse: Top 5 Bands:
1. Foo Fighters
2. Nirvana
3. Hot Water Music
4. Dillinger Four
5. Social Distortion

Top 5 Albums:
1. Foo Fighters "The Colour And The Shape"
2. Nirvana "In Utero"
3. Foo Fighters "Self Titled"
4. Hot Water Music "A Flight And A Crash"
5. Nirvana "Nevermind"

Top 5 TV Shows:
1. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
2. Seinfeld
3. Metalocolypce
4. The Office
5. 30 Rock

Top 5 Movies:
1. Snatch
2. Fight Club
3. Billy Madison
4. Shaun Of The Dead
5. Office Space

Top 5 Books:
1. I
2. Don't
3. Ever
4. Read
5. Books

Dave: What’s up next for you? Besides from playing music, what else do you do?

Jesse: I for sure want to keep playing music. I recently started jamming with some new guys. It's pretty fast & heavy hardcore stuff. It's me and a few guys that were in DestroyerDestroyer so you could only imagine. Hopefully all goes well and we start playing some shows sooner than later. I for sure want to keep playing music. I know people always say finding drummers is hard, but I think being a good drummer finding good musicians to compliment you is just as hard. As far as things besides music goes, I'm really into building and restoring vintage BMX bikes from the '80s and '90s. I'd like to open a BMX/skate shop or something of that nature in the future. Most of my bikes will soon be on display and for sale at No Regrets Tattoo in OKC's Plaza District. I'm a huge basketball fan too and I also collect the original He-Man Masters Of The Universe action figures <-----Nerd....

Dave: Any final thoughts?

Jesse: Thanks Dave for all the support throughout the years.

I wish basketball season would hurry up.

What Isn’t Wrong with This Story?

Headline: Man Commits Suicide Over iPhone

From the story –

GUANGZHOU, China (July 22) - An employee at a factory that makes iPhones in China killed himself after a prototype went missing, and Apple Inc. responded Wednesday by saying its suppliers are required to treat workers with dignity and respect.

The dead worker, Sun Danyong, 25, worked in product communications at Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese firm that makes many Apple products at a massive factory in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.

[…]

There's tremendous pressure on employees dealing with Apple's new products to maintain a high-level secrecy over the gadgets, traditionally launched amid great suspense and a big marketing buzz. Apple is also a constant target of prying journalists, rabidly faithful customers and competitors who make great efforts to try to steal a peek at its latest technology.

Sun was responsible for sending iPhone prototypes to Apple, and on July 13 he reported that he was missing one of the 16 fourth-generation units in his possession, the newspaper reported. His friends said company security guards searched his apartment, detained him and beat him, the paper reported.

In the early morning of July 16, Sun umped from the 12th floor of his apartment building, the paper said.

Later in the story the security officials refute the claim of the beating, but do admit to confronting the man.

Is this where we have come to as a society? That a man would take his own life because of a lost prototype of a gaget that is sure to be over priced and something that we don’t really need. In an effort to keep prices low, American companies outsource labor to countries that do not have the protections for workers that we have here, saving in one breath that these companies are “required to treat workers with dignity and respect” yet allowing the kind of pressure, and lord knows what else, that would drive a man to suicide to be used.

I truly hope that this is a wake up call to everyone involved. There is sure to be plenty of blame to go around and it is just another example of how we as a society need to reexamine our values, wants, and needs. No one should ever be in this kind of position where suicide seems to be the best option, especially over something like a gaget.

Currently Listening

1. “Crazy” by ALL (from ALL)
2. “#10 (Wet)” by ALL (from Allroy Sez)
3. “Stick” by ALL (from Breaking Things)
4. “True Intentions” by Dead To Me (from Cuban Ballerina)
5. “Don’t’ Wanna” by Dead To Me (from Little Brother)
6. “Last of the American Girls” by Green Day (from 21st Century Breakdown)
7. “Stuart and the Ave.” by Green Day (from Insomnic)
8. “Lesbian Girl” by Hagfish (from Buick Men)
9. “Alien” by Hagfish (from Hagfish)
10. “Homesick” by The Riverdales (from Phase Three)
11. “Riverdale Stomp” by The Riverdales (from Storm the Streets)
12. “Fun Tonight” by The Riverdales (The Riverdales)

The So-So Sotomayor

That is the title if this Washington Post editorial by Richard Cohen. It wasn’t that title that caught my attention but the tag line blurb that followed – “She's smart, qualified -- and emblematic of the stale thinking of American liberalism.”

Here is a bit from the piece –

Don't get me wrong. She is fully qualified. She is smart and learned and experienced and, in case you have not heard, a Hispanic, female nominee, of whom there have not been any since the dawn of our fair republic. But she has no cause, unless it is not to make a mistake, and has no passion, unless it is not to show any, and lacks intellectual brilliance, unless it is disguised under a veil of soporific competence until she takes her seat on the court. We shall see.

In the meantime, Sotomayor will do, and will do very nicely, as a personification of what ails the American left. She is, as everyone has pointed out, in the mainstream of American liberalism, a stream both intellectually shallow and preoccupied with the past. We have a neat summary of it in the recent remarks of Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), who said he wanted a Supreme Court justice "who will continue to move the court forward in protecting . . . important civil rights." He cited the shooting of a gay youth, the gang rape of a lesbian and the murder of a black man -- in other words, violence based on homophobia and racism. Yes. But who nowadays disagrees?

What, though, about a jurist who can advance the larger cause of civil rights and at the same time protect individual rights? This was the dilemma raised by the New Haven firefighters' case. The legal mind who could have found a "liberal" way out of the thicket would deserve a Supreme Court seat. As an appellate judge, Sotomayor did not even attempt such an exercise. She punted.

[…]

Contrast her approach to this and other problems with what Antonin Scalia has done with issues close to his own heart. Where in all of Sotomayor's opinions, speeches and now testimony is there anything approaching Scalia's dissent in Morrison v. Olson, in which, alone, he not only found fault with the law creating special prosecutors but warned about how it would someday be abused? "Frequently an issue of this sort will come before the court clad, so to speak, in sheep's clothing," he wrote. "But this wolf comes as a wolf."

My admiration for Scalia is constrained by the fact that I frequently believe him to be wrong. But his thinking is often fresh, his writing is often bracing; and, more to my point, he has no counterpart on the left. His liberal and moderate brethren wallow in bromides; they can sometimes outvote him, but they cannot outthink him.

This is the sad state of both liberalism and American politics. First-class legal brains are not even nominated lest some senator break into hives at the prospect of encountering a genuinely new idea. The ceiling is further lowered by the need to season the court with diversity, a wonderful idea as long as brilliance is not compromised. The result has been the rout of sexism: The women are as mediocre as the men.

Okay, that was more than a bit but I had a hard time deciding what parts to quote because the entire editorial is a great read (and I just detest quoting stories in their entirety).

I haven’t commented on Sotomayor because I truly have no opinion on the woman. I haven’t done any research on her or her positions, but based on this piece she seems to be someone who has the qualifications to fill the seat, but the only thing special that she will bring to the table is her sex and heritage. That is a truly sad statement.

Solar Eclipse Causes Stir

Tomorrow large portions of India, Chin, Japan, and other parts of southern Asia will be “plunged into darkness” during this centuries longest solar eclipse.

From the story –

Astronomers hope the eclipse will unlock clues about the sun, while an astrologer in Myanmar predicts it could usher in chaos. Some in India are advising pregnant relatives to stay indoors to follow a centuries-old tradition of avoiding the sun's invisible rays.

The eclipse will appear first at dawn in India's Gulf of Khambhat just north of the metropolis of Mumbai.

It will move east across India, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China before hitting the Pacific. The eclipse will cross some southern Japanese islands and be last visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. Elsewhere, a partial eclipse will be visible in much of Asia.

[…]

Man has been recording solar eclipses for 4,000 years, and even today they inspire a combination of fear, fascination and wonder.

One astrologer in Myanmar, also known as Burma, predicted in a magazine that the eclipse would trigger wars, instability and natural disasters for the next several
months.

[…]

Some families have advised pregnant relatives to confine themselves to curtained rooms, following long-held fears that the invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect.

"I've been told to lie straight on the bed with my eyes open and to chant prayers and verses from the Hindu holy texts during the eclipse," said Sonya Chadha, a New Delhi accountant who is seven months pregnant and plans to take the day off. "If even a tiny sliver of light falls on me, it could harm my child."

It’s amazing the effect that nature’s phenomina has on people. I suspect that no matter how much we grow and evolve, we will always be in awe of the beauty, splendor, and power of Mother Nature.

The HOLY CRAP Story of the Day

Headline: Man Catches Fire After Being Tasered

From the story –

SYDNEY (July 21) -- A man whose relatives say had been sniffing gasoline burst into flames after a police officer Tasered him as he ran at officials carrying a container of fuel, police said Tuesday.

[…]

Western Australia police said they were responding to a complaint at a house when Mitchell ran outside carrying a cigarette lighter and a large plastic bottle containing what they believe was fuel. When he refused to stop running toward them, one officer Tasered him, police said in a statement.

The man was immediately engulfed in flames. The officer threw him to the ground and smothered the blaze with his hands, the statement said. Mitchell was charged with assault to prevent arrest and possession of a sniffing substance.

An 18-year-old woman threw rocks at the officer as he tried to help, and he was later treated for a cut on his head and burns to his hands, police said.

The woman was charged with two counts of assaulting an officer, police Sgt. Graham Clifford said. Two others at the house were charged with possessing a sniffing substance.

You just can’t make this stuff up folks.

10 Best Albums of the 00’s So Far

People often complain about the state of modern music (myself included). They will bemoan the glory days when music was good and pure, rock was rock, and the world was a happier place. I think it is pretty safe to say that era never really existed and that not all modern music sucks. In fact there have been a lot of really good albums released this decade. So many that coming up with the ones that I would consider the 10 best was rather hard (hence the long list of honorable mentions) and I don’t get to listen to that much new music so I can only imagine the number of fantastic records that I could have missed.

1. Cuban Ballerina by Dead To Me
2. The Only One by Roustabouts
3. This Won’t Hurt by Methadones
4. Cool To Be You by Descendents
5. The Warrior’s Code by Dropkick Murphys
6. Swingin’ Utters by Swingin’ Utters
7. Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
8. Over the Counter Culture by The Kings of Nuthin’
9. Now We Can See by The Thermals
10. Problematic by ALL

Honorable Mentions –
Tinted Windows by Tinted Windows
Three Chords and the Truth by The Ducky Boys
Turn 21 by The Donnas
For Those Whose Hearts and Souls Are True by Hudson Falcons
Never Bet the Devil Your Head by The GC5
Wrecking Ball by The Pavers
One Heartbeat Away from Hell by The Staggers
Stereo by Paul Westerberg

Currently Listening

1. “Something New” by Dead To Me (from Cuban Ballerina)
2. “Fall Into Line” by Roustabouts (from The Only One)
3. “Getting Older/Losing Touch” by The Methadones (from This Won’t Hurt)
4. “Nothing with You” by Descendents (from Cool To Be You)
5. “Wicked Sensitive Crew” by Dropkick Murphys (from The Warrior’s Code)
6. “Pills and Smoke” by Swingin’ Utters (from Swingin’ Utters)
7. “Rise Up with Fists!!” by Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins (from Rabbit Fur Coat)
8. “Only Time” by The Kings of Nuthin’ (from Over the Counter Culture)
9. “I Let It Go” by The Thermals (from Now We Can See)
10. “Carry You” by ALL (from Problematic)

Fighting a Losing Battle

The more I blog, the more futile it feels. Nearly every conversation I get into either on this blog or when I comment on others is becoming an act of complete frustration. On a daily basis I am beating my head against a wall in conversations that seem to do nothing more than raise my blood pressure and waist my time. I love to write and I love doing this blog, but I’m really starting to wonder -- what’s the point? Appealing to reason, common sense, and common courtesy in this day and age seems like yelling at the rain. It seems most people would rather practice the disgustingly low art of snark and blindly follow their cause of choice without an ounce of independent thought or concern for the fellow man or the common good.

Then again maybe I’m just tired of getting yelled at and lord knows I get enough of that at work so I sure don’t need the added verbal assault when I’m online. Sadly anymore that’s all you get, with a few exceptions (Dave Town, Fear an Iarthair, The Otter Limits). This fire in our society is fueled by a heartless media that promotes and exploits snark to its fullest potential, caring only about the ad revenues that it brings in and never its effect on our collective soul. There are no good guys anymore. No matter where you look. And this fact is so unbelievably disheartening.

I am someone who believes in the amazing potential of humanity, but anymore I starting to think that I’ve been holding on to a false promise that will never come to pass.

The Punk Rock Culture Wars

The New York Times has an interesting review of this years Warped Tour stop in Uniondale, NY. It seems the local punks weren’t enthused by the dance/hip-hop influence acts on the bill.

When I first got into the underground music scene, it was more common to find kids who listened to Minor Threat and KMFDM instead of one or the other. Things have gotten quite compartmentalized in the past 20 years though. Sad really.

Thanks to PunkNews.org for the find.

Currently Listening

1. “First Ya Told Us” by 7 Seconds (from The Music, The Message)
2. “Y.P.H.” by 7 Seconds (from Take It On, Take It Back, Take It Over)
3. “Daveage” by ALL (from Allroy for Prez)
4. “Bubblegum” by ALL (from Allroy’s Revenge)
5. “Clone” by Avail (from Dixie)
6. “Mid-Town West” by Avail (from Over the James)
7. “Holiday Cocktail Lounge” by The Bouncing Souls (from The Bouncing Souls)
8. “Sounds of the City” by The Bouncing Souls (from The Gold Record)
9. “City Lights” by The GC5 (from Kisses from Hanoi/Horseshoes & Handgrenades)
10. “Turn Their Backs” by The GC5 (from Never Bet the Devil Your Head)

Jumping on the Vampire Bandwagon

It appears that the Christian book industry is hoping to bank on the recent success of the Twilight series and the subsequent booming vampire market.

Money Quote –

Christian retailers have suffered during the recession, with one study finding net sales down almost 11 percent in 2008. But several publishing houses are adding or expanding their fiction lines with Amish heroines and Christian vampire sagas.

At this week's International Christian Retail Show in Denver, there was growing buzz about upcoming titles that bring a Christian perspective to tales of vampires and the undead.

I’ve really got to wonder how a Christian vampire works… On that note, the book Midnight Mass has a Catholic priest that is turned into an almost-vampire (and apparently the book was turned into a movie). I’m also thinking that it is time that I start sending copies of my vampire story around to publishers before this bandwagon goes bust.

Ban on Distribution of Bibles in Classroom Upheld

According to this story, in St. Louis, a federal appeals court has “upheld a ban on the classroom distribution of Bibles to grade school students in Annapolis, Mo., but has allowed literature to be offered outside of class.”

Call me a heathen but this sounds like a great decision. Bibles do not belong in the classroom, unless they are a) the property of a student who brought said Bible for personal reading or b) being used in a lesson on the Bible as literature. Other than that, the Bible has no place in a public school classroom.

The Heathen's Trump Card?

In a column called Context counts…and sin is sin, Tim Wildmon makes the case against non-Christians who quote Jesus stating “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”

From the column –

How many times have I heard that come out of the mouths of people who are otherwise clueless about the Bible? I can be watching the most godless reprobate on some television show talking about the vilest things he has done and when challenged about his behavior he will inevitably say: "Well, you know what the Bible says -- judge not, lest ye be judged."

This is the heathen's trump card. It's supposed to end all discussion. A verse from a book they otherwise scoff at. He doesn't have any regard for what that same Bible says about the wrongness of his behavior in the first place, nor does he read or study the Bible -- yet he knows somewhere in the Christian scripture it says something about not judging others...and that sure comes in handy.

[…]

I once heard a pastor give some good advice about reading the Bible. He said when using a verse to make a point, always read the paragraph where the verse is found. In other words, put the verse in its right perspective. By understanding the context of a verse, we can better understand the real meaning or point of what is being said or communicated.

I completely agree with the thoughts in this final paragraph. It is imperative to understand the context of a quote to grasp its full meaning. Too often people, Christians included, take a sentence or paragraph out of context to justify their beliefs, stances, or hatred of others. People have twisted everything from the Bible to the Koran to the Declaration of Independence for their own purposes.

While I certainly do not agree with his tone or name calling, Wildmon makes some valid points in this column. There is a complete irony though that he uses terms like “heathen” and “reprobate” when later stating –

The point of Matthew 7:1 about not judging others is that we should each guard against self-righteousness, understanding that we all are weak human beings and capable of the same wrong-doing we are condemning in others. We must constantly examine our own hearts, attitudes, and actions and compare our lives to the standards that God expects us to follow as laid out in the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments. And when we sin -- that is, when we fail to live up to those standards -- we must repent before God and strive, with His help, to do better tomorrow.

So I guess it is okay to talk smack about non-Christians. I’m not really sure that jives with the message Jesus was trying to convey but then again I’m one of those non-Christian heathens, so what do I know.

Note – In an attempt to provide complete disclosure here, I really hate the word “heathen.” I find it to be repugnant and insulting. This dates back to my junior high when I was heavily involved in my church through youth group and as an acolyte. There was a song that we would sing about heathens that drove me crazy. While I have blocked out the name of the song now, I remember on more than one occasion complaining to the youth director about the song. It was a real insulting number that seemed to be designed to make people feel better about the fact that they weren’t those other people (th heathens in this case). Call me crazy, but that is not the type of thing that should be celebrated in a church group.

Wacky News Story of the Day

Headline: Saudi Family Sues Genie for Harassment

Money Quote –

"We have to verify the truthfulness of this case despite the difficulty of doing so," Sheikh Amr Al Salmi, the head of the court, told Al-Watan. "What makes this case and complaint more interesting is that it wasn't filed by just one person. Every member of the family is part of this case."

How much you wanna bet that someone uses this story as an example of why Muslims do not believe in the God of Abraham?

Quote of the Day

I almost fainted when I heard Obama speak how he wants to be able to impose preventative detention and thinks that it is just fine to do provided it is not the decision of "just one man" but that the courts and Congress have a role in. Yet the Constitution no where gives any one man or group of men that power. It simply doesn't exist. This is a blatant, raw usurpation of totalitarian power by Obama.

-- CLS from the post The ugly, raw authoritarianism of Obama

The Politics of Personal Destruction

There are those who believe that the only people guilty of the “politics of personal destruction” are on the left. There are also those that believe that the only people guilty of the “politics of personal destruction” are on the right. Well the simple and sad fact is that they are both wrong. The right and the left are both equally guilty of this disgusting tactic and ironically they are often guilty of it as they are bemoaning the behavior of the other side.

On any give day, the internet, radio airwaves, and cable news networks are used as the weapons of the self-righteous in their glorious battle to tear down their opponents at any cost. They will cry about some offense made by a politician or comedian while calling said person horrible things and calling for their smiting.

Need some examples? Look no closer than the OK BNN Blogroll and you will find a plenty. On the left, Okie Funk will go on tirades about State Rep. Sally Kern while basically calling her a redneck. On the right, Red S Tater will pontificate about the horrors of David Letterman while calling him a moonbat (or some other such thing). Both are sterling examples of polemics and both are guilty of the “politics of personal destruction.”

And the moral of the story kids? As the greatest band in the world once sang “Nobody’s hands are clean, it’s true and it’s obscene.” Both the left and the right are equally guilty of trying to destroy people. Sadly this is nothing new (just ask Thomas Jefferson). At this point though, what do we do to make things better? Do we simply accept this pathetic state of affairs or do we try and change things. Personally I think we need to change things. We need to demand more out of our elected officials, commentators, and ourselves. Being a polemic (and a partisan) is easy. It’s the cheap way out because it takes very little thought. It is much easier to call someone a redneck than it is to actually engage that person in a dialogue. It’s much quicker to dismiss someone as a moonbat than it is to actually take the time to listen to what that person has to say.

I’ve been accused of only criticizing one side on this issue. And while I have taken on former local blogger Sinister for his personal attacks on Jim from Fried Green Onions and called to task Peace Arena for her polemic attacks on those she disagrees with, it apparently is not enough. According to some I should spend my time trolling for any and every incident, on the left and on the right, for this type of trash. It seems that because I ask people to actually be better to each other then it is my job to swim through all of the trash and call all of the guilty parties out for it. Unfortunately if I actually did that, I wouldn’t have any time for things like sleeping and eating, let alone being a dad to my kids. Forgive me for deciding to actually have a life. As always, this will be used against me. I’m sure some will claim that it just proves my partisan beliefs. To that I say hogwash. While I am biased, I’m not a partisan. There is a difference. If you don’t believe me, just look it up.

Currently Listening

1. “Nobody’s” by ALL (from Percolater)
2. “I’ll Get There” by ALL (from Mass Nerder)
3. “We’re Only Gonna Die” by Bad Religion (from How Could Hell Be Any Worse?)
4. “Los Angeles” by Bad Religion (from The Empire Strikes First)
5. “Where Do Ya Draw the Line?” by Dead Kennedys (from Bedtime for Democracy)
6. “Kill the Poor” by Dead Kennedys (from Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables)
7. “Suburban Home” by Descendents (from Milo Goes to College)
8. “Caught” by Descendents (from Everything Sucks)
9. “Bodies” by The GC5 (from Kisses from Hanoi/Horseshoes & Handgrenades)
10. “When All Else Fails” by The GC5 (from Never Bet the Devil Your Head)

My Thoughts on Okie Funk

I have been taken to task recently over my supposed support of local blogger Okie Funk. It seems that in my 1,800+ posts on Oklahoma Lefty, I have done a handful in regards or response to something on Okie Funk. This blogger, and others like him, are up in arms because Okie Funk is written by a college professor who is also a political activist. I’ve never taken any of the good doctor’s classes nor have I met the man, so I know nothing of the man other than what little I have gleamed from reading his blog. And admittedly I don’t read his blog very often. Most of what he writes is typical far-left opinions. He is a partisan and as I have expressed in the past, I am not a big fan of partisans. But I decided to swing by his place today and scan some recent posts to see what is such cause for alarm.

Title: Coburn Uses Mock Hispanic Accent Questioning Sotomayor
Gist: In this post Doc Hoc is upset over Senator Coburn’s attempt at humor during the Sotomayor confirmation hearings.
My Thoughts: This is a great example of a trash story. Doc Hoc is trying to make a big deal out of a bad joke. Lighten up man.

Title: Sally Sullies State Image
Gist: Doc Hoc takes State Rep. Kern to task for her OKLAHOMA CITIZEN’S PROCLAMATION FOR MORALITY
My Thoughts: I agree with Doc Hoc that Kern has completely cherry picked and misread the history of our nation. As far as the image part of the post, I think that she does reinforce the image of Oklahoma being a bumpkin state, but that is only to those who disagree with her. To those who agree she is a shining white knight ready to lead the battle. The picture of Kern that he used on this post was a bit stupid and over the top. There was not reason for it and it just makes Doc Hoc look bad.

Title: Oklahoma Needs Improved Tax System
Gist: This post is in response to a post over on the OK Policy Blog and the title pretty much sums things up.
My Thoughts: I agree that our tax system in Oklahoma needs an overhaul, but I doubt that my idea of overhaul would match with Doc Hoc’s. I also agree with the section on the myth of the liberal media.

Title: Americans Need Public Health Insurance Option
Gist: This is one of many posts in support of a national/public health care option.
My Thoughts: I do not think that the answer to our health care problems lie in a national/public option. I don’t trust the government to do it. I agree that the system is broken and needs to be fixed, but I also have no idea how to best do that. I did think he hit the nail on the head with this paragraph though –

The bottom line is health insurance companies deny as many claims as possible to increase profits. They also keep raising prices. It’s their basic business model, which will always lack basic human compassion and decency. Meanwhile, many uninsured Americans rely on hospital emergency rooms for care, and this drives up the costs for everyone.

In no way have I done an exhaustive search of what is on Okie Funk and I’m not going to. The bottom line here is that Doc Hoc and I agree on many things in principle but we disagree with how to get there. In other words we agree on many ends but not on many of the means. This doesn’t surprise me really. In fact I wrote something along these lines a few years ago, and the gist of it is that I want people to treat each other better, take better care of the planet, and to be more tolerant, not because the government tells them to but because they know that it is the right thing to do. The government is not the end all or be all way to solve problems. Yes it can be a huge help in bringing about change and reform but honestly these things need to come from the people and this is where the good doctor and I seem to part ways. This is my libertarian streak coming out.

I’m sure that I will now be told that I am just another worthless liberal that needs to shut up and go away, but oh well. There are many differences between the likes of Okie Funk and myself, some are subtle and some a glaring but differences nonetheless. I wish Doc Hoc the best of luck in all that he does, just like I wish my conservative blogging friends the best of luck in all they do. I want everyone to be successful because in this great nation, everyone CAN be successful with a bit of intelligence and a lot of hard work. That’s what makes America great.

So What is My Role in All of This?

One of my closest friends’s recently made a decision to join and become active in the Republican Party. This was not a decision he came to lightly but he thought it was the right one for him and I applaud him for it. In many ways he has found his cause.

He decision got me thinking about my own purpose and cause. What am I trying to do or achieve in all of this? Mostly I’m just spouting off at the mouth (or keyboard more accurately), because I truly see this blogging thing as a fun hobby and nothing more. But even so, there has to be some role for me to play in this ugly twisted cacophony.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more that I have realized that my role in blogging is the same role that I have played in my “professional” life and that is being “the voice of reasoned discontent.”

What does that mean exactly? Well I am basically the guy who sits in the back on the room and provides logical and reasonable challenges to ideas/policies, pointing out the potential downsides to and flaws in said ideas and their effects on the employees and customers. My criticism is designed to improve the situation and not just mindless bitching about it. This blog is an extension of that role (at least when talking about political, social, and religious issues).

I wish my friend the best of luck in his new role in the GOP. They are lucky to have him. Myself, I’m going to keep doing my thing, independent from the two-party system, and try to bring some semblance of sanity to the discussion.

RIP Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite passed away last night at the age on 92. The heavens now have their news anchor. Rest well.

Amazon is Big Brother?

It’s appears that it is getting close.

Money Quote –

Amazon is intent on controlling the book market. I still trust markets; I don’t trust Amazon. And one way they are hoping to do this is by pushing their Kindle book reader. This is sold to readers as an easy way to carry around multiple books. You download the volumes you want and pay a fee for them. You get an electronic version, but no hard copies. Sounds wonderful, unless you really do love books.

I love the power of books. They are like landmines that explode, one mind at a time. They may lie dormant for decades and suddenly it changes a life. Thinking is inherently subversive to authority and books encourage thinking. Throughout the old communist block nations people smuggled books, books helped bring down the tyranny of Marxism.

Currently Listening

Today we’re doing songs be female fronted or all-female groups.

1. “Maria” by Blondie (from Greatest Hits)
2. “The Sky is a Poisonous Garden” by Concrete Blonde (from Bloodletting)
3. “Teenage Runaway” by The Donnas (from The Donnas)
4. “Stutter” by Elastica (from Elastica)
5. “Synthesized” by The Epoxies (from Stop the Future)
6. “Do the Zombie” by The Eyeliners (from Here Comes Trouble)
7. “Unreal” by Go Betty Go (from Nothing is More)
8. “Whole World Lost Its Head” by The Go-Go’s (from Return to the Valley of The Go-Go’s Disc 2)
9. “Awful” by Hole (from Celebrity Skin)
10. “Spin the Bottle” by The Juliana Hatfield Three (from Become What You Are)
11. “Supernova” by Liz Phair (from Whip-Smart)
12. “Me Against the World” by Halo Friendlies (from Freaky Friday)
13. “Buttercup (I’m a Super Girl)” by Shonen Knife (from The Powerpuff Girls)
14. “Build Me Up Buttercup” by The Goops (from Mallrats)
15. “Power Punk Girls” by Bis (from Power Pop Girls – Note: I think that is the name of the CD but I got this track from a mixed CD and can’t find the original)
16. “Born for This” by Paramore (from Riot)
17. “Your Kisses are Wasted on Me” by The Pipettes (from We Are The Pipettes)
18. “Portions for Foxes” by Rilo Kiley (from More Adventurous)
19. “In This Together” by Tsunami Bomb (from The Ultimate Escape)
20. “Sad Tomorrow” by The Muffs (from Blonder and Blonder)

Video of the Day V

"Smash It Up" by The Damned

Video of the Dat IV

"New Love" by The Muffs

Video of the Day: Live

"White Flag" by The GC5 (Note -- The recording quality isn't the best.)

Video of the Day III

"New College" by The Dollyrots

Video of the Day II

"Libel" by Tilt

Video of the Day

"Born with a Tail" by The Supersuckers

The Proselytizer Questionnaire

The blog Unreasonable Faith has a post that references the Christian Proselytizer Questionnaire, entitled The Christian Proselytizer Questionnaire. As one can imagine, it is a series of questions to ask someone who is trying to sell you on Christianity.

Now if we could just get someone to make one of these for Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans, Jews, and atheists….

Note -- I haven’t read the original list in full. It was the post’s headline that caught my eye and I figured I’d share.

My New Voting Credo

Unless he/she have done something spectacular in office or I think that said individual is not a power hungry scum sucker, I’m going to vote to oust the incumbent every time. As a wise man once said – “Politicians are a lot like diapers. They should be changed frequently, and for the same reason.” Words to live by if you ask me.

And to date there are three incumbents that I would still vote for today – Brad Henry, Frank Keating, and Bill Clinton (yes I ended up being disappointed with Clinton, but I never regretted my vote). I also plan on voting to re-elect Tom Coburn. While I may not agree with him on a lot of issues, I like the fact that he has dared to shake things up in DC and he honestly doesn’t seem to be power hungry to me.

Monopoly

The other day I started a game of Monopoly with my kids and while it was fun, we never finished. My daughter got bored after a while and quit and eventually I had to put the game on pause to get ready for work (my wife later picked up in my place and played with my son and they played for a bit before finally giving up). When I thought about it later, I realized that this experience was far more typical than unusual where it comes to my experience playing the game. In fact, I cannot ever remember playing a game of Monopoly to completion (I’m not even sure how you know when the game is over to be honest).

This all got me wondering…how often do people actually finish a game of Monopoly? Do most people play it to completion or do they give up, like me, part way through the game? I think that it is neat game with a cool premise and all, but after a while it just gets tedious to play (yet I love playing games of Scrabble to completion which can take up to two hours). What am I missing?

Worried About Getting a Raise?

Turning the Other Cheek

According to this story, a couple in their 80s who were victims of a home invasion eventually helped calm the intruder down and gave him some food before he turned himself in.

From the story –

Spencer attempted to flee, but when he spotted a police officer outside the house, he fired a single bullet into the wall of the house, then went back inside and barricaded himself in with the Belotes, authorities said.

"I put my hand on [Spencer's] shoulder and told him that he'd gotten himself in a heck of a mess," Robert Belote said. "He said, 'I know.'"

The Belotes, who are Baptists, said they appealed to Spencer on religious terms. Frances Belotes also gave Spencer some cereal to eat and a pitcher of iced tea.

Before the intruder ultimately surrendered to police, with the encouragement of the Belotes, he gave the couple $140 from his pocket. They turned the money over to the police.

I think that Jesus would be proud of the Belote’s. They definitely followed his lead in dealing with this horrible situation.

Some People Just Make Me Sick

Like this gem of a kid. How in the name of all that is good and holy, does someone turn out this f-ed up?

What Gives Dick?

I’ve been on the Dick Morris email list for nearly two years now (I think it’s been that long at least) and while I have always enjoyed his take on the political landscape, lately a lot of the emails that come from him are advertisements. I understand that we all have expenses, bills to pay, and a family to support, but it is a bit irritating to open up an email from someone who normally provides thoughtful and informative reading, and to get spam. Maybe I’m being ridiculous here, but I’ve got enough spam as it is.

Currently Listening

I’m letting the computer pick the songs today.

1. “Coolidge” by Descendents (from ALL)
2. “A Quick One” by The Thrones (from Day Late, Dollar Short)
3. “The Dirty Boogie” by The Brian Setzer Orchestra (from The Dirty Boogie)
4. “Gangster” by Electronic (from Electronic)
5. “Changes” by Sugar (from Copper Blue)
6. “Capital Letters” by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (from God Fodder)
7. “Stay Out All Night” by The Devil Dogs (from 30 Sizzling Slabs)
8. “She’s Lost Control” by Joy Division (from Unknown Pleasures)
9. “Subbacultcha” by The Pixies (from Pixies at the BBC)
10. “Theme from Flood” by They Might Be Giants (from Flood)

Gotta Get My Head in the Game

Lately I’ve found myself having a really hard time concentrating at work. I will be in the middle of a conversation with a customer and I will completely forget where I was going with the call and will have to stop and say “I just lost my train of thought, I’m so sorry” or something similar to it. I’m also easily distracted by my co-workers (who are often stupidly loud). Last night in fact, this guy behind me (who is very angry and bitter) went off on this customer and it broke my concentration so bad that I stopped mid-sentence and had to figure out what I was saying all over again (and I have no idea if the customer on my phone heard him or not).

The thing that bothers me is that I am going through troubleshooting steps with customers that I pretty much can do in my sleep, but lately I’m forgetting every little step, skipping steps, and completely forgetting what I’m doing. It’s a disconcerting feeling for sure. I just wish I knew what was causing it.

I’m sure part of my problem is that I have become lax on my meditating. This started after we discovered that our kids got lice from the community pool and we had to start clean-a-thon 2009. Since then things have been off kilter here on the home front. I’m going to see about getting back into my routine tomorrow. Hopefully that will help. Has anyone else run into this before and if so, what did you do to help correct it? Any ideas, thoughts, or help would be greatly appreciated.

A Whole Lot of Gay PDA

According to this story, homosexual protestors in Salt Lake City, UT engaged in a “kiss-in” in front of the LDS Church headquarters. The protest was to show support for a gay couple who was detained after sharing a hug and a kiss in front of the Mormon church headquarters while walking home from a concert. The couple had cut through the Main Street Plaza when they ran into trouble.

From the story –

Aune, 28, said he gave Jones, 25, a hug and kiss and that the two were then approached by a security guard, who asked them to leave, telling them they were being inappropriate and that public displays of affection aren't allowed on the property. He said other guards arrived and the men were handcuffed.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that the men became argumentative and refused to leave after being asked to stop their "inappropriate behavior." The men say they were targeted because they are gay.

Police later arrived and both men were cited with misdemeanor trespassing, Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Robin Snyder said.

"It doesn't matter what they were asked to leave for," Snyder said. "If they are asked to leave and don't they are ... trespassing."

The protest consisted of more than 100 people who “gathered near the Main Street Plaza to share kisses on the cheek and mouth to show their support for Aune and Jones.” The protesters were stopped from actually entering the plaza by the police.

On an interesting side note, the plaza in which all of the happened is the property of the LDS Church (they apparently bought it about 10 years ago from the city).

We Want Your Feedback…As Long as It’s Good

We had a team meeting with our site director last night. The meeting was a chance for us to discuss last year’s employee survey, this year’s upcoming survey, and thing that have changed over the past year. Sounds pretty good, right? Well that’s because I haven’t mentioned the meeting’s stipulation – the feedback had to be positive. Or as the site director put it “this is a glass half full meeting.”

The meeting proceeded with the director repeatedly asking what good changes had happened or what things we liked about the job. Each time he asked the questions, he was greeted with at least 3 to 15 seconds of dead silence. This is how the meeting went down for 30 minutes.

Prior to the event, I was pulled aside and warned that this was a positive meeting and that I was to behave. In fact, I was the only person from our team that was specifically warned about the meeting. My boss is cool and she was not being mean or malicious in giving me the warning (I m after all the self-proclaimed “voice of reasoned discontent”).

Throughout the entire meeting all I could think of was how phony the whole affair felt. Here was the big boss pulling teeth to get us to say good things about the job. It was also pretty insulting. It seemed pretty obvious that the site director really couldn’t care less about our opinions. Now to be completely fair, I have no way of knowing what was going on in this man’s head, but based on his behavior, demeanor, and the stipulations on the meeting it sure appeared that he could care less. It was a pretty bizarre and insulting situation and it sure didn’t make me feel valued or appreciated as an employee.

Currently Listening

1. “Johnny Law” by The Hudson Falcons (from For Those Whose Hearts and Souls Are True)
2. “Let’s Go Burn Ole Nashville Down” by Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon (from Prairie Home Invasion)
3. “Candy” by Iggy Pop with Kate Pierson (from Brick By Brick)
4. “Where Eagles Dare” by Misfits (from Misfits: Collection I)
5. “Leash” by Pearl Jam (from Vs.)
6. “Prove Yourself” by Radiohead (from Pablo Honey)
7. “Annette’s Got the Hits” by Redd Kross (from Red Cross)
8. “James 5” by Riot Squad (from Riot Squad)
9. “Sugar Water” by Sixer (from Busted Knuckles and Heartbreak)
10. “I’ll Tell You Why” by Lazy Cowgirls (from Cheapo Crypt Sampler, Vol. 2 1997)

Palin & Letterman…What Gives?

I have not paid attention to the news surrounding Sarah Palin since the election. I work nights, have limited internet access, and do not have cable, so the time that I do spending listening to or reading the news I tend to do so with subjects that actually interest me and no offense to the good governor of Alaska, she really doesn’t.

When I heard little blurbs that Letterman and Palin were at it I honestly just tuned it out. I like Letterman, but I like it when he is being silly (the Will It Float skit for example) and not hurtful. I haven’t actually watched an episode of the Late Show since the 90’s so I truly have no idea what he’s doing nowadays. So when I started to see posts on local blogs about Letterman saying something completely off the wall I didn’t read them. I did this for two reasons – 1) a lot of the people writing these posts seem to really hate Letterman so I figured that they were just ripping into him for being a big time liberal and 2) I had a bad feeling that Letterman really did say something that he shouldn’t have and I didn’t feel like dumpster diving into trash news. Does this make me biased? Sure. I have fond memories of Letterman and a absolute hatred of trash news, so you add those together and you get a fat one-handed guy avoiding another tantalizing story of debauchery and stupidity in the media. Does this make me a partisan? Not so much.

So after getting raked over the coals for the past few days by another blogger, I decided to jump into the dumpster, sift through the trash, and see what happened between the governor and the late night talk show host. I went to Google and simply typed in “Palin and Letterman” and found a plethora of links to choose from. Being lazy, I went to the first two -- Letterman makes more fun of Palin‎ and Palin vs. Letterman - The Note.

It seems that Letterman made a really bad and poorly timed joke about a baseball player and one of the governor’s daughters (He says he was referring to 18-year-old Bristol but she states that he was referring to 14-year-old Willow. I wasn’t there, I didn’t see it, and I can’t read Letterman’s mind so I’m going to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Either way the joke was waaaaay over the line and he should have known better.). Letterman is a very fun but very bitter man and it comes out in jokes like this. He sees Palin as a good target for humor (and like any other politician she is) and seems to rip into her ever chance he gets. Again, to be fair here I am getting all of this second hand. I don’t watch the Late Show or The Tonight Show because I am working when they are on. I don’t have a DVR or a TiVo so I don’t record them either. If I were home and inclined to watch the late night talk show circus, Letterman would be my choice. Overall I prefer his off beat sense of humor and he has really good musical guests (plus I cannot stand Leno and think that Conan used up all of his good jokes about 7 years ago). But even with my positive opinion of Letterman, I think that this joke was beyond the pale and he should probably leave Palin alone for a while.

I may not agree with all of her positions, but I like Sarah Palin. She is feisty, friendly, and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. I like that. She also isn’t afraid to buck the establishment. I like that too. She was also a great sport on SNL. I like that too (people need to be able to laugh at themselves and she sure seems able to do that). She’s also come up with really cool names for her kids. On the flip side, I like David Letterman. He is (or at least was when I watched his show) an extremely funny guy, but as I said he is bitter and while that bitterness often adds to his humor, it also often makes it mean and hurtful.

My final assessment of this situation –

1. Letterman screwed up and made a really bad joke and deserved all of the flack that he got for it.
2. He apologized and now should be allowed to move on, until or unless he makes another equally bad and tasteless joke.
3. As long as she’s in the public eye, Palin will be a target for jokes. Most of them she should roll with but she should (and has) stand up to the ones that are over the line.
4. No matter what, people’s kids are OFF LIMITS! Now if the child is him/herself an adult and decides to hit the stump for ma or pa then at that point they are open to scrutiny and must be prepared for the onslaught of bad jokes made at their expense.
5. This entire situation just reinforces my belief that we as a society treat each other like dirt and are losing our common courtesy.

Now I think I need to take a shower…I feel dirty.