Hello, and welcome to another totally belated edition of Raging On. I apologize once again for slagging on my duties to provide satire and entertainment for the like-minded individuals who visit this page. Today's post isn't really my post. Actually its more of a link to someone else's account of an event that shows just how backwards-thinking this country can be. Its a couple weeks old, but it hasn't received any attention from the local media, so I felt this was a good place to help make light of a recent fleecing of our civil liberties. Please click the link below to see what I'm going on about.
Fascism in Utah
This is fucked. How do they expect to get away with something like this? I am not a big fan of the rave scene myself (I love trance as much as the next person, but not enough to dance to it for hours on end), but considering the facts that they had security, all the necessary permits, permission from the land owner, AND a $2-million insurance policy to cover the event shows that this was less about a worry of breach of ethics and illegal activity and more about conservative, backwoods Mormon-slanted government stifling of a subculture they can't control. I for one hope they get their asses handed to them in a FEDERAL court of law, because lord knows taking this to a state court would be like preaching to a church mass that Satan is really a nice guy. So, feast on this nugget of oppression and hopefully we'll see PROPER justice prevail in the end.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Raging On: MTV's coverage of Live8
Hello all, and welcome to a special edition of Raging On: Today finds me in a rather foul mood. And if you read the title, then you know why. So let's cut to the chase and get with the raging.
Alright, so Live8 was billed as the largest concert ever that's goal is to raise awareness about the poverty crisis in Africa. It just so happens that this concert occurred almost 20 years to the day that Live Aid, the largest CHARITY concert, happened. For a background on Live Aid and Live8, google it, for this isn't a source for history.
Anyway, Live8 is essentially the biggest event in music history. Everything that involves music had its sights set on this event, and everyone with an inkling of care (or music) was interested. MTV Networks agreed to be the carriers of this event, showcasing the event in each country that they are in that participated. America, being the country MTV came from, set itself apart as the network to try and showcase the event as a whole, showing us what was going down in each show all while helping raise awareness about poverty in Africa and what we can do to help. Well, as you can imagine, MTV (and its sister station, VH-1) jumped on the opportunity to make this a once-in-a-lifetime affair....and failed miserably. I didn't watch the event on television (I will get to that in a minute) save for 1 band's performance...a reunited Pink Floyd. And this is the catalyst for my ire, this is the reason why I am writing to you now.
If you search online for people's reactions to MTV Network's coverage of Live8, you will hear the same thing over and over....MTV fucked it up. They had a chance to regain their music-world credibility they gained in '85 with Live Aid by staying on the action the whole time, minimally breaking for commercials and interviews...and they fucked that up. Throughout the day's coverage, the "veejays" were seen interrupting performances to talk to celebrities about their roles in the Live8 festivities, audience reactions to how poverty in Africa affects them, and their relentless need to pay the bills. Like I said, I didn't watch on TV all but 1 performance, and it was the blasphemous exploits of the network that did me in. Pink Floyd, who acrimoniously split in the early 80's with Roger Waters on one side and Nick Mason and David Gilmore on the other, decided to chuck their decades of bickering and bad-mouthing to help raise awareness. They did something extremely selfless, pushed aside years of strife and tension, and reunited in song for the masses. And what a performance it was. Save for Mason's slower-than-usual drumming (he's pushing 60, so I won't bitch too much), the band's performance ranked as one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever witnessed (and I saw it from my couch so imagine how those in attendance felt). They played a 4-song set that was Dark Side of the Moon-heavy (Breathe morphed into the Breathe Reprise, followed by Money...all from DSotM, Wish You Were Here, and closed the set with an amazing performance of Comfortably Numb). This garnered the attention of MTV and they switched live from their Philly broadcast to London to witness it. Everything was going great...until the second-half of Comfortably Numb, when all of a sudden the veejay cut in to talk about what was going on and then to alert the unsuspecting viewer that they were cutting to a commercial. Surely they wouldn't cut the most-anticipated performance of the whole show to make some money. Oh, you bet they did. So I quickly changed the channel to VH-1, assuming that they would take the reins from MTV and continue to air while MTV took a break....nope. They were running the exact same fucking feed. Tell me, why would 2 stations run the same feed when their audience is the exact same. There isn't a single cable or satellite company in all of America that airs ONLY 1 of the channels and not the other. What the fuck? And why would they run the same commercials...its not like their double-charging the customer for 1 feed worth. That's crazy. So, I lost the final solo of Comfortably Numb and the euphoria of watching this amazing reunion. As you can imagine, I was totally pissed off. MTV Networks has gotten a barrage of emails from irrate fans of all the bands they did this shit to. Come on, they were only playing 15-30 minute sets, surely you can wait until the end to cut to a commercial or a face interview with Jimmy Fallon....Jimmy FUCKING Fallon...give me a fucking break. Assholes. You've missed the boat on this. You should change your names to CTV because you stand more for corporate politics and needs than music. But, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud...and oddly enough...its AOL.
That's right. For all the things that AOL does wrong, they were completely vindicated by airing, uninterrupted, all the concerts that were going on. And the quality was excellent, given its just internet streams. I noticed no lag at all (considering 150,000 other people were watching it online at the same time, that's an amazing feat), and that's saying something. AOL, the corporate behemoth that has become as much a joke as a major player in the ISP world, showed us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to in the future. Partnering with Microsoft (WindowsXP was the sponsor), they were able to provide a totally free, all-encompassing experience that, while not on par with television in picture quality or sound reproduction, gave it a tremendous run for its money and showed that IPTV will be the future. I see future endeavors being run even more efficiently. The whole world will have AOL to thank because they showed that this can be a huge success.
And where MTV can be falted for failure, so can commercial radio. Premiere Radio Network was the radio-side of this event, and in numerous markets (the Indianapolis market included), it wasn't even carried. But, the alternative to commercial radio, XM (much like the internet is the alternative to TV), owned the show, broadcasting everything, uninterrupted.
This will serve as a wake-up call to the major corporations of TV and radio. Your stranglehold on the information market is loosening. The internet has finally shown its worth when it comes to real-time delivery of this type, and XM showed that the $12.95/month is well worth it.
I say down with MTV. Fuck you. For far too long you've pushed yourselves away from the music artists and into the arms of reality shit. Hell, I am going to say right now that AOL has much respect from me, and I hope to see other companies do similar endeavors in the future. Fuck you, MTV. Kiss my ass.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Alright, so Live8 was billed as the largest concert ever that's goal is to raise awareness about the poverty crisis in Africa. It just so happens that this concert occurred almost 20 years to the day that Live Aid, the largest CHARITY concert, happened. For a background on Live Aid and Live8, google it, for this isn't a source for history.
Anyway, Live8 is essentially the biggest event in music history. Everything that involves music had its sights set on this event, and everyone with an inkling of care (or music) was interested. MTV Networks agreed to be the carriers of this event, showcasing the event in each country that they are in that participated. America, being the country MTV came from, set itself apart as the network to try and showcase the event as a whole, showing us what was going down in each show all while helping raise awareness about poverty in Africa and what we can do to help. Well, as you can imagine, MTV (and its sister station, VH-1) jumped on the opportunity to make this a once-in-a-lifetime affair....and failed miserably. I didn't watch the event on television (I will get to that in a minute) save for 1 band's performance...a reunited Pink Floyd. And this is the catalyst for my ire, this is the reason why I am writing to you now.
If you search online for people's reactions to MTV Network's coverage of Live8, you will hear the same thing over and over....MTV fucked it up. They had a chance to regain their music-world credibility they gained in '85 with Live Aid by staying on the action the whole time, minimally breaking for commercials and interviews...and they fucked that up. Throughout the day's coverage, the "veejays" were seen interrupting performances to talk to celebrities about their roles in the Live8 festivities, audience reactions to how poverty in Africa affects them, and their relentless need to pay the bills. Like I said, I didn't watch on TV all but 1 performance, and it was the blasphemous exploits of the network that did me in. Pink Floyd, who acrimoniously split in the early 80's with Roger Waters on one side and Nick Mason and David Gilmore on the other, decided to chuck their decades of bickering and bad-mouthing to help raise awareness. They did something extremely selfless, pushed aside years of strife and tension, and reunited in song for the masses. And what a performance it was. Save for Mason's slower-than-usual drumming (he's pushing 60, so I won't bitch too much), the band's performance ranked as one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever witnessed (and I saw it from my couch so imagine how those in attendance felt). They played a 4-song set that was Dark Side of the Moon-heavy (Breathe morphed into the Breathe Reprise, followed by Money...all from DSotM, Wish You Were Here, and closed the set with an amazing performance of Comfortably Numb). This garnered the attention of MTV and they switched live from their Philly broadcast to London to witness it. Everything was going great...until the second-half of Comfortably Numb, when all of a sudden the veejay cut in to talk about what was going on and then to alert the unsuspecting viewer that they were cutting to a commercial. Surely they wouldn't cut the most-anticipated performance of the whole show to make some money. Oh, you bet they did. So I quickly changed the channel to VH-1, assuming that they would take the reins from MTV and continue to air while MTV took a break....nope. They were running the exact same fucking feed. Tell me, why would 2 stations run the same feed when their audience is the exact same. There isn't a single cable or satellite company in all of America that airs ONLY 1 of the channels and not the other. What the fuck? And why would they run the same commercials...its not like their double-charging the customer for 1 feed worth. That's crazy. So, I lost the final solo of Comfortably Numb and the euphoria of watching this amazing reunion. As you can imagine, I was totally pissed off. MTV Networks has gotten a barrage of emails from irrate fans of all the bands they did this shit to. Come on, they were only playing 15-30 minute sets, surely you can wait until the end to cut to a commercial or a face interview with Jimmy Fallon....Jimmy FUCKING Fallon...give me a fucking break. Assholes. You've missed the boat on this. You should change your names to CTV because you stand more for corporate politics and needs than music. But, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud...and oddly enough...its AOL.
That's right. For all the things that AOL does wrong, they were completely vindicated by airing, uninterrupted, all the concerts that were going on. And the quality was excellent, given its just internet streams. I noticed no lag at all (considering 150,000 other people were watching it online at the same time, that's an amazing feat), and that's saying something. AOL, the corporate behemoth that has become as much a joke as a major player in the ISP world, showed us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to in the future. Partnering with Microsoft (WindowsXP was the sponsor), they were able to provide a totally free, all-encompassing experience that, while not on par with television in picture quality or sound reproduction, gave it a tremendous run for its money and showed that IPTV will be the future. I see future endeavors being run even more efficiently. The whole world will have AOL to thank because they showed that this can be a huge success.
And where MTV can be falted for failure, so can commercial radio. Premiere Radio Network was the radio-side of this event, and in numerous markets (the Indianapolis market included), it wasn't even carried. But, the alternative to commercial radio, XM (much like the internet is the alternative to TV), owned the show, broadcasting everything, uninterrupted.
This will serve as a wake-up call to the major corporations of TV and radio. Your stranglehold on the information market is loosening. The internet has finally shown its worth when it comes to real-time delivery of this type, and XM showed that the $12.95/month is well worth it.
I say down with MTV. Fuck you. For far too long you've pushed yourselves away from the music artists and into the arms of reality shit. Hell, I am going to say right now that AOL has much respect from me, and I hope to see other companies do similar endeavors in the future. Fuck you, MTV. Kiss my ass.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Raging On: The U.S. Government's inability to prioritize
Welcome to another rousing edition of Raging On: I have something here that I want to rage on about that should stike into the hearts of those around me. The American people as a whole should be screaming at the politicians about this....their total inability to prioritize their agenda. Read this to see where I'm going.
Can you believe it? The government is spending $50-million dollars to help combat piracy when we have a huge deficit, $2.10+ gas prices, rapidly-increasing healthcare costs, and an unpopular war that is costing us unnecessary losses to soldiers' lives. What the fuck are you thinking, democratically-elected representatives o' mine? Is this really what matters? Saving Bill Gates' ass from losing a couple million because I can download a copy of WinXP Pro from a Bittorrent server instead of plunking down $300 for his overrated piece of bloatware? Since when did illegal copies of Miss Congeniality 2 start taking precedent over skyrocketing gas prices? And to think, we, the people of the United States, actually tossed votes to this large group of governing morons. I am shocked and apalled that they are wasting this much cash on piracy. Why don't the companies that are suffering from piracy do something smart like, say, lowering the price of their "crucial" software so that it no longer looks lucrative and enticing to risk being caught stealing it. You know, I work for a pharmaceutical company that makes diagnostic equipment and sells it on the cheap. Why? Because they know they got your repeat business and can make back the difference by purchasing the product that the equipment needs to run. Come on, its not rocket science. And for our government to use our tax dollars on anything other than revamping healthcare, lowering fuel costs, and repairing roads and infrastructure is nothing short of criminal and I am getting tired of this shit. You know, Canada is really starting to look good from here. Think about it, cleaner air, nicer people, free healthcare, and they levee a small tax on all things that can "foster" piracy (1-3% surcharge on CD/DVD burners, CD/DVD-R and RWs, mp3 players, cassette tapes, etc). They know its a problem, but they don't spend all their time and money on it. Stupid asshole politicians trying to make corporate America happy, and then look the other way while these businesses outsource their processes to India where Jugdish, a middle-aged Indian with little English skills and even less computer knowledge, will answer my call when my pricey piece of software goes on the blink and I need some assistance. Man, anarchy sounds nice right about now.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Can you believe it? The government is spending $50-million dollars to help combat piracy when we have a huge deficit, $2.10+ gas prices, rapidly-increasing healthcare costs, and an unpopular war that is costing us unnecessary losses to soldiers' lives. What the fuck are you thinking, democratically-elected representatives o' mine? Is this really what matters? Saving Bill Gates' ass from losing a couple million because I can download a copy of WinXP Pro from a Bittorrent server instead of plunking down $300 for his overrated piece of bloatware? Since when did illegal copies of Miss Congeniality 2 start taking precedent over skyrocketing gas prices? And to think, we, the people of the United States, actually tossed votes to this large group of governing morons. I am shocked and apalled that they are wasting this much cash on piracy. Why don't the companies that are suffering from piracy do something smart like, say, lowering the price of their "crucial" software so that it no longer looks lucrative and enticing to risk being caught stealing it. You know, I work for a pharmaceutical company that makes diagnostic equipment and sells it on the cheap. Why? Because they know they got your repeat business and can make back the difference by purchasing the product that the equipment needs to run. Come on, its not rocket science. And for our government to use our tax dollars on anything other than revamping healthcare, lowering fuel costs, and repairing roads and infrastructure is nothing short of criminal and I am getting tired of this shit. You know, Canada is really starting to look good from here. Think about it, cleaner air, nicer people, free healthcare, and they levee a small tax on all things that can "foster" piracy (1-3% surcharge on CD/DVD burners, CD/DVD-R and RWs, mp3 players, cassette tapes, etc). They know its a problem, but they don't spend all their time and money on it. Stupid asshole politicians trying to make corporate America happy, and then look the other way while these businesses outsource their processes to India where Jugdish, a middle-aged Indian with little English skills and even less computer knowledge, will answer my call when my pricey piece of software goes on the blink and I need some assistance. Man, anarchy sounds nice right about now.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Raging On: My procrastination and laziness
Hello all, and welcome to another edition of Raging On: Today's diatribe is a personal one. I am tackling an issue that is near and dear to me and must be eradicated. I'm talking about my blatant laziness and procrastination. If you notice, its been almost 2 months since my last post, and that was just me commenting on being another year older. What the hell? How hard is it to write about something that's pissing me off? Well, in this case, pretty fucking hard. My mind has been on fast-forward for so long now that I can't lock onto a single thought that can be put into words. Couple that with work and things going on in my life, and I just can't be bothered with worrying about making sure people are reading this. Its really sad and pathetic when you think about it. Its just me typing, its not that bad. And I swear to you all that I am going to try to make this at least a weekly post. I know no one cares whether or not I do this, but I do know there are a select few that are counting on me to say a few things that piss me off so that they can go on with their day knowing that someone said something they were thinking/feeling. I push the proverbial envelope, I test the waters of decency, its what I do. So please, forgive me for my lack of drive to bitch about this, that, and the other...I am just a lazy asshole with nothing better to do.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Another year older...man that sucks!!!
Well, here it is. My 26th birthday. I am now on the decline towards 50. I can no longer apply for shows like The Real World or Road Rules (damn). I sit back and think, "Damn, I'm starting to get old." Sure, the older readers will probably blast my site with comments about how I'm younger than them or whatever, but then again, here I am...married....with 2 children. Bachelorhood waved bye bye long ago. Freedom to do what I want when I want is gone. Our oldest starts kindergarten this fall. The youngest the year after that. Gone are spontaneous road trips with unknown destinations and no worries...in its place are family trips to tourist traps and family gatherings. I can't complain about any of it because I love my wife and kids. It just really makes you sit back and think, "Fuck me! When did I become my parents?" So here it stands. I'm getting older, and with each passing year, that inner child within is getting harder to hear. Sigh.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Raging On: Motivation
I know, this isn't really a good Raging On topic, but I figured I'd have a little fun and explain my absence. Its been a couple weeks since my last post, and I have gotten a couple emails from some of my "faithful" readers asking me, "What's up? You were doing so good there." Well, its like this. I haven't had much to rage about as of late. And its not like there is a dearth in stupidity and injustices that I could bitch about, far from it. Its just that I have been really lazy and drained and haven't been able to bring myself to get behind something. Work has me dragging my ass from here to there and its draining my will to be there...my social life is non-existent...and raising two children really tires you out after a bit. Couple that with a bout of insomnia, and I'm just a ticking timebomb. Luckily for me, my belated honeymoon is in 1 month. Sunny Dominican Republic, take me away. I guess there are a few topics that have impassioned me enough to drop a line, so below this passage is a quick Raging On. Enjoy.
Michael Jackson
The man did it. He touched boys. Its obvious. Lock him up. Anything. Just please stop covering it all over the TV. I'd like to watch the local news without having to see his nasty-ass face.
Bootlegging
The world of concert bootlegging suffered another blow when easytree.org shut its doors. Its come to my attention that the RIAA is no longer just going after people sharing illegal copies of legit songs that are for sale, but now they are targeting the bootlegging community. Remember, its illegal to SELL bootlegs of concerts, but its not illegal to trade or give them away. Unless a band has actually come out and declared war on bootleggers, the RIAA have no business getting into this fight. If it weren't for the fact that easytree.org used a highly-controversial, yet totally legal file-sharing protocol called bittorrent, this wouldn't have happened. But because an unregulated, totally kick-ass file-sharing system that the RIAA can't control and is often linked to the widespread piracy of software, movies, and music is the backbone for the community of bootleggers, it must be stopped. When will corporate America learn? The more you stifle us, the more resilient we become. For those of you who like live bootlegs that have been displaced by easytree.org and sharingthegroove.net before it, turn to tradersden.org. Its a good community that's growing in their absence.
Brittany Spears is pregnant
Whoopdee-fucking-do. She's married. Married people fuck. Its one of the many perks of being married. Yay, she's having a kid. Fucking shut up about it already.
Reality TV
I will admit, I watch a couple reality shows. I like The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, Big Brother. But these are "game shows". People win something during this. The difference between this and The Newlyweds or The Real World or the soon-to-be-premiered Brittany/Kevin show is that the latter shows are looks into people's lives that I could give a shit about. Jessica Simpson has a nice rack, but she's annoying as hell and stupid to boot. I could give a fuck about 7 strangers picked to live in a house blah blah blah. They aren't real. They don't pay rent, the "jobs" they get are some of the cushiest jobs on the planet that some people would kill for, and their "problems" are the stuff of high school slumber parties. Give it a fucking rest. And as for Brittany and Kevin getting their own show...give me a motherfuckin' break. Like I give a shit how they courted, married, and lived together. She's having a kid...that's all I need to know. She must be happy enough to let him hit it and is willing to have his kid. Her career will tank now because she is going to worry more about the kid than her next single, and I couldn't be happier. But goddamn, enough with the reality shows. If its a game show, at least there's an element to it that keeps me interested. If its just insane, unscripted drama, then kiss my ass. Not interested.
Well, there, I feel better now.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Michael Jackson
The man did it. He touched boys. Its obvious. Lock him up. Anything. Just please stop covering it all over the TV. I'd like to watch the local news without having to see his nasty-ass face.
Bootlegging
The world of concert bootlegging suffered another blow when easytree.org shut its doors. Its come to my attention that the RIAA is no longer just going after people sharing illegal copies of legit songs that are for sale, but now they are targeting the bootlegging community. Remember, its illegal to SELL bootlegs of concerts, but its not illegal to trade or give them away. Unless a band has actually come out and declared war on bootleggers, the RIAA have no business getting into this fight. If it weren't for the fact that easytree.org used a highly-controversial, yet totally legal file-sharing protocol called bittorrent, this wouldn't have happened. But because an unregulated, totally kick-ass file-sharing system that the RIAA can't control and is often linked to the widespread piracy of software, movies, and music is the backbone for the community of bootleggers, it must be stopped. When will corporate America learn? The more you stifle us, the more resilient we become. For those of you who like live bootlegs that have been displaced by easytree.org and sharingthegroove.net before it, turn to tradersden.org. Its a good community that's growing in their absence.
Brittany Spears is pregnant
Whoopdee-fucking-do. She's married. Married people fuck. Its one of the many perks of being married. Yay, she's having a kid. Fucking shut up about it already.
Reality TV
I will admit, I watch a couple reality shows. I like The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, Big Brother. But these are "game shows". People win something during this. The difference between this and The Newlyweds or The Real World or the soon-to-be-premiered Brittany/Kevin show is that the latter shows are looks into people's lives that I could give a shit about. Jessica Simpson has a nice rack, but she's annoying as hell and stupid to boot. I could give a fuck about 7 strangers picked to live in a house blah blah blah. They aren't real. They don't pay rent, the "jobs" they get are some of the cushiest jobs on the planet that some people would kill for, and their "problems" are the stuff of high school slumber parties. Give it a fucking rest. And as for Brittany and Kevin getting their own show...give me a motherfuckin' break. Like I give a shit how they courted, married, and lived together. She's having a kid...that's all I need to know. She must be happy enough to let him hit it and is willing to have his kid. Her career will tank now because she is going to worry more about the kid than her next single, and I couldn't be happier. But goddamn, enough with the reality shows. If its a game show, at least there's an element to it that keeps me interested. If its just insane, unscripted drama, then kiss my ass. Not interested.
Well, there, I feel better now.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Raging On: School shootings
Hello all, and welcome to a rather dark and sinister edition of Raging On. The title alone is enough to turn those with weak resolves away. There isn't much need for introduction to this, so I will just jump right in. Buckle up because I'm pissed off.
So we have another school shooting. That in and of itself is upsetting, but that's not what's pissing me off. No, what's pissing me off now is the media attention and the lack of caution the school took leading up to this unfortunate incident. I'm gonna break this down into 2 rants, just so I don't run all over the place and confuse you.
School officials
I blame the school officials for part of this. Sure, the kid acted alone and no one can properly prepare for something of this nature, but seriously, the school acted poorly in the matter. Take the facts. The kid was a loner, he dressed in black, he was bullied by other kids, AND he was accused of plotting something similar in 2004 which he was eventually cleared of. Its been cited that he was in a special program for policy-breaking students that basically left them at home and teachers would come to them. When asked about the policy he broke, the school officials site confidentiality reasons and say they can't tell. Is this a cover up? Was his "expulsion" a direct result of the alleged terroristic plot? Did the school have reason to suspect he would do this and instead of removing the possibility of it happening, they help facilitate it by putting him in an even more humiliating situation, and now that his evil deed has been done, they are quickly trying to erase any responsibility they might have had in this? I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means. I am just a cynic who knows how to look into situations with an unbiased opinion and see the truth from the lies. Too many questions have been raised in my mind as to whether the school system could have prevented this. Now, I know its damn near impossible to prevent something like this, but the school should have been better prepared. They had two guards...but they were both unarmed. This right here is a huge mistake. How protective and dissuading can you be without any firearms? A school guard has the responsibility to protect the students and faculty at a school, and they failed by being inadequately prepared to handle this sort of situation. Was this their fault? No. In the end, they took orders, and they were ordered NOT to carry arms. This goes back to the shoulders of the school officials. They knew of this kid's malaise for the students. He was bullied upon. He allegedly made this sort of threat once before. He was put in a situation where he was no longer a physical student at the school and this probably made him even more of a target for bullies. Put 2 and 2 together and you get a scenario like this.
Loner kid is bullied by kids at school. He runs to tell a teacher. The teachers are of no help. He runs to the principal, again no help. He hatches a plot to kill them all. He confides in someone his heinous plot. They run and tell. He's picked up for plotting violence. Naturally he's suspended pending the investigation, and now the bullies have even more fuel for their bashings. He's eventually cleared of the allegations, but naturally they can't have him back in the school for disruption reasons, so the place him in a homeschooling-type program. This brings the hatred within this kid to full-on rage. Couple that with constant beratings from his grandfather, who just so happens to be a police office, and the fact that his father killed himself and his mother is brain damaged and resides almost 300 miles away. The kid doesn't have a family anymore. No one understands him. He becomes suicidal and full of rage. He starts making postings on neo-Nazi web forums describing himself as the "Angel of Death" and sympathizing with Adolf Hitler. He hatches a new plot, and this time he sees that it is done. He has nothing left to live for. He plans on killing himself anyway, so why not take out a few more in the meantime...be it bullies, acquaintances, friends, OR family. The rest plays out like what you have already heard. You can never being fully prepared for something like this...but you ALWAYS err on the side of caution...that's a moral imperative that this school miscalculated and now they have to deal with their actions. Shame on them.
The Media
This rant will be brief. I am disgusted with the media. They treat these killings like its sweeps for the Nielsens. The have graphics, computer-rendered dramatizations, expert psychologists talking about what was going through the killer's mind, breaking news that really isn't breaking news - just another reason to talk about the killings and take up more airtime. Every news story I read talk about this being the deadliest school shooting......since Columbine...like we need to be reminded about this shit. To the media....the world is a sick place....you make it worse. Fuck off.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day (just don't kill anyone, OK?). Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
So we have another school shooting. That in and of itself is upsetting, but that's not what's pissing me off. No, what's pissing me off now is the media attention and the lack of caution the school took leading up to this unfortunate incident. I'm gonna break this down into 2 rants, just so I don't run all over the place and confuse you.
School officials
I blame the school officials for part of this. Sure, the kid acted alone and no one can properly prepare for something of this nature, but seriously, the school acted poorly in the matter. Take the facts. The kid was a loner, he dressed in black, he was bullied by other kids, AND he was accused of plotting something similar in 2004 which he was eventually cleared of. Its been cited that he was in a special program for policy-breaking students that basically left them at home and teachers would come to them. When asked about the policy he broke, the school officials site confidentiality reasons and say they can't tell. Is this a cover up? Was his "expulsion" a direct result of the alleged terroristic plot? Did the school have reason to suspect he would do this and instead of removing the possibility of it happening, they help facilitate it by putting him in an even more humiliating situation, and now that his evil deed has been done, they are quickly trying to erase any responsibility they might have had in this? I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means. I am just a cynic who knows how to look into situations with an unbiased opinion and see the truth from the lies. Too many questions have been raised in my mind as to whether the school system could have prevented this. Now, I know its damn near impossible to prevent something like this, but the school should have been better prepared. They had two guards...but they were both unarmed. This right here is a huge mistake. How protective and dissuading can you be without any firearms? A school guard has the responsibility to protect the students and faculty at a school, and they failed by being inadequately prepared to handle this sort of situation. Was this their fault? No. In the end, they took orders, and they were ordered NOT to carry arms. This goes back to the shoulders of the school officials. They knew of this kid's malaise for the students. He was bullied upon. He allegedly made this sort of threat once before. He was put in a situation where he was no longer a physical student at the school and this probably made him even more of a target for bullies. Put 2 and 2 together and you get a scenario like this.
Loner kid is bullied by kids at school. He runs to tell a teacher. The teachers are of no help. He runs to the principal, again no help. He hatches a plot to kill them all. He confides in someone his heinous plot. They run and tell. He's picked up for plotting violence. Naturally he's suspended pending the investigation, and now the bullies have even more fuel for their bashings. He's eventually cleared of the allegations, but naturally they can't have him back in the school for disruption reasons, so the place him in a homeschooling-type program. This brings the hatred within this kid to full-on rage. Couple that with constant beratings from his grandfather, who just so happens to be a police office, and the fact that his father killed himself and his mother is brain damaged and resides almost 300 miles away. The kid doesn't have a family anymore. No one understands him. He becomes suicidal and full of rage. He starts making postings on neo-Nazi web forums describing himself as the "Angel of Death" and sympathizing with Adolf Hitler. He hatches a new plot, and this time he sees that it is done. He has nothing left to live for. He plans on killing himself anyway, so why not take out a few more in the meantime...be it bullies, acquaintances, friends, OR family. The rest plays out like what you have already heard. You can never being fully prepared for something like this...but you ALWAYS err on the side of caution...that's a moral imperative that this school miscalculated and now they have to deal with their actions. Shame on them.
The Media
This rant will be brief. I am disgusted with the media. They treat these killings like its sweeps for the Nielsens. The have graphics, computer-rendered dramatizations, expert psychologists talking about what was going through the killer's mind, breaking news that really isn't breaking news - just another reason to talk about the killings and take up more airtime. Every news story I read talk about this being the deadliest school shooting......since Columbine...like we need to be reminded about this shit. To the media....the world is a sick place....you make it worse. Fuck off.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day (just don't kill anyone, OK?). Please visit Relevant Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Raging On: The right to die
I think this topic has been talked about enough, but I feel like I need to interject my own opinion on the right to die. I have read all the stories, heard all the testimonies, and watched all the news reports on the Schiavo situation in Florida in disgust. Here we have 2 sides...on one side we have the husband who wants to put a woman in a perpetual vegatative state to rest. On the other, a family who can't let go that their daughter is going to die. Obviously by this statement alone you can see which side I sit on. Before I get a barrage of right-to-lifers flaming me with death-threats, hear me out.
If you were seriously injured in a car accident and your body was left immobile and you no longer had the ability to speak or eat, would you want to live? Would you seriously be content with sitting in a bed for the rest of your life, unable to feel anything or to talk...let alone eat your favorite foods? Picture this life...is this something you'd be content with? If you said yes, you are a fucking liar and are too wrapped up in your convictions to be honest with yourself. This woman is never going to be able to live a normal life. The parents, who selfishly want their daughter to be kept alive because they can't accept the fact that they were probably an indirect (or perhaps direct..I don't know their past) cause for their daughter to be obsessed with her weight and led her down the path to an eating disorder which, ultimately left her in the state she is in now. Their guilt has transformed into this dire need to keep her alive, like they are doing her a favor. They keep tauting that, with treatment, she will be able to lead a semi-normal life. Bullshit! I have heard countless doctors talk about how she will never recover, and that if they were so fucking worried about getting her out and about, why did they wait several years after her heart failure to start bringing it up, and that was only when Michael decided he no longer wanted to see his wife in that state.
In the end, Michael has the power to order the feeding tube out, and the family hates it. I have read claims the family has made that Michael wants her to die so that he can remarry, then they go on and tell him to divorce her and move on and they will take care of her. I think this is ludicrous. If he was wanting out from the marriage, he would have left years ago. Seriously, do you have any idea how much the hospital bill is? Guess who is going to be responsible for it when its all said and done? The husband. If remarrying was his goal, he would have jumped ship, leaving the bill for the family. This is not a selfish man. This is a man who has seen his very private life become fodder for the media, and now we have the government passing laws that, in the end, will prevent us from ever having "the right to die". I am telling you right now, if I was diagnosed with a disease that will leave me in a state much like hers, say MS, I'd kill myself as soon as the first symptoms appear. I would never subject myself to a life of pain and unable to do things on my own. That's a life I choose to leave. If that sends me to "hell", then I will gladly roast, because hell ain't a bad place compared to being a prisoner in your mind.
I wonder how Terri feels right now, knowing she is slowly dying. I bet she's relieved that soon she'll be asleep for good. I know its gotta be painful for the family, going in there, knowing she's dehydrating and can't do anything about it. It has to be really hard to sit there and know that your daughter/sister/cousin/whatever is wasting away and you can't help it. But its selfish to think that you should keep her on a machine for the rest of her "natural" life, binding her to a life in a bed. The claim to be devout Roman Catholics. Why are you trying to keep her in her mortal vessel when Paradise beckons? Let her go. Let the pain go. She will be walking with God very shortly. Isn't that better than an uncomfortable bed in a sterile hospital, surrounded by injury and death? Shindler's...let her go.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
If you were seriously injured in a car accident and your body was left immobile and you no longer had the ability to speak or eat, would you want to live? Would you seriously be content with sitting in a bed for the rest of your life, unable to feel anything or to talk...let alone eat your favorite foods? Picture this life...is this something you'd be content with? If you said yes, you are a fucking liar and are too wrapped up in your convictions to be honest with yourself. This woman is never going to be able to live a normal life. The parents, who selfishly want their daughter to be kept alive because they can't accept the fact that they were probably an indirect (or perhaps direct..I don't know their past) cause for their daughter to be obsessed with her weight and led her down the path to an eating disorder which, ultimately left her in the state she is in now. Their guilt has transformed into this dire need to keep her alive, like they are doing her a favor. They keep tauting that, with treatment, she will be able to lead a semi-normal life. Bullshit! I have heard countless doctors talk about how she will never recover, and that if they were so fucking worried about getting her out and about, why did they wait several years after her heart failure to start bringing it up, and that was only when Michael decided he no longer wanted to see his wife in that state.
In the end, Michael has the power to order the feeding tube out, and the family hates it. I have read claims the family has made that Michael wants her to die so that he can remarry, then they go on and tell him to divorce her and move on and they will take care of her. I think this is ludicrous. If he was wanting out from the marriage, he would have left years ago. Seriously, do you have any idea how much the hospital bill is? Guess who is going to be responsible for it when its all said and done? The husband. If remarrying was his goal, he would have jumped ship, leaving the bill for the family. This is not a selfish man. This is a man who has seen his very private life become fodder for the media, and now we have the government passing laws that, in the end, will prevent us from ever having "the right to die". I am telling you right now, if I was diagnosed with a disease that will leave me in a state much like hers, say MS, I'd kill myself as soon as the first symptoms appear. I would never subject myself to a life of pain and unable to do things on my own. That's a life I choose to leave. If that sends me to "hell", then I will gladly roast, because hell ain't a bad place compared to being a prisoner in your mind.
I wonder how Terri feels right now, knowing she is slowly dying. I bet she's relieved that soon she'll be asleep for good. I know its gotta be painful for the family, going in there, knowing she's dehydrating and can't do anything about it. It has to be really hard to sit there and know that your daughter/sister/cousin/whatever is wasting away and you can't help it. But its selfish to think that you should keep her on a machine for the rest of her "natural" life, binding her to a life in a bed. The claim to be devout Roman Catholics. Why are you trying to keep her in her mortal vessel when Paradise beckons? Let her go. Let the pain go. She will be walking with God very shortly. Isn't that better than an uncomfortable bed in a sterile hospital, surrounded by injury and death? Shindler's...let her go.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Update on Beatallica
What can I say. In the past day, a lot has been happening with Beatallica, and all of it good. Boing Boing has a story on the ongoing legal dispute between Sony and Beatallica, on which some rather good news has sprung forth.
From Boing Boing:
"On the NPR program "Day to Day" today, I report on Beatallica, the Milwaukee-based parody band known for Metallica-infused covers of Beatles songs. As reported previously here on Boing Boing, Sony Music accused them of violating copyright laws, demanded that their webmaster pay "unspecified damages," and forced the band's ISP to shut down their website. The band known for tunes such as "I Want to Choke Your Band" and "Leper Madonna" reached out to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Thanks to his efforts, Beatallica will soon be back online, and the legal debacle over. Ulrich volunteered to provide assistance with legal negotiations for Beatallica, and asked Metallica's longtime attorney Peter Paterno to try and defuse the situation with Sony on behalf of the dudes from Milwaukee. And now, Sony has agreed to drop the case. Mr. Ulrich is no stranger to matters of intellectual property law and the internet. Five years ago, he stood on the steps of Napster, Inc., hauling boxes full of 300,000 names: all people he said were using Napster to "steal" Metallica tunes. But things have changed. That debate was about who profited from Metallica's music, he says, and this one is about creative rights at the heart of rock and roll itself. Ulrich says he believes that cover bands, mash-ups, and the right to re-interpret art on the internet are things worth fighting for. Thanks in part to Lars, expect to see beatallica.org online again -- with a new song release -- this week."
Now it must be said that the last line reported is a bit erroneous and that Beatallica.com will not be up for a couple more weeks at least, as the talks are still ongoing, but the new song release has been delayed since this all came about, so it is, naturally, fact that a new song will be released once the site is back online, its just too early to tell when exactly that will be. But obviously this is good news, especially since Lars has decided to take a vocal stance on the issue and has given Beatallica full use of Metallica's legal team. While I don't care for their corporate stance on their band's dealings, I have to give full appreciation and gratitude to Metallica for helping a band I totally enjoy fight the music industry's stranglehold on originality. Rock on.
I am still willing to fulfill anyone's need for Beatallica's music, so if you're interested, shoot an email to sharingbeatallica@gmail.com and I'll get it to you.
From Boing Boing:
"On the NPR program "Day to Day" today, I report on Beatallica, the Milwaukee-based parody band known for Metallica-infused covers of Beatles songs. As reported previously here on Boing Boing, Sony Music accused them of violating copyright laws, demanded that their webmaster pay "unspecified damages," and forced the band's ISP to shut down their website. The band known for tunes such as "I Want to Choke Your Band" and "Leper Madonna" reached out to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Thanks to his efforts, Beatallica will soon be back online, and the legal debacle over. Ulrich volunteered to provide assistance with legal negotiations for Beatallica, and asked Metallica's longtime attorney Peter Paterno to try and defuse the situation with Sony on behalf of the dudes from Milwaukee. And now, Sony has agreed to drop the case. Mr. Ulrich is no stranger to matters of intellectual property law and the internet. Five years ago, he stood on the steps of Napster, Inc., hauling boxes full of 300,000 names: all people he said were using Napster to "steal" Metallica tunes. But things have changed. That debate was about who profited from Metallica's music, he says, and this one is about creative rights at the heart of rock and roll itself. Ulrich says he believes that cover bands, mash-ups, and the right to re-interpret art on the internet are things worth fighting for. Thanks in part to Lars, expect to see beatallica.org online again -- with a new song release -- this week."
Now it must be said that the last line reported is a bit erroneous and that Beatallica.com will not be up for a couple more weeks at least, as the talks are still ongoing, but the new song release has been delayed since this all came about, so it is, naturally, fact that a new song will be released once the site is back online, its just too early to tell when exactly that will be. But obviously this is good news, especially since Lars has decided to take a vocal stance on the issue and has given Beatallica full use of Metallica's legal team. While I don't care for their corporate stance on their band's dealings, I have to give full appreciation and gratitude to Metallica for helping a band I totally enjoy fight the music industry's stranglehold on originality. Rock on.
I am still willing to fulfill anyone's need for Beatallica's music, so if you're interested, shoot an email to sharingbeatallica@gmail.com and I'll get it to you.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Raging On: Bullshit capitalist music labels
Hello all and welcome to another rousing edition of Raging On, the hottest thing since my bout with Montezuma's Revenge. Today's post finds me in a rather foul mood. The tale I am about to tell you is real. No names have been changed to protect anybody. This is yet another example that corporate asshats who run record labels under the guise of actually caring about their consumers are evil and need to be wiped from Earth. I believe if Dante were alive today, he'd rewrite his epic book, "Inferno", to include another circle of hell that would be strictly for lawyers and record label executives. Enjoy.
Friends, about a year ago, I was trolling on a defunct Bittorrent tracker site known as SharingtheGroove. This site was dedicated to perfect digital copies of bootlegs and unreleased, NON-COPYWRITED albums. It was, without a doubt, the Napster of bootlegging. Anything and everything you could ever hope for was on this list. One day, I happened across a very interesting posting. It was for a band named Beatallica. I was curious, so I downloaded the album that was available, their first EP titled "A Garage Dayz Night". As you can tell by the name of the band and album, they are a parody band that fuses (quite successfully I might add) the music and lyrics of Metallica and The Beatles. Once I listened to it, I was hooked. I went to their website, www.beatallica.org (they have recently created a beatallica.com...but read on for some info on that), and found out that they had yet another album under their belt. Simply titled "Betallica", it was a nod to both the Black Album and White Album. The album "cover", as you can imagine, is gray. So anyway, this band hooked me hard and I became a huge fan. Now, lets fast forward to this past month. A certain music conglomerate that goes by the name Sony has served both the band AND the ISP that hosted the bands websites with cease and desist letters, talking about punitive damages, copywrite infringement, and other bullshit. The part that really chaps my ass is that they had the site shutdown via what they claim are violations of the DMCA....which is total horseshit because music that is freely distributed by a band that makes no profit off of anything from either bands it parodies AND is not represented as works created by the original bands is in no way, shape, or form a violation. Since the name is so big, naturally the little ISP quickly adhered to their demands and pulled the plug. Now, some of you might be saying, "So what, its just a website." But its more than that. This was the bands way of getting their music out to the world. Being non-profit and only doing it because they love it, they don't have the money to promote their swag and albums on a global scale. Hell, they can't even do it on a national scale. Their tours basically sweep a line from Cleveland to Milwaukee. Its hard to tour when you don't make any money, so they turned to the web as their portal for worldwide domination. Their music rocks. They are extremely talented and their lead singer pulls off a very eerily-realistic James Hetfield impersonation. The band do it all in fun, from their stage names (Jaymz, Krk, Kliff, and Ringo Larz) to the titles of the songs they've wedded together. Listed below is an example of some of the titles listed below:
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Got to Get You Trapped Under Ice
The Thing that Should Not Let it Be
Blackened in the U.S.S.R.
Hey Dude
...And Justice for All My Lovin' to You
I Wanna Choke Your Band
And I'm Evil (a kickass Glenn Danzig impersonation included in this gem)
Leper Madonna
There are several other songs I haven't listed, but you get the idea. If these songs titles sound interesting, you should hear the music...but that's the problem. With this unnecessary C&D order, they can no longer host their songs for all to download. Its bullshit, because they aren't doing anything wrong. And what's more fucked....Metallica actually supports this. Lars himself has contacted the band and offered their support. LARS!!!! Mr. Napster-bad himself. And its not even The Beatles who are suing...its the record label that owns the rights to the songs. Remember, child-molesting Michael Jackson bought the rights, and sold some controlling interest in them to Sony so he could pay some bills. This is where it all comes from. Sony, the multimedia juggernaut is the one behind all this. I am sure Paul and Ringo could "give a toss" (using their lingo) about some independant band that takes their music and fuses it with Metallica's. THIS BAND MAKES NO MONEY OFF OF THE LEGACY OF EITHER BAND IT PARODIES!!! Why is this an issue? I say fuck you, Sony. Fuck you. Hopefully Metallica will be a little forthcoming in the fight to keep the band alive and give them some access to their lawyers, because there's a huge fight here, and one that will definitely have some historical precidence in it. A win would close this loophole in the DMCA, and prevent others from trying to sue tribute bands and the such that DON'T get sponsorship from the band they pay tribute too (Don't believe this happens? KISS shutdown 10 tribute bands in the past 5 years because they didn't seek KISS' permission to use their music, look, or sound). This is all bullshit, and it needs to stop. You can do your part to support this band by signing this petition as well as visiting their forum and letting them know you support them. Until their site is restored to all its glory, I will be happy to help anyone out who would like to hear this band's music. Drop me an email at spreadingbeatallica@gmail.com and I will hook you up with both of their albums. Its a small effort, but one I think is well worth it.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Friends, about a year ago, I was trolling on a defunct Bittorrent tracker site known as SharingtheGroove. This site was dedicated to perfect digital copies of bootlegs and unreleased, NON-COPYWRITED albums. It was, without a doubt, the Napster of bootlegging. Anything and everything you could ever hope for was on this list. One day, I happened across a very interesting posting. It was for a band named Beatallica. I was curious, so I downloaded the album that was available, their first EP titled "A Garage Dayz Night". As you can tell by the name of the band and album, they are a parody band that fuses (quite successfully I might add) the music and lyrics of Metallica and The Beatles. Once I listened to it, I was hooked. I went to their website, www.beatallica.org (they have recently created a beatallica.com...but read on for some info on that), and found out that they had yet another album under their belt. Simply titled "Betallica", it was a nod to both the Black Album and White Album. The album "cover", as you can imagine, is gray. So anyway, this band hooked me hard and I became a huge fan. Now, lets fast forward to this past month. A certain music conglomerate that goes by the name Sony has served both the band AND the ISP that hosted the bands websites with cease and desist letters, talking about punitive damages, copywrite infringement, and other bullshit. The part that really chaps my ass is that they had the site shutdown via what they claim are violations of the DMCA....which is total horseshit because music that is freely distributed by a band that makes no profit off of anything from either bands it parodies AND is not represented as works created by the original bands is in no way, shape, or form a violation. Since the name is so big, naturally the little ISP quickly adhered to their demands and pulled the plug. Now, some of you might be saying, "So what, its just a website." But its more than that. This was the bands way of getting their music out to the world. Being non-profit and only doing it because they love it, they don't have the money to promote their swag and albums on a global scale. Hell, they can't even do it on a national scale. Their tours basically sweep a line from Cleveland to Milwaukee. Its hard to tour when you don't make any money, so they turned to the web as their portal for worldwide domination. Their music rocks. They are extremely talented and their lead singer pulls off a very eerily-realistic James Hetfield impersonation. The band do it all in fun, from their stage names (Jaymz, Krk, Kliff, and Ringo Larz) to the titles of the songs they've wedded together. Listed below is an example of some of the titles listed below:
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Got to Get You Trapped Under Ice
The Thing that Should Not Let it Be
Blackened in the U.S.S.R.
Hey Dude
...And Justice for All My Lovin' to You
I Wanna Choke Your Band
And I'm Evil (a kickass Glenn Danzig impersonation included in this gem)
Leper Madonna
There are several other songs I haven't listed, but you get the idea. If these songs titles sound interesting, you should hear the music...but that's the problem. With this unnecessary C&D order, they can no longer host their songs for all to download. Its bullshit, because they aren't doing anything wrong. And what's more fucked....Metallica actually supports this. Lars himself has contacted the band and offered their support. LARS!!!! Mr. Napster-bad himself. And its not even The Beatles who are suing...its the record label that owns the rights to the songs. Remember, child-molesting Michael Jackson bought the rights, and sold some controlling interest in them to Sony so he could pay some bills. This is where it all comes from. Sony, the multimedia juggernaut is the one behind all this. I am sure Paul and Ringo could "give a toss" (using their lingo) about some independant band that takes their music and fuses it with Metallica's. THIS BAND MAKES NO MONEY OFF OF THE LEGACY OF EITHER BAND IT PARODIES!!! Why is this an issue? I say fuck you, Sony. Fuck you. Hopefully Metallica will be a little forthcoming in the fight to keep the band alive and give them some access to their lawyers, because there's a huge fight here, and one that will definitely have some historical precidence in it. A win would close this loophole in the DMCA, and prevent others from trying to sue tribute bands and the such that DON'T get sponsorship from the band they pay tribute too (Don't believe this happens? KISS shutdown 10 tribute bands in the past 5 years because they didn't seek KISS' permission to use their music, look, or sound). This is all bullshit, and it needs to stop. You can do your part to support this band by signing this petition as well as visiting their forum and letting them know you support them. Until their site is restored to all its glory, I will be happy to help anyone out who would like to hear this band's music. Drop me an email at spreadingbeatallica@gmail.com and I will hook you up with both of their albums. Its a small effort, but one I think is well worth it.
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Raging On: The weather patterns of Winter
Howdy, and welcome to another edition of Raging On, a chance for me to bitch about things that are relevant to today's society. Today's topic, although completely random, is pretty relevant with the impending changing of the seasons.
Yesterday was by far the most beautiful day we've had this year. The temperatures were in the 60s, the sun was shining bright, and the cool, yet gale-like breeze was more refreshing than bone-chilling. All in all it was a great day. Now, its storming outside and the temperature, albeit mild and spring-like, has a tinge of chill in it. Tonight, the temperatures are going to plummet some 30 degrees and begin to snow. In the morning it will barely hit 30 degrees. The next day? Forcasted low of 15. WHY!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Its no secret that in the midwest, the weather is as unpredictable as a drunk uncle at a wedding reception, but why, if we are an adaptable species, do I get sick everytime we have a weather change like this? Shouldn't my body be adapting to this temperature swings with ease? What is the root cause for getting sick just because the temps are down 20+ degrees from the day before? Its not like I'm sticking my head out a window during the change. It sucks, and I want it to stop. I've been sick 14 times this winter, a personal record. And these aren't the sniffles, either. This is full-blown sinus infections, severe chest congestion, and head congestion that borders on torture. Hell, I woke up this morning with a nice sore throat, the beginning of yet another onslaught. I FUCKING HATE MIDWESTERN WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Yesterday was by far the most beautiful day we've had this year. The temperatures were in the 60s, the sun was shining bright, and the cool, yet gale-like breeze was more refreshing than bone-chilling. All in all it was a great day. Now, its storming outside and the temperature, albeit mild and spring-like, has a tinge of chill in it. Tonight, the temperatures are going to plummet some 30 degrees and begin to snow. In the morning it will barely hit 30 degrees. The next day? Forcasted low of 15. WHY!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Its no secret that in the midwest, the weather is as unpredictable as a drunk uncle at a wedding reception, but why, if we are an adaptable species, do I get sick everytime we have a weather change like this? Shouldn't my body be adapting to this temperature swings with ease? What is the root cause for getting sick just because the temps are down 20+ degrees from the day before? Its not like I'm sticking my head out a window during the change. It sucks, and I want it to stop. I've been sick 14 times this winter, a personal record. And these aren't the sniffles, either. This is full-blown sinus infections, severe chest congestion, and head congestion that borders on torture. Hell, I woke up this morning with a nice sore throat, the beginning of yet another onslaught. I FUCKING HATE MIDWESTERN WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Raging On: Local government
Hello my droogies, and welcome to the second edition of Raging On. Today finds me in quite the foul mood. This edition will be a little out of touch with you readers who are not from the state of Indiana, but I'd like to think that what I am about to share with you won't sound too difficult to fathom. I am sure this shit happens in all reaches of the world, but its this particular time that has really incensed me. Enjoy my hate.
The newly elected state government recently started the General Assembly for the year. This year they were put to the task of balancing a state budget that would help alleviate an almost $800-million deficit. Also on tap for the session is a bill to fund a new stadium for the Colts, the necessary adoption of Daylight Savings Time, and the all-too-needed appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee the stamping out of corruption in our beloved state government. There are countless other bills being introduced, but these are the three that catch my eye the most. Now...sounds easy, right? Oh, but its not.
See, Indiana is a historically Republican state. We've always been a red state when it came to presidential elections. But when it came down to the local government, for some odd reason, the votes swung way left. Of course this has a lot to do with the minority voting population being more inclined to vote for a local government change as opposed to a president. Its not that they don't understand how the voting process works, its just that they don't care about the foreign policy or some new income tax for the upper-middle class. Plus, they don't get that one-on-one approach from the presidential hopefuls that they get from the local candidates going door-to-door asking for your vote. Now, getting back to the point, this past election was the first time in over a decade that the House and Senate had a Republican majority while a Republican governor is in office. Actually its the first time in over a decade that we had a Republican governor. Anyway, naturally what we have here is the same shit that's happening in Iraq between the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. You take the Sunnis (Democrats in my case), a group that has been in power for years. Now, a radical change in the government strips them of their power, namely the Shi'ites (Republicans). So, naturally, there's a huge animosity surging that stems from this loss of power. Now, instead of bombs and snipers, we have un-compromising House leaders who want nothing to do with the Republican agenda....this is where my hate comes into play.
The newly elected state government recently started the General Assembly for the year. This year they were put to the task of balancing a state budget that would help alleviate an almost $800-million deficit. Also on tap for the session is a bill to fund a new stadium for the Colts, the necessary adoption of Daylight Savings Time, and the all-too-needed appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee the stamping out of corruption in our beloved state government. There are countless other bills being introduced, but these are the three that catch my eye the most. Now...sounds easy, right? Oh, but its not.
See, Indiana is a historically Republican state. We've always been a red state when it came to presidential elections. But when it came down to the local government, for some odd reason, the votes swung way left. Of course this has a lot to do with the minority voting population being more inclined to vote for a local government change as opposed to a president. Its not that they don't understand how the voting process works, its just that they don't care about the foreign policy or some new income tax for the upper-middle class. Plus, they don't get that one-on-one approach from the presidential hopefuls that they get from the local candidates going door-to-door asking for your vote. Now, getting back to the point, this past election was the first time in over a decade that the House and Senate had a Republican majority while a Republican governor is in office. Actually its the first time in over a decade that we had a Republican governor. Anyway, naturally what we have here is the same shit that's happening in Iraq between the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. You take the Sunnis (Democrats in my case), a group that has been in power for years. Now, a radical change in the government strips them of their power, namely the Shi'ites (Republicans). So, naturally, there's a huge animosity surging that stems from this loss of power. Now, instead of bombs and snipers, we have un-compromising House leaders who want nothing to do with the Republican agenda....this is where my hate comes into play.
I woke up this morning, oblivious to the goings on the night before, and turned on the local news to wake me up and let me know how fucking cold it is outside. Imagine my surprise when I find out that yesterday the Democrats decided that they didn't want to be at work, the last day for the House to approve bills to send to the Senate, and decided to fuck over the citizens that elected them by forcing 138 separate bills to die. Why would they, the elected officials that our tax money pays to do the job, do something to counteract progress and economic growth? Turns out they don't like the idea of a special prosecutor being appointed by the Governor to investigate and prosecute elected officials involved in corrupt acts that are a conflict of interest. Why? What the hell? Why is this such a huge issue? Well, it all stems from the fact that the prosecutor would have unequivable power to do his job and would only have to report to the Governor. Also, he would be appointed instead of elected. This means that the Dems wouldn't know who is going to be the prosecutor, so they couldn't influence them. Naturally, I can feel for them. I am sure it sucks to know you have someone who is going to be coming after your ass because not only did you do something wrong, but also because you are on the opposing party. But then again, I don't feel for them because they should not be corrupt in the first place. Seriously, they have a cushy job that requires them to sit down in a large room for 3 months out of the year trying to pass bills into laws. The rest of the year is spent listening to lobbyists who want their agendas pushed for the next General Assembly. And they get paid decent money with insane fringe benefits to do this. Why be corrupt? You're obviously doing well for yourself. So because they didn't want to be exposed of wrongdoing, they chose, as a party, to not show up to vote on 138 different items, some of which were very necessary. So now, here I sit, with no bill for Daylight Savings Time, no bill for a new Colts stadium, and no bill for a guy to crack down of government corruption. WHAT THE FUCK ARE MY TAXES PAYING FOR!?!?!?!?! WHY DID THE PEOPLE VOTE FOR YOU!?!?!?! DO YOUR FUCKING JOB...ITS NOT THAT FUCKING HARD. I'M SORRY YOU DON'T LIKE A BILL...FUCKING VOTE IT DOWN. STOP DICKING AROUND WITH THE FUTURE OF THIS STATE!!!!!!!!!!
Its times like this I wish we lived under a dictatorship....that way I couldn't say the guy I voted for decided to fuck me in the ass because he couldn't get his way. I feel bad for the democratic-leaning public of this state....how does it feel to know you're party leaders are fucking off and not owning up to their responsibility? Tax money hard at work. Can you believe I actually HATE politics? Who'd a thunk it?
This has been Raging On, have a wonderful, rage-filled day. Please visit Relevent Irreverence, a new internet destination for all things artistic, musical, and disturbing.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Raging On: Clear Channel and other radio monopolies
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The dawn of a new day
Hello, all. Its me again. Well, its the beginning of March. Winter is in its final days, and with it comes the rebirth of motivation and committment. That's right, its time to make that which is old new again, and starting now, that's what I am going to do. You will see, in the coming days, new articles. While I haven't gotten around to naming any of them, I have settled on one thus far...Raging On: Basically its a play on E!'s Wild On: series, but instead of being an informative show on all the "happenin' hot spots" of the world, its me, raging on important (and not so important) issues. Hopefully with this new format, things will seem more focused and less diary-like. I'm all for enlightening the world on how I feel, but seriously, hardly anyone reads this, so why spill my guts to nobody when that's what shrinks are for? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this site as much as I am going to enjoy bitching about stuff.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Yeah, I've sold out
I know what you're thinking.
"Josh, what the hell is up with the ads?"
Well, bills need to be paid. Sure, this site is free, but my ventures into online broadcasting and other nonsense are not, and I need to start capitalizing on this here interweb if I plan on doing the ambitious things I want to do. Besides, its not like they're intrusive or anything. They sit on the side, get over it. But please, click on any you see worthwhile.
So, what have I been up to as of late? Well, not much really. Cyndi and I are planning our reception. We've locked a date (March), we've reserved the room, and we've sent out the invitations. So, as far as we are concerned, all that's left is the actual shindig. There will be beer, finger foods, dancing, and fun on the level that only I can provide. I've gotten some RSVPs back from my co-workers and friends and this already is shaping up to be a mighty roudy crowd. Bring it on, I love the attention. All that's left is the honeymoon, and that's in May. Man, it feels good to be this happy.
"Josh, what the hell is up with the ads?"
Well, bills need to be paid. Sure, this site is free, but my ventures into online broadcasting and other nonsense are not, and I need to start capitalizing on this here interweb if I plan on doing the ambitious things I want to do. Besides, its not like they're intrusive or anything. They sit on the side, get over it. But please, click on any you see worthwhile.
So, what have I been up to as of late? Well, not much really. Cyndi and I are planning our reception. We've locked a date (March), we've reserved the room, and we've sent out the invitations. So, as far as we are concerned, all that's left is the actual shindig. There will be beer, finger foods, dancing, and fun on the level that only I can provide. I've gotten some RSVPs back from my co-workers and friends and this already is shaping up to be a mighty roudy crowd. Bring it on, I love the attention. All that's left is the honeymoon, and that's in May. Man, it feels good to be this happy.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
What's with all this "mucky muck"?
I've come to the conclusion that while Pepsi is an inferior product to Coca-Cola...they are a promotions juggernaut. I have to give them huge props for this latest promotion. As most of you know by now, I am a huge proponent of iTunes, and more importantly, the iPod. While I do not like the idea of paying $.99 for an inferior-quality song with no lyrics, liner notes, artwork, or ability to do with it as I please, I really admire the amount of work the program itself does. The UI is intuitive, the functionality is top-notch, and the styling is damn sexy. That being said, I am totally jocking this new Pepsi/Apple promotion. Last winter, Pepsi gave away 3-million downloads off of iTunes. This year, Pepsi is giving away 300-million, and not just with Pepsi/Diet Pepsi, but also on Mt. Dew, which is a good thing because I will drink Mt. Dew before Pepsi's ass-tasting sugar water any day. On top of that, with each song code you enter, you are also entered into a contest to try to win an iPod Mini. And its not just 1 iPod Mini...its 1,704. That's right, they're giving one away each hour the promotion runs. BRILLIANT!!! Why can't Coke come up with something like this...their cola may be superior, but they can't use that merit as their only ace in their hand....give me something too...dammit.
OK, so that ramble is out, now what? Did I mention I was married? Hmm, yes, I did. Um, I got a nice tax return. Its already claimed, though. We need the money to pay for a reception we're throwing on the 5th of March. Nothing fancy schmancy or anything, just some food, some spirits, and fun. That's how you throw a party. Also, I need a new graphix card. I built this kickass PC almost 2 years ago, yet I never upgraded the video. Its a measly Geforce3 Ti200 . Sure, that sounds all good and well, but they are on what could technically be called Geforce6, so as you can imagine, that's pretty old. So I have that, plus I have a DVD player for our van on order. Man, so much for having extra spending cash...but then again, with the money I rake in on my extra work, I have plenty to fool around with.
Internet Radio Update
I know its been awhile since I teased this, but I figured you were all due for an update, so here it is. A new project has taken precedence over this. As you may recall, a buddy of mine and I were planning a webzine for the Indy scene. Well, someone beat us to it. Luckily, he happened to be a close friend of my buddy, and he wants to cut us in on it for content. So, with that being said, my creative talents have been shifted away from running an internet station to coming up with content for this guy's site which, as of right now, is still in the preliminary planning phase. One thing that is known is that this site is going to be linked to it. For what purpose? As a natural extension of what I set out to do when I created this zine. Basically I am being given an editorial position and have been told to keep it on current events, entertainment, whatever. Just so long as I make it snappy happy. So, I guess this will serve as a warning to you, the readers. This site will start to undergo a change in structure and content. Personal insights and whatnot will no longer be on this site. The name of this blog is supposed to invoke pain, anger, and rage...yet it comes off more often than not as just a visual enema of my mind. While that makes for good reading by my friends and co-workers...it does not translate well to someone who is looking for anonymity and rabid opinion. But, fear not. I am not ditching this venture...I am merely rebranding it. When things begin to change, I will post a link on the site that will take you to my new blog. Things will start fresh and new here, and the new site will continue on with this. Now, as for the radio...it will probably come to pass as a part of this new webzine. How and when is anyone's guess. These things cost money and I need a cut in some sort of profit if I am going to spend the money and time on that venture. Especially if I am not the one calling the shots on what happens. So, there you have it. An update that has sweeping effects throughout this site. I hope you faithful will follow, and I hope that those who come to the new site will be curious and follow up on my new site. Then again...they'd probably just make fun of me...so they can kiss my ass. Cheers.
OK, so that ramble is out, now what? Did I mention I was married? Hmm, yes, I did. Um, I got a nice tax return. Its already claimed, though. We need the money to pay for a reception we're throwing on the 5th of March. Nothing fancy schmancy or anything, just some food, some spirits, and fun. That's how you throw a party. Also, I need a new graphix card. I built this kickass PC almost 2 years ago, yet I never upgraded the video. Its a measly Geforce3 Ti200 . Sure, that sounds all good and well, but they are on what could technically be called Geforce6, so as you can imagine, that's pretty old. So I have that, plus I have a DVD player for our van on order. Man, so much for having extra spending cash...but then again, with the money I rake in on my extra work, I have plenty to fool around with.
Internet Radio Update
I know its been awhile since I teased this, but I figured you were all due for an update, so here it is. A new project has taken precedence over this. As you may recall, a buddy of mine and I were planning a webzine for the Indy scene. Well, someone beat us to it. Luckily, he happened to be a close friend of my buddy, and he wants to cut us in on it for content. So, with that being said, my creative talents have been shifted away from running an internet station to coming up with content for this guy's site which, as of right now, is still in the preliminary planning phase. One thing that is known is that this site is going to be linked to it. For what purpose? As a natural extension of what I set out to do when I created this zine. Basically I am being given an editorial position and have been told to keep it on current events, entertainment, whatever. Just so long as I make it snappy happy. So, I guess this will serve as a warning to you, the readers. This site will start to undergo a change in structure and content. Personal insights and whatnot will no longer be on this site. The name of this blog is supposed to invoke pain, anger, and rage...yet it comes off more often than not as just a visual enema of my mind. While that makes for good reading by my friends and co-workers...it does not translate well to someone who is looking for anonymity and rabid opinion. But, fear not. I am not ditching this venture...I am merely rebranding it. When things begin to change, I will post a link on the site that will take you to my new blog. Things will start fresh and new here, and the new site will continue on with this. Now, as for the radio...it will probably come to pass as a part of this new webzine. How and when is anyone's guess. These things cost money and I need a cut in some sort of profit if I am going to spend the money and time on that venture. Especially if I am not the one calling the shots on what happens. So, there you have it. An update that has sweeping effects throughout this site. I hope you faithful will follow, and I hope that those who come to the new site will be curious and follow up on my new site. Then again...they'd probably just make fun of me...so they can kiss my ass. Cheers.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
What's the point of making a promise...
...if its one you can't keep? I know I said I was going to be more active, and I guess I kinda....sorta...lied about that. Sorry. Things have been on the hectic side of life lately. In addition to my normal job responsibilities, I have taken on a bit more. I have become the temporary webmaster for a large division within my company. This monumental amount of responsibility has thrust me into the limelight within the company, and now I am having discussions with top-level executives in regards to e-enabling certain processes that have, up to this point, been strictly analog and antiquated. So with that comes more time spent at work, more hours spent working on tedious tasks, but also more money and quite a résumé for me. I think that deserves a beer.
Now, that's my work life...what has been happening in my personal life? Well, I guess it must be told. Its a story of pure spontaneity, gusto, and relief all rolled into one. As some of you faithful (and faceless - seriously people...leave a comment) readers who know me outside of Cyberspace know, I have been engaged for over a year now to a wonderful woman. Well, after months and months of planning, arguments, replanning, and more arguments, the woman and I decided to buck all traditions and just go to the county courthouse and get married by the magistrate. I know what you're thinking. We only had 4 months left until the big day (May 14th), and we COULD have waited, but the thing is, we were self-funding this thing. The costs alone we're reaching the $10K mark, and that's quite the figure to attain when you're paying out the ass in medical bills for the children, not to mention all the other benefits of being a parent (food, clothing, daycare tuition, OTC medicines, entertainment). Out of all our months of planning, the only thing truly rock solid in all of it was the honeymoon, the date, the tuxes, the DJ, and the people in our wedding party. The dress still wasn't picked out, we still had the chore of deciding which church we wanted it in, we didn't have a reception hall, and our guest list was constantly evolving. Countless nights were wasted in back-and-forth diatribes about who was going to be there, how big did we want the reception, where were we going to come up with the money for this and that, so on and so forth. It was enough to split us apart. More than some of the other senseless crap that has gone on in our lives recently. So one day I was just joking around and said we should just "run to the JP and get ourselves hitched." Nothing was meant to be taken seriously. Well, about 3 days later, I get a call at work from Cyndi (why hide her name...most of you know who she is anyway) , asking me to take that Friday off so we could get married. And, on January 14th, 2005, at 4:00PM, I married Cyndi. So, there you have it. I am now a married man. Sure, we didn't do it the way we really wanted to...but in the end, this saves us thousands of dollars. $10K for the wedding/reception...and countless thousands when it comes to insurance costs. Hell, we are now saving $400/month just in the change from her company's premiums to mine. Can't beat that. So there you have it. Isn't life funny. Even for me?
Now, that's my work life...what has been happening in my personal life? Well, I guess it must be told. Its a story of pure spontaneity, gusto, and relief all rolled into one. As some of you faithful (and faceless - seriously people...leave a comment) readers who know me outside of Cyberspace know, I have been engaged for over a year now to a wonderful woman. Well, after months and months of planning, arguments, replanning, and more arguments, the woman and I decided to buck all traditions and just go to the county courthouse and get married by the magistrate. I know what you're thinking. We only had 4 months left until the big day (May 14th), and we COULD have waited, but the thing is, we were self-funding this thing. The costs alone we're reaching the $10K mark, and that's quite the figure to attain when you're paying out the ass in medical bills for the children, not to mention all the other benefits of being a parent (food, clothing, daycare tuition, OTC medicines, entertainment). Out of all our months of planning, the only thing truly rock solid in all of it was the honeymoon, the date, the tuxes, the DJ, and the people in our wedding party. The dress still wasn't picked out, we still had the chore of deciding which church we wanted it in, we didn't have a reception hall, and our guest list was constantly evolving. Countless nights were wasted in back-and-forth diatribes about who was going to be there, how big did we want the reception, where were we going to come up with the money for this and that, so on and so forth. It was enough to split us apart. More than some of the other senseless crap that has gone on in our lives recently. So one day I was just joking around and said we should just "run to the JP and get ourselves hitched." Nothing was meant to be taken seriously. Well, about 3 days later, I get a call at work from Cyndi (why hide her name...most of you know who she is anyway) , asking me to take that Friday off so we could get married. And, on January 14th, 2005, at 4:00PM, I married Cyndi. So, there you have it. I am now a married man. Sure, we didn't do it the way we really wanted to...but in the end, this saves us thousands of dollars. $10K for the wedding/reception...and countless thousands when it comes to insurance costs. Hell, we are now saving $400/month just in the change from her company's premiums to mine. Can't beat that. So there you have it. Isn't life funny. Even for me?
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Friggin' silly stuff
OK, I know this is completely random, but I have to share this for those of you who haven't had a chance/privilege of experiencing this. I found this while trolling the LWS forums. Its quite amusing, and goes to further prove my point that you never, EVER record yourself doing something stupid/bizarre and then allow it to get onto the Internet. Poor kid will never live this down. Its a 4meg Flash file, so make sure you have time to view it. Trust me, its well worth it, even if the quality is kinda poor. Stupid Flash.
Monday, January 03, 2005
OH MY GAWD!
Whoa, what's going on here? Could it be I am actually posting something? Well that answer is a resounding "Yes, Sir." Its been a long while, has it not? Almost 2 months since my last post, and even that was nothing but a shameless plug to a movie based on a kick-ass series of books. Anyway, where have I been? Lets just say I have spent the better part of the holidays working my tail off, realigning my priorities, and generally just making sure I am who I think I am. You can call it self-discovery, I like to call it...being lazy for the sake of not having anything better to do but think. Actually that's not really the case. I have just decided to take a bit of time away from my usual exploits of online gaming, posting to the blog, and general mish mash that usually wastes precious time. But alas, my little droogies (to steal from A Clockwork Orange), I have returned, reinvigorated and ready to let you all into my mind once again. With the holidays out of the way, I can dedicate time to this blog, because lord knows that's what this blog needs...some attention. Anyway, just thought I would drop a line and let you all (like you're still reading this, those precious few who would visit when I was more attentative to the site) know that my sites are set and this site is in need of some affection from my thought process. Stay tuned for more rants, raves, opinions, reviews, and the sort. The future looks brighter.
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