5.28.2004

The Devil's Work Day

Just a reminder, scroll down here and take a look at what's going on this weekend. It's very important that you don't forget. If you're a Detroiter, or a semi-Detroiter, you need to take advantage of what this city of the arts has to offer you this weekend. Oh, there's another show besides the rock show tonight and the festival this weekend. Braid is playing St. Andrew's on Sunday. Check out info on that here. Doors are early (4:30pm), so get there early! If anyone wants to hang sometime this weekend, lemme know. I have Saturday through Tuesday off. Also, the folks at Movement have finally posted a schedule, so now you know what's going on when (in theory, the schedule for that thing never ends up being right). If any of you have ever been to Eph Mcnally's, the deli in Corktown, you've probably encountered Greg Mudge. Greg will be DJing at Movement at noon on Saturday on the Music Institute stage. You should check that out. Also, on Saturday, there's another Movement afterparty at the Detroit Artist's Market. Doors are at 10pm for that and the feature is Mike Dearborn. You can view a flyer for that show here. It'll be a busy weekend, kids, don't load up on barbecue and beer...

25 cent giraffes

5.25.2004

All By Ourselves

On the flip side of Detroit music, this weekend has a pretty freakin' big event to offer. Friday night, at the Magic Stick, there will be a show titled the Detroit Rock n Roll Revival. The show is a benefit for Isaac 'Marty' Morris, the singer/guitarist from local band the Cyril Lords. Marty was hospitalized recently, but he's doing better now, unfortunately, musicians still don't get any kind of health insurance, so he's hurtin', ya know? The show is also benefitting Scott from the Grande Nationals. A few weeks ago, he was attacked and mugged while leaving Alvin's in the Cass Corridor after a show. I know, you're waitin' with baited breath. Here's the lineup: THE HENTCHMEN, THE SIGHTS, FAITH GAZIC (of TERROR AT THE OPERA), THE GO, ESQUIRE, and BACK IN SPADES. Yeah, all of those bands. Cover is $10 (more if you're able, this is a benefit, remember?), doors are at 9pm. I think I can guarantee that this show will sell out, and the Magic Stick will be packed to it's 500-or-so capacity. Be there.

city slang

Delivering Maybes

Detroit is a city divided. In many ways, but this weekend, the division will be based in music. Bleeps and bloops versus pick slides and power chords. Being a fan of many kinds of music, it's all good to me. This weekend will be the Movement Festival in downtown Detroit. The original festival a few years ago was called the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF), but they had to change the name for legal reasons. The festival has always been on Memorial Day weekend and is located in Hart Plaza downtown. I went the first year, and the year after that, but I soon lost interest. It's always been plagued by bad organization and scheduling issues. The list of acts this year is impressive enough, but it's not enough to get me out there for anything other than people watching. The show is free and it's in a large civic park on the water on a holiday weekend. Why not go and hang out for a little while, ya know? Don't get me wrong, the show is worthwhile, if electronic music is your bag. But, it seems that these days, it's the afterparties that have become more interesting than the festival itself (which is usually the case with any kind of electro-music event like this over time). I know that Plastikman is having a party, of course the location and exact date haven't been released yet, but in the past, his afterparties for the DEMF have been multi-day events running continuously. Paxahau Promotions will be putting on a party on the 29th at St. Andrew's Hall, and that one features several groundbreaking performances including live sets mixed with DJ sets and internet based collaborations. See, this is what makes the weekend so interesting. The actual event itself is less interesting than the peripheral parties spawned from it. I know there will also be events at Foran's (downtown on Woodward) all weekend, info for that can be found at artist Greg Mudge's site. There are all kinds of events going on all over town this weekend in relation to the festival. All you have to do is look. Or, go down to Hart Plaza, there will be hundreds (literally) of people handing out flyers for afterparties. Also, Submerge Records will be hosting an art show in conjunction with the festival. Info on that can be found on the Submerge site. Let me know if any of you have any questions. I might be able to answer them!

I ran out of glow sticks - dammit!

5.24.2004

Evil lurking on the outskirts of town

I'm sure by now most of you are aware that Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer. They're bigger than god, and they make more money than General Motors. There are two problems with Wal-Mart, (a) the stores are ugly, and attract more similar big-box retailers and crappy bar and grill restaurants, and (b) they take away business from the small shops that make up a small town or a city. This is a problem. A huge problem, in fact. Small towns are disappearing in America because of this suburban sprawl/blight. I know, this is a topic I've visited before, but there's a new reason to be concerned. The National Trust for Historical Preservation has placed the entire state of Vermont on their 2004 list of most endangered places. This isn't just a town or an historic district, this is a whole freakin' state! You wanna know why? Wal-Mart, that's why. Her's what the National Trust has to say about it:

History: Big-box development typically occurs on the outskirts of town, consuming farmland and open space, fueling sprawl and other problems associated with insensitive expansion. Communities often welcome these large stores in the hope that they will bring economic benefits. Too often, however, the stores bring hidden costs and cause significant economic and social harm.

Threat: The distinctive characteristics that define Vermont – historic towns, villages and rural landscapes – could be lost if sprawl-type development is allowed to occur in a haphazard, out-of-scale, land-consuming manner. The one-size-fits-all big-box “template” has proven to be detrimental to communities across the United States because of its negative economic and environmental impact on historic downtowns and local businesses. The size and design of these stores often overwhelm their surroundings, and impersonal corporate identity too often trumps community character.

Solution: The arrival of big-box sprawl often fostered by retailers such as Wal-Mart has been resisted by increasing numbers of communities that are determined to prevent or minimize the loss of their open space and the erosion of the economic vitality of their traditional business districts. People want and should have easy access to basic goods at low prices – but they also have the right to determine how their communities should grow and what they want to preserve and protect. At the very least, communities should accept big-box development with their eyes open and understand its long-term costs. Some big-box stores have adapted to local standards and worked to fit in gracefully with existing commercial districts. Some have even located in recycled vacant properties in existing downtowns. Vermonters should learn from what has happened elsewhere and persuade Wal-Mart and other large retailers to adapt the way they do business so as to enhance existing communities. Wal-Mart should change to accommodate Vermont, not the other way around.



beware of the box

5.23.2004

I Feel Dirty

I do, really. I feel so dirty right now. My hair is soaking wet, and it's turned into a 'white-boy-fro'. The temporary auditory fatigue is deep. I won't be able to hear very well until sometime tomorrow afternoon. Picture it: St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit, May 23rd, 2004. The weekend has been full of apocalyptic weather complete with lightning, hail, serious dripping wet humidity, and rain. A thousand faces glistening with sweat, but every one of them is happy. They're seeing Sloan, the A-number-one import from Halifax, Nova Scotia. You don't know Sloan? How could you not? This was my fourth time seeing the band in seven years. They never fail to satisfy. It wasn't until tonight, approximately ten minutes before Chris Murphy (guitar/vocals/occasionally drums) turned his guitar and pointed at the KISS sticker on the back that I realized how much Sloan has in common with Kiss. Think about it: ridiculously hooky pop songs that are seriously rockin'. It's just like Kiss. Except Sloan hasn't cultivated an image that involves sci-fi costumes, fake blood, or five-foot platform shoes. If you take all of that away from Kiss, they were just another great rockin' pop band from the '70s. There's one problem with Kiss. Not all of their albums have been solid. These guys have put out eight albums since 1991, starting with "Smeared" (big hit: "Underwhelmed") and most recently, "Action Pact," which was just released in America. The band has always had a problem finding American distributors/labels regardless of all the good press and awards they get from their homeland. This makes no sense considering the thousand voices I heard singing along to EVERY song tonight, and I know this goes on at every one of their shows. It's not just a Detroit thing. They've always been big here, but I know that all of their shows do well. There are always at least a few hundred kids who know every single word, and they live to see the band.

5.22.2004

So, I was reading in Rolling Stone that Detroit audiences are the best audiences in the world. I thought "hell, I've known that for years!"

I don't know what's wrong with me. Why have I not brought this up before? There's a site that's based here in the Detroit area that's more specific than mine. I make mine sound like it's all about Detroit music, but obviously, it's not, it's just whatever I feel like spewing forth into the void of HTML. The site, Motor City Rocks, is completely dedicated to the current Detroit music scene. Unlike a few others that I've seen, this one is constantly updated (at least once daily, it seems), and is very thorough and up-to-date. So, if you come here looking for Detroit rock 'n' roll, and feel unfulfilled, check out Motor City Rocks. Then come back here.


5.21.2004

Who Cares About Honor?

There are thousands, no millions of sites like this one that you're reading right now. Some are compelete banality, rife with the meanderings of teenage girls. Or men in their 50s who wish they were teenage girls. Some are serious and updated on an hourly basis. Some are just silly and fun and good for wasting time while you're bored at work. I came across an especially interesting blog the other day. It's called Wonkette. A 31-year old self-described "failed-journalist", Ana Marie Cox is a gossip columnist at the heart of Capitol Hill. Her site is very entertaining. While you have people like Matt Drudge (Drudge Report) and the purveyors of Slate Magazine trying hard to be gossips, when in reality, they're serious journalists, Cox is able to go further, because she has nothing to lose. Her site is independantly financed, and not affiliated with any Big Media, so she can do what she wants. She even admits that some of it is made up. She also has an affinity for penis jokes, which I don't quite get, but whatever. Cox admits that she thinks it's more important to be funny than to be accurate. Her site's entertaining as hell, check it out.


Anarchy in the Home Row

Holy crap, I have to hype this. You all must be made aware. This is the full info on the Rock City Festival, courtesy of Greg Baise, the promoter at the Majestic Theater Center:

On SAT JUNE 19 & SUN JUNE 20 2004
Outdoors Behind the Majestic Theater Center
4140 Woodward, Detroit
All Ages---FREE
Doors at 2PM
Music to 11PM on Two Stages
30 Nationally-Recognized And Up-And-Coming DETROIT Area Acts
Artist Booths
Food & Beverage Booths
www.rockcityfestival.com

Rock City Festival organizers have updated the lineup for the first
annual
Rock City Festival. Already confirmed were artists such as Brendan
Benson,
Detroit Cobras, The Dirtbombs, and the Paybacks. Added to the bill are
renowned Detroit acts Blanche, The Greenhornes, Witches, The Hentchmen,
Pas/Cal, Saturday Looks Good To Me, The Go, Back in Spades, Gold Cash
Gold,
and MAN Inc, et al. The current list follows below. The festival will
take
place outdoors behind the Majestic Theater Center on June 19 and 20,
2004.

Artist booths have also begun to fill, and will include such celebrated
Detroit artists as Niagara, Glenn Barr, Mark Arminski, Rachel Reed,
Carl
Lundgren, Bryan Cunningham, and artists from the Dirty Show. Also
involved
in the festival are local sponsors; these include, among others, Pure
Detroit, WDET, 89X, Majestic Theater, Magic Stick, Small’s, the Lager
House,
Sgt. Pepperoni’s, Times Beach Records, and Metro Times.

The Rock City festival is the product of a team of great Detroit minds
who
have been promoting and organizing shows for years. They realized with
all
the great music in the city, there were no true large-scale rock
festivals.
With such an obvious void to fill, bands and businesses were contacted,
and
the first annual Rock City Festival fell into place.

This event is a free, outdoor, all-ages affair. During the two-day
festival
bands will alternate between two stages; doors each day are at 2 PM.
Woodward Avenue is sure to be crowded, as the festival will be held
behind
the Majestic Theater Center, which is in the heart of Detroit’s
Cultural
Center, eight blocks south of the Detroit Institute of the Arts, and
ten
blocks north of Comerica Park. The expected turnout for the Rock City
Festival is between fifteen and twenty thousand a day.

Band List

Brendan Benson
The Paybacks
Blanche
The Dirtbombs
Detroit Cobras
The Sights
The Greenhornes
The Sirens
The Go
Saturday Looks Good To Me
The Valentinos
Nice Device
Gold Cash Gold
The Avatars
Tranzistors
Thread Counts
The Hentchmen
Pas/Cal
Midwest Product
Outrageous Cherry
The Fondas
Back in Spades
Tiny Steps
MAN Incorporated
Shipwreck Union


Yes, you read that correctly, it's free! Entirely free. This is why they expect thousands of people to swoop down upon midtown Detroit. Get there early to get a decent parking spot or take a shuttle/cab from somewhere else (trust me on this one). Later on that Saturday, your humble narrator, the rock|n|roll|scientist will be DJing in the Garden Bowl, so stop inside and say hi.


I...wanna rock and roll all night...and party every day!

5.20.2004

Brian Wilson's Wet Dream Vs the Funk Brothers

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Saturday Looks Good To Me. Hell, Saturday always looks good to me. They're a different band every time. They're starting to look like a bunch of marching band kids who said "fuck it, there has to be something more..." So, there's this band from Ann Arbor called Saturday Looks Good To Me. The ring leader is a Mr. Fred Thomas. Fred is a fucking genius, first of all. Second, he's managed to create a sound in the studio and onstage that sounds like "Pet Sounds" meets Motown (hence the title of this post). I don't know how he does it, but he does. I've seen this band maybe five times, and it's always different people. Tonight, at the Magic Stick (in Detroit), there were ten people onstage. Ten people! What, you may ask, were these ten people all doing up there? There was the guitarist/singer (Fred), the female lead singer, the drummer, the bassist, the keyboard player (looked like a Farfisa), the trumpet, the trombone, the alto sax, the tenor sax, and the kid playin' the tambourine and the sleigh bells. Yes, ten people. Now, if you've ever heard their second album "All Your Summer Songs" (quite an appropriate title, I might add), you will know that their sound involves many, many contributors. Getting all of the people from the album up onstage at once may prove to be difficult. However, this particular incarnation of the band worked very well. Even the song where it was just Fred and his guitar ("The Girls' Distracted" - genius, by the way) was amazing. SLGTM is by no means a one-man-band, regardless of what I write. No matter who is playing the instruments, they're all there because they understand Fred's vision of hooky pop music that makes you think of the Beach Boys and the Ronettes at the same time. This is serious good stuff, and I highly recommend that you all go out and buy their new album when it comes out on September 14th (I know, it's a long time away, but I'll remind you again, don't worry).

I'm not concerned with your new boyfriend or your thrift store finds

5.18.2004

I Can Feel It

One of the best rock 'n' roll/pop bands since 'college rock' came to mean an actual style, and not just distinctive music, Sloan will be playing Detroit's St. Andrew's Hall on Sunday, May 23rd. I think one of the best rock shows I've ever seen was Sloan at the Detroit Taste Fest a few years back. They played for at least two hours, and it was completely free! Check out the Canadians.




I told her affection had two 'f's, especially when you're dealing with me

5.17.2004

$25 lasts me for about a week if I'm lucky...

So, this morning someone forwarded something to me. It was a short article about an effort to have a 'gas-out' on May 19th. The idea is that everyone should not buy any gasoline on this day in an effort to somehow screw the government or the oil companies or someone, I don't know. Here's the article:

IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES DID NOT
PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL
COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES.

AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF OVER
4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES.

THEREFORE MAY 19TH HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT TO THEM DAY" AND
THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF GASOLINE THAT DAY.

THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY
PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT.

WAITING ON THIS ADMINISTRATION TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT
GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES THAT
THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?

REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT THE
SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE
FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS
SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES
ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO!

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE
WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU
KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE MAY 19TH A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS OF THE
UNITED STATES SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH


Sounds a little compelling, right? Well, I admit, I usually research these kinds of things to find the truth of the matter. This morning, I didn't. I went and forwarded the email to a bunch of my friends who I thought might find it interesting. Almost instantly, my friend Greg emailed me back with a link to a Snopes article concerning the oil article. For those unfamiliar, Snopes is a site dedicated to debunking urban myths. They're very good at it, too. I suggest checking it out. So, I read the article on Snopes, forwarded it everyone I just sent the article to originally, and went about my day. Then, another friend, Adawndria, who just happens to live in Texas, and has lots of friends who work in the oil industry emailed me even more refutation of the original article. Here's what her friend had to say about the whole thing:

First, this wouldn't work. A one day dramatic trough in gasoline
purchases
would be offset by a corresponding spike a few days later when everyone
realized they had no way to get to work.

For those concerned about price gouging by oil companies, keep in mind
they
only make around $.05 per gallon of gas purchased, one of the lowest
profit
margins per measurable unit in the market today. How much do you think
it
costs starbucks to make a cup of coffee or Coca-Cola to fill a Dasani
bottle
with what they admit is only tap water?

If you checked the price of gasoline in 1953 the average price per
gallon
was 27 cents. If you take what the $1.00 bill was worth then and figure
in
51 years of inflation, that gallon of gas would sell for $1.89. Don't
blame
oil companies, blame inflation. What causes inflation? Lack of
supply.
Surely everyone remembers that from basic high school macro-economics.
Remember when people only paid a nickel for a fountain drink?

No oil company has been allowed to build a new refinery in the United
States
since 1982. The current refineries in operation operate at around 99%
capacity every day. The environmentalists and the NIMBYist (Not In My
Back
Yard) have effectively blocked off any move to expand the nation's
ability
to lower fuel prices.

In recent years, the distribution costs of gasoline have risen. Prior
to
January of this year, refiners had to manufacture 16 different mixtures
of
gasoline to supply to different parts of the country in order to comply
with
the EPA regs under the Clean Air Act. In January, that problem
multiplied,
as EPA raised the number of different mixtures to something over 25.
Many
of the required additives are the result of pork-barrel politics,
requiring
distributors to add a certain mixture of ethanol or other organic
alcohols
to gasoline.


So, there ya have it, kiddies. You really can't trust what you read on the interweb.

...wishing I woulda bought a hybrid car...

5.14.2004

The City at Night

Here are some events to keep you busy this weekend. Tonight (Friday) at the Detroit Artists Market is the show "Concrete Zen." Here are the details of the show, provided by Kerri:

friday May 14, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Detroit Artists Market

Concrete Zen CZn
presented by the protoculture group

experience an atmosphere filled with new forms of _expression and thinking designed to leave a lasting impression and stretch your concept of what art is

sushi, lounge, kimonos, grass, art, fashion

hope to see you all there... the current sound show Sacred and Profane will be taking a short break for that evening. do try to visit that show as well another day. and thank you to the tons of you who already did.


Also tonight, DJ Greg Mudge will be spinning at Foran's Irish Pub in downtown Detroit. His set goes from 10pm to 2am, and features his own recordings as well as others' work. Rolando is spinning at Center Street Pub down in the Harmony Park area (downtown as well). If you're not familiar, Rolando is Detroit's very own star of Underground Resistance records. Good shit.

On the rock and/or roll side of things, the Brides of Destruction are playin' the Majestic Theater, which consists of Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue, and Traci Guns from LA Guns (and originally G'N'R). That will be an interesting show. In the Magic Stick (same building, same website), Holger Czukay, from the pioneering band Can will be performing. His set promises to be different from what you'd probably expect. Saturday night, The Reverend Horton Heat are playing the Majestic Theater, and the Cardigans are playing the Magic Stick. Yes, they're still together, and still making good records besides that song "Lovefool" that was all over college radio 10 years ago.

...and party every day

5.12.2004

Send Me Your Money

I recently received this email in my Yahoo! account. The link (omitted) does go to a site that looks like it's a Citibank site, but I think it's a mirror of some sort. Either way, this person is attempting electronic fraud to obtain private account information from me. Funny, considering I'm not even a member of Citibank. Anyway, here it is. Do not send them any information if you get this message in your email. I think more than anything it's funny due to all of the spelling and grammar errors. Who would really believe this is from a bank?


DEAR CITI_bank Member_,

_This e-mail was sent_ by the_ Citibank _server to veerify your_ Email adress_.
You must complete this process by clicking on the link bellow and enteering
in the smmall _window your Citibank _ATM_ card number and _PIN that
you use_ in the local Atm machine. That_is done for your protection -K- becouse some of our
membres no longer_ have access to their E-mail _address_es and we must verify it.


What kind of idiot expects people to fall for this?


My money saved the prince of Nigeria

Readers Fight Back

Here is a comment to my post "From Her to Eternity." Keep in mind that the author may have been intoxicated when typing this:

if you ever include the devils, the hearts, or especially the buzzcocks in any of your rants that are remotely related to "emo" again, i will cut your throat in your sleep. i gots keys to your house, bitch. and by the way, i don't like to categorize music either, but the label "emo" is there to warn us all of how gay the shit is. it is quite useful, in a way. so suck it, bitch.

have another, Lex

5.11.2004

From Her to Eternity

I've noticed something weird lately. First of all, I want to say that while I think they are a necessary evil, I don't like the idea of placing music in to categories. It just isn't fair. However, it makes things easy sometimes.

This is what I've noticed: bands and acts that could be called "Post-Emo." I know, I know, people mostly cringe when they hear the word 'emo', but I'm totally serious here. Some of them are obvious like the Firebird Band which includes Chris Broach from Braid (emo pioneers who probably should have never been called emo), or the Postal Service (Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello from Dntel). Both bands use keyboards and drum machines in their 'emotional' music. But, they also use real instrumentation as well. Another similar example would be The Faint, who were making records as far back as 1999. The Faint actually sound more like Duran Duran than the Get Up Kids. And it's a good sound. These are just a few of the current post-emo bands who happen to use electronic elements in their sound. Chris Broach from the Firebird Band is not only a helluva nice guy, but he's also the owner and operator of Lucid Records, who happen to be at the forefront of this genre. Not all of the bands have electronic elements, but the ghost of emo lingers on in all of them.

On the flip side of things, there are some older bands re-gaining interest in these post-emo days. A great example would be Murder City Devils. The Devils are no longer together, but their influence is felt all throughout hard indie-rock and punk or whatever you want to call it. Locally, that influence can be heard in the Whisky Diaries (website forthcoming when I have time - no, I'm not in the band). Another relevant band finding popularity posthumously is Brainiac. Their fame is literally posthumous since the singer Tim Taylor died in a car wreck in Ohio in 1997. Since then, the members have gone on to numerous other projects including Enon. Brainiac and Enon definitely fit into the electro-punk-wave side of things. Oh, another good one is The Exploding Hearts. Also posthumous because 3/4 of the band died in a van wreck while touring last summer. These guys sounded like the Cars crossed with the Buzzcocks. They would've been huge stars. This brings me to another point: the progression past emo seems to be new wave. Almost all of these bands can be related to new wave. Even the aggression of the Murder City Devils has the new wave sound thanks to the Farfisa organ that runs throughout all of their records (courtesy of Detroit native Leslie Hardy). I don't know where I'm going with all of this, it was just something interesting that I wanted to point out. That's all. If yr interested in any more bands like these that I haven't listed, let me know. Post a comment. Get involved.

*NOTE: It seems that I've irked a few people with this post. You've merely misinterpreted my words. I'm not saying that the Murder City Devils, Firebird Band, The Faint, The Buzzocks, the Exploding Hearts, or Enon are emo bands. I was merely stating that they are relevant and influential in these days of post-emo punk and rock 'n' roll.

guitar romantic

I hate HTML and CSS

Okay, so I know I've got some formatting issues going on here. I'm working on it, but I am at work right now, so it ain't that easy.

Who knows anything about CSS or a good tutorial site? Help.


bleah

5.10.2004

Summer Babe (Winter Version)

It's been raining in Detroit on and off since yesterday afternoon. People in Detroit are not accustomed to actually experiencing a full four seasons. Usually, summer and winter last for six months each, and then spring and fall last about two weeks if that. I think this year will be different. I think that the effects of global warming are more apparent than ever before. A lot of people seem to not understand how winter can be so cold due to global warming. Well, kiddies, the rock|n|roll|scientist is here to explain. Get out your notebooks and pencils. First of all, global warming is a combination of two problems both caused by humans. Up until the Industrial Revolution, humans didn't emit very many gases into the air, but now through population growth, fossil fuel burning, and deforestation, we are affecting the mixture of gases in the atmosphere. Naturally occuring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases:

Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned.

Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of livestock.

Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.

Very powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which are generated in a variety of industrial processes.

These 'extra' greenhouse gases present a problem, and lead to the depletion of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The ozone layer holds in these gases. So, (a) we have too much of the greenhouse gases, and (b) the gases that we do have are being let out through a massive hole over Antarctica. So, when the earth is closest to the sun (summer), these gases are heated and result in higher and dryer temperatures. When the earth is farthest from the sun, the gases are not getting enough heat which causes extreme cold. Unfortunately, the climate is still just a little bit of a mystery when it comes to things like this and atmospheric scientists aren't really sure what could happen. They do know that the earth's surface temperature has risen by 1 degree in the past century with the most accelerated increase occuring in the past two decades. It doesn't sound like it, but this is actually very significant, and could lead to the next ice age (in over a hundred years, so don't hold your breath).

So, this is the dumbed-down version, if you really want to know the full story on this and how it affects you, go check out the EPA's site on global warming, which is where I obtained all factual information for this article.

stupid human tricks

Do the Robot

Some announcements for today. First of all, I'd like to thank my friends at Grace & Wild studios for checkin' out the site. Second, I wanted to say that I'm killin' the message-board. No one's really using it, plus Blogger has a new feature that allows you to post comments to a post if you want. If you want to comment on an older post, you can just email me. Also, I'll be changing the look of the site soon, possibly tonight (Monday), so if you come to here, and it suddenly looks different, you know why. More to come. I have lots of new stuff to put up as soon as I have more time.



5.08.2004

Zero Tolerance

This morning, while checking out Fark, I came across something interesting: a new site. Zero Intelligence is all about the inanity of zero tolerance laws and policies at our nation's schools. Here's a blurb on what they're all about:

Zero Intelligence is a play on "Zero Tolerance", the knee jerk reactionary policies that plague our school systems. The implementation of a zero tolerance policy is the equivalent of giving up on common sense, reasonability and intellect. All infractions are grouped into types with uniform punishments regardless of the individual facts of the incident. Posession of Advil is treated as if it were equivalent to pushing crack. An honor student with the wrong type of pencil sharpener is punished the same as a known delinquent with a switchblade would be. Improper use of an inhaler leads to arrest as assault with a weapon. It is easy to see why we call these "Zero Intelligence Policies".

The most frightening part of the above paragraph is that all of the examples cited are real. They are not hyperbole or fiction for effect. They all actually happened in various school systems in the United States. These and countless other incidents show just how badly zero tolerance policies fail our children.

* This is a group website dedicated to keeping an eye on, and pointing out the excesses of, bad school policies and actions. We will keep a particular focus on zero tolerance policies but will also report on abuses outside of these.
* We will hold these policies up for discussion when possible and ridicule when deserved.
* We do not in any way suggest an abrogation of rules and regulations, only that the punishment should fit the crime and that each incident should be evaluated on its own merits.
* This is a fairly partisan site and the contributors share a genuine abhorrence for the subject policies but we are always interested in hearing opposing views. Vitriol and defamation will not be tolerated in posts or comments.
* Discussion is always encouraged. To this end we have installed a subscription plug-in for comments on the site. Although not as effective as a discussion forum, this will allow readers to be informed when comments are posted to items they wish to follow.
* When possible and practical we will give space for rebuttal from the school systems that we report on.
* We reserve the right to use any material that is sent to zerointelligence.net email addresses and contributor contact email addresses as quoted content on this website.



5.06.2004

Shame of the Nation

It's strange isn't it? American and British soldiers were initially sent to Iraq to find the mysterious weapons of mass destruction and to take down the brutal leader Saddam Hussein. No significant evidence of WMDs have been found. However, the tyrant is done. That's a good thing, but are Iraqis any safer? Recent pictures taken by British and American soldiers show that any insolent Iraqis have all kinds of fun to look forward to: no right to an attorney of any kind, indefinite detainment, cruel and unusual torture by their captors, and a complete lack of regard for the Geneva Convention. Apparently, it's true, there is no law in war. The US has fallen silent on several UN committees, the prisoners at Guantanamo will probably never get a just trial, and the rest of the captives who are still in Iraq will probably die in prison as a result of excessive torture. Isn't torture something we were trying to save the Iraqis from? I'm getting confused now. A British tabloid, the Daily Mirror printed some photos of torture last week that are being heavily disputed. Okay, I'll accept that those photos have been faked, but what about the other ones? There are plenty of photos supplied by American troops. This isn't about what nation's soldiers are responsible, this is about the military command losing sight of why they're there. It's about a complete lack of regard for human rights and the Geneva Convention. There really are laws in war. Seriously. Here's a fun example of a statement from the Geneva Convention in 1949: "To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever...Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment." So...parading naked prisoners around on leashes or making them lie on the floor naked and bound together probably violates that particular part of the Convention. You can read all of it right here, courtesy of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, which is a division of the UN. The US is currently ignoring the UN, by the way.

What does all of this come from? I understand the outrage and personal anger that stems from the 9-11 attacks, but does that justify all of this? On a simpler level, do the soldiers act this way because it's just so easy? The last 20 years or so of mass media has provided a serious culture of violence. Violent crime in this country gets stranger and stranger every day, and it's not because people are getting weirder, it's just what they grew up with. I'm not blaming TV, I'm not blaming anyone, really, because the whole thing is just too complicated. What concerns me is that these soldiers don't seem to think they're doing anything wrong. They are not untouchable. The Iraqi men they torture and urinate on and the women they're raping were not personally responsible for acts of terrorism against this country. In fact, any real terrorists are hunted down (mostly) by intelligence concerns like the CIA or special forces. Do the British and US soldiers know that? Are they just torturing people because they like it? What's going on?

Here's a relevant article from the Guardian.

*NOTE: I want to add that my friend Mark is in the Army. He felt that he needed to join to get some discipline and to get his life together. I've been talking to him through email. A month ago, his unit was in the United Arab Emirates. He said they were getting ready for a month-long mission in Iraq. He told me that most of his fellow soldiers have no idea why they're in the Middle East, including himself. All they want is to come home.

Disturbed to be an American

5.05.2004

Vijfde van Kan

May 4
Things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school:

1886: During a demonstration protesting the previous day's murders, a bomb explodes in Haymarket Square, Chicago. Between the bomb and the indiscriminate police firing that followed, eight police are killed and 60 wounded. The "Haymarket Massacre" results in the arrest of eight leading anarchists for conspiracy to commit murder; four are later executed, one dies in prison and three are pardoned.
*note: the murders referred to above, happened at a pro-labor demonstration. May day (the first of May) is celebrated in memory of the Haymarket Massacre and it's significance in the labor movement. If it wasn't for this demonstration and the drama surrounding it, we probably wouldn't have the 8 hour workday, 40 hour work-week, and overtime pay. Now, 118 years later, Dubya will probably take all that away because he 'won' the Iraqi war and most Americans are dumb motherfuckers.

1912: Great parade of women suffragists in New York City.

1938: Gestapo imprison (and later murder) Carl von Ossietzky, pacifist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Ossietzky died in a Nazi concentration camp.

1961: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) begins organizing "Freedom Rides" to desegregate bus terminals in U.S. South.

1969: Several thousand march in the Arboretum to protest construction of a freeway that would have followed the Lake Washington shoreline throughout Seattle. Partially built ramps which would have connected the freeway to the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (Route 520) are still visible.

1970: Four students killed, 15 others wounded when National Guard opens fire on anti-war demonstration at Kent State Univ., Ohio.

1970: The city of Chicago unveils a new monument to policemen killed in Haymarket Square.

1983: Nuclear freeze resolution approved by U.S. House of Representatives.

1989: Thirty thousand students march for democracy to Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China.

1989: Oliver North is convicted in the Iran-Contra Affair.

1993: Dhammayietra, walk for peace, to Phnom Penh, begins, Siem Reap, Kampuchea (Cambodia).

1996: Six arrested in New York City museum of U.S.S. Intrepid in honor of Fr. Daniel Berrigan's 75th birthday.
*note: Daniel Berrigan and his brother Phillip are well-noted pacifists, priests, and outspoken lifelong protesters of war

May 5
Things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school:

1780: Units in George Washington's Revolutionary War Camp in New Jersey mutinied, but the rebellion was put down by Pennsylvania troops.

1818: Karl Marx born.

1821: Wycomb, England issues order that all unemployed shall be whipped.

1862: Battle of La Puebla marks Mexican Army victory over imperial France.

1865: First train robbery occurs.

1918: Maiju Lassila, Finnish author, journalist, and revolutionist, arrested and was shot and killed while trying to escape imprisonment.

1920: Arrest of Sacco and Vanzetti on alleged murder charges climaxes postwar anti-radical and anti-immigrant hysteria, Boston.

1920: Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian-American anarchists, are arrested in Boston for murder and payroll robbery. Eventually they are executed for a crime they did not commit. Climaxes postwar anti-radical hysteria of the Wilson-Mitchell period.

1925: In Scopes Trial, John T. Scopes is tried for violating a Tennessee law that forbids the teaching of evolution in schools.
*note: George W. Bush is an avid Creationist, i.e. he believes that the first humans were Adam and Eve, and that all evolution is God's will.

1960: A government spokesman announces that the plane shot down by the Russians on May 1 was a "weather research plane" and that Francis Gary Powers was a "civilian employed by Lockheed."

1969: Draft resisters burn 231 military induction orders, Los Angeles.

1970: In response to Kent State killings, protests engulf campuses across United States. The first protest occupation of I-5 occurs in Seattle as 1,000 U.W. marchers spontaneously seize the freeway.

1971: Last of 14,000 arrests in Washington D.C. anti-war May Day protests. 18 are arrested in Seattle during a 2,000 person anti-war march downtown.
*note: during last year's anti-war/pro-labor rights May Day protests, HUNDREDS of thousands of people were arrested around the world.

1979: Fifteen hundred gather in Livermore, Calif. to protest nuclear research laboratory run by the Univ. of California. Livermore becomes the focus of numerous rallies and direct actions in subsequent years.

1980: Bobby Sands, Irish political prisoner and member of Parliament, dies of hunger strike.

1982: Basque separatist group ETA murders nuclear engineer, Bilbao.

1991: Last U.S. cruise missile leaves Greenham Common Air Base, Britain, site of a decade of strident women's anti-nuclear protests.

1992: Mothers of soldiers demand return of sons from extra-territorial fronts, Belgrade, Serbia.

2000: Conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Moon. And we all know what that means.
*note: I have no idea what that means, could someone please enlighten me?


Hamburger Lady

I started this blog back in December because I felt that I needed some sort of literary outlet. I felt that my voice had to be heard. I quickly found that I couldn't get too personal because the other involved parties would not be happy. I found that writing on demand does not come easy for me. Now, I've found that people go to this site daily looking for something new, and it isn't always there. Sorry. When I started this blog, I was drinking a lot more often than I do now. I was a bit goofier. I also had a lot of drama in my life which sparked a lot of things in me, and made me want to write more. Most of that drama is gone, and the wine doesn't flow so freely. Sorry. For today, I can tell you this: Apples in Stereo suck live. Okay, they don't suck, they just don't live up to their studio sound. I can tell you that you should spend your Cinco de Mayo at the Magic Stick watchin' the Oxes tear it up. I can tell you that in the end, it's so hard to know who to trust with your emotions, and sometimes it's worth the risk, but in the end you might regret it. I can tell you that it doesn't matter what your major is in college, you'll end up doing something unrelated anyway, unless you're lucky in today's job market. You could major in Art History, but you'll probably end up working in marketing. You could major in Fine Arts, but you'll end up drivin' a tow truck. I can tell you that the band Throbbing Gristle put out a record back in 1979 called "20 Jazz-Funk Greats." It didn't have 20 songs on it, and it certainly wasn't jazz-funk. But it had a song on it called "The Hamburger Lady." Enjoy.

Hot on the heels of love in the six six sixties

5.02.2004

We'll drift through it all, it's the modern age

I need something, and I just don't know what it is. My artistic needs are met. Money's not bad, but not spectacular, either. I just leased a new car (first time I'll ever be driving a car that was made in the decade I'm driving it!). I need to feel that I can trust my friends, and that they won't take advantage of me*. I'm not feeling that right now. All is not right with my world. How do I rectify this?

*NOTE: This probably isn't about you so stop worrying about it.

If there is something that I might find

5.01.2004

Hang 'Em High

I feel a need to post something informative, or political, or music-oriented, or something, but I just don't have it in me. I don't like going too long without posting something - so here it is. Now that I know there are quite a few people reading this, I feel like I have to keep up the pace. Here's something, some interesting lines heard last night 'round the firepit amongst friends and lots of beer and a cake decorated with Tums: "sharks and whales are gay!" and "minestrone is for assholes!" Of course, both came from the same person, Lex Luthor. No, Gene Hackman wasn't at my house last night, but Superman dropped by. Even he doesn't know what Superman ice cream is made out of. How can anyone really know?

see ya later, ya sack o' shit!