massdestruction

Mens Magazines

I am not a purveyor of men's magazine. Neither the full-on porn magazines or the "shy-boy" ones that pretend not to be porn (Maxim, et al). However, as I was looking through an English soccer magazine I saw an ad for a Brit-mens magazine called "Nuts" and I thought that at least these guys aren't hiding behind some non-descript name. Their tagline is even Grab Yours. Each Week.

I won't buy it.. even if I could.. but I have to give them props for standing up for what they are.

CTRL-w

Earlier today I had an interesting, lengthy post that took a good 5 minutes to write. Then I hit CTRL-w while previewing it. Why did I do that?

You Need Love

I just sent this letter to the editor of the New Yorker. I can't wait to see if they publish it!

I enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell's article on Plagiarism and am happy to note the approach he took with regards to the play "Frozen". I must point out though that when his music industry friend played him Muddy Waters' "You Need Love" to show how Led Zeppelin mined through the blues for material, he was rather mistaken. "You Need Love" as Led Zeppelin sang it was actually a song written and performed some years earlier by the Small Faces. Led Zepplin covered it with accurate permission and credit. I suppose the questions raised by the article are more exposed knowing that the music industry professional presented this inaccuracy.

Regards,

David Mason

Speaking of which - on Friday Dec. 3rd I will be performing, once again, at Kings in Raleigh in the Great Cover Up. We aren't supposed to say who we are covering but there are clues here. Please come out and see us. The show starts a 9 sharp so come early as I don't know what the order of the night is.

Editors Note: by the way, Kings is a members only bar but they are very relaxed about it during the cover up as it is all for charity - so come anyway.

Elizabethan Collar

This is how Zola looked last night. He was still within the mass confusion of coming out of anaesthesia and still high on pain meds. His eyes were gooey and he could barely hold his head up.

Last night he cried all night long. I had my arm off the bed petting him to stop him crying - I would fall asleep and he'd start crying again. I'd wake up and we'd start all over.

Now we are both very sleepy but the good news is that he has returned to his usual happy self.

Zola's bad, awful day

My dog had his surgery today. I picked him up this evening and he has been crying the whole night. It tears me up to hear him cry in pain.

It is a little humorous to see him forget to use his front legs when moving about. The drugs haven't worn off and I would imagine this a good way to teach kids not to use drugs... "remember how much fun he was before he took morphine?"

Poor doggie - he even has one of those lampshades on his head.

Why Bush won

The real reason Bush won.

two sizes too small?

Cheney Visits Hospital for Tests, Heart Is Fine

I am not a doctor, but I would love to get a qualification of the word "fine".

Story Here

Cirque du Fumento

I was going to post something new about Fumento this morning but there is no point reading my thoughts when John Fleck has summed up the Lancet issue so well, and has brought forth a new Fumento folly.

Keep in mind as you read the facts John points to that he isn't published in as many papers as Fumento so he must be wrong.

Smile

People seemed upset with my Bocelli musing this morning - didn't mean to offend, just a musing. I'm not a mean person, unless I've been mean to. Or something. Well, I removed it - it now resides in the Internet's trashcan.

So here's another musing:

I bought Brian Wilson's new, old album Smile when it came out about a month ago. If you don't know the story of Brian and this album (and the decades it took to come out) I urge you to read up on it. It is a bizzarre and interesting tale. At any rate, I have wanted to hear this thing for many years now and never gotten my hands on the rare original takes.

Now that it is out I have listened to it extensively and I have to say that this album took a good deal of work from me. Generally I come to understand any music pretty early on. I don't mean I understand what the artist was thinking or trying to express, I could never fully do that. I mean that I come to my own understanding of the music. This album took over a month for me to understand for myself.

It is beautiful, odd, and shows extreme brilliance. All that and I am not even a Beach Boys fan. To me it seems as though it was a chance for a young generation to make what they felt was American "classical" music. For years people thought of American classical as Aaron Copeland and, what I call, "western wear" themes. Brian Wilson has made music that similarly mirrors America but does so through myths and legends, but reality. To me it speaks more to what is truly American than anything Copeland ever pulled off.

By the way, I refer not to Van Dyke Parks' lyrics either, simply the music. The lyrics are something completely different that I still don't have a grasp on and probably never will. I think of them now as simply another instrument in a swirling piece of composition.

This album is worth every penny.

Netflix mailings

This morning I got an email from Netflix telling me that they had received a movie that only the day before they told me was on its way here. Either someone in the mail service enjoyed the movie last night or something else happened. The only explanation I can think of for the "something else" is that somehow the front cover of the sleeve came off to reveal the return addressing(hard to explain if you haven't seen their mailers). Still, they would like me to rate the movie now... I think it sucked.

Armistice Day

We didn't always have Veteran's day. We used to have Armistice Day. In 1918 on the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month, the War To End All Wars ended with the signing of an armistice. 35 countries were involved and millions of people lost their life. The world would never be the same. We, as a nation, decided to pause on every anniversary of that day to remember those who had died as a reminder of why we should not involve ourselves in war. It was a day to remind ourselves of the futility of war. Imagine the horror that was to cause this thinking in the U.S. when we were only in that 5 year war for one year.

In 1968 our legislature decided to change Armistice Day to Veterans Day in order to honor all Veterans from all wars (they also changed the date and it took 10 years for them to put it back on the 11th). I think we lost something when it was changed. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't mind honoring veterans. That is why we have Memorial Day.

No, World War I did not end all wars, in fact the measures taken after that war are still being felt today and have even caused more wars - think Middle East boundaries. To me those very reasons are why we should still have Armistice Day and remember the Great War and the lessons we were suppose to learn from it.

Radical Mullah Dobson

OK, I enter this post with very strange feelings. I have long been hesitant to talk about the Focus on the Family group for one simple reason: My sister is a member, or fan, or whatever they call themselves. She read's their books, she listens to their radio show, she gets their newsletters. For those who didn't know this - I swear its true and it is not a comfortable thing for me. My sister and I have had only one big conversation about politics and religion (and to her they are one in the same) and it was not good for our otherwise fine relationship.

Still, the more I read about Dobson, the more it disturbs me that my sister is caught up in this group. The more I learn, the more I think it is turning into a cult if it wasn't one already. My sister will get a scowl on her face when she sees or hears anything about other cults. She also thinks Mormonism is a cult. Yet here she in a group that looks and smells like one to me.

Recently Talking Points Memo has had a few stories about the man behind Focus on the Family, James Dobson. He has also used a reader's suggestion about how Muslim leader's titles being used as derogatory terms. So now it is Mullah Dobson and Radical Cleric Robertson. I like it.

I feel like starting a clambake-like website for Focus on the Family. That would probably hurt my relationship with my sister wouldn't it? At least I can think back to my time living in Colorado when I used to see the "Focus on Your Own Damn Family" bumperstickers.

Agree to agree about disagreeing

The local GOP office was vandalized on Saturday night. This seems to me a bunch of teeanagers with a bunch of angst. I mean, people were spray-painting anarchy symbols when I was 18 too.

Still, my favorite quote from one of the GOP staff members:

The people have decided. Others may disagree. They have a right to disagree, but do it agreeably.

You can disagree as long as you do it agreeably? Well I guess I agree with that.

"Democrat"

Is it me or is the fact that the Senate Democrats are going to have a new leader not seem to be making much news. Sure Daschle's demise made news but the fact that no one is challenging Sen. Harry Reid for the vacant post is troubling to me. The lack of coverage of just who Reid is is also troubling.

Reid is a "Democrat". He was for the Bush tax cuts, a pro lifer, supporter of the war in Iraq, and the NRA's choice on the ballet for Nevada. No wonder Daschle's defeat was so high on the Republican's todo list!

So for those keeping score. We have a Republican President, a Republican controlled Senate with a "Democrat" Democratic Minority Leader, and a Republican controlled House. The fate of our country lies within Nancy Pelosi's hands. I wonder what Rove will do to her?

Fumento!!

One more note on Fumento... since I am completely convinced that he Googles himself to find people he would like to be bitter to. If you are entertained by psychotic people send him an email - seriously. Sure he will try to insult you in that academic manner that stems from an ego that doesn't actually fit in the small head its been placed in, but its almost like keeping a Nigerian 411 scammer on the hook by pretending that you might actually give them money. Try it, please... oh and post the results.

If he were on a mailing list it would echo the glory days of Bowie Poag.

A girl named Tessa

Besides the opinions of Mr. Fumento about how useless bloggers are, I find that the blog is as good a tool for connecting people as anything else I have been a part of. I have heard many great stories of a girl named Tessa - though I don't think I ever met her (She was a friend of Cate's in college). She left a comment on one of my posts after searching for Cate and due to that post I realize that she married a guy I once met at a pretty good Chapel Hill party, a boy named Ian.

So, here are two people I am not friends with though I feel as if I am friends with. Nonetheless, two more cool people to visit. Plus, Ian's blog is great - especially the recent posts on "Coastopia". By the way, I appreciate that he included Chapel Hill in Coastopia, I don't have to move after all!

Bitter much?

As a reader of blogs, a reader of news, a reader of science, and a reader of history, I feel I am in a good position to have the following opinion:

Michael Fumento is a bitter, bitter man.

Editors note: this blog had a mere 2,000+ unique visitors in October, I am obviously a very lowly person indeed.

Turtling

Last night my friend Alex and I watched Ali G indahouse. While highly unintelligent, it was just the movie to finish off this week. I am planning on using the phrase "I'm turtling" often.

I will not lay down

Perhaps it is a stage in the mourning, but what I am about to say will not sit well with some of you.

The cultural war is on and I am going to fight it. I will not bow down to the Chritian Elite. If you voted for Bush you are part of the problem and I intend to remind you of that every chance I get. If you believe you have some "truth" on your side you are just a simplistic thinker. I will not be rational, I will not politely refuse to argue about supposedly off-topic beliefs. You have screwed me and my country. You will see in the next four years what you have wrought. I am through being thoughtful and rational. Your "morals" are killing people and those people won't stand for it.

Watch out Christian Elite, here comes a Latte-drinking, sandal-wearing, heathen-liberal.

P.S., Does anybody have any Rage Against the Machine I can listen to?

What did I do

Here's the crux of the argument for me:

If you supported Kerry, or even supported the simple idea of defeating Bush, ask your self this: "What did I really do to help convince my fellow citizens that Bush was the wrong choice?"

Can you answer that with "everything I possibly could?"

I can't.

If your answer is a sticker and a yard sign I am afraid those good old days of subtle support are behind us. We have entered into something new.

Another one of those open letters

From time to time I will write a quick note to Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo. I don't know how much attention he pays to them but he is always nice enough to respond. Today I wrote him this note that I share with you now:

While trying to understand the reasons for such large support for Bush after the last four years I keep coming back to our duty as members of a Democracy (OK, a Republic). I know there will be (and I have already heard from friends) a good deal of finger pointing to people or strategies within the Democratic party but I believe we should look in the mirror before looking to the top of the party.

This is the first time I have ever sacrificed my time and my confortable life to work for a Presidential election. What I came away with was that every member of the party makes it work. This does not all come down to the few in the front lines who are plotting strategy. In my own state, NC, I saw almost no presence of Democrats in everyday life. To a person, when I talked to an undecided voter (or not so solid Bush supporter) they took a second look at the issues. It takes personal contact.

When studies like the PIPA report show such an ignorance to the truth in the general public we know that we have work to do for our country. To complain to the TV or to our loved-ones is not enough, we have to be involved. We have to make phone calls, we have to canvas, we have to write letters, we must be involved. If we don't want to be involved we lose. As we see today we aren't just losing one election, we are losing the country.

I don't say any of this as some sort of bragging rights for my work with the Clark and Kerry campaigns, I only share it as it is what I have learned through this work. Too many people I know (and no, I am not just speaking of local friends) take in loads of information but never share it outside of their circle of friends. And we are talking about some really smart people too.

My feelings today are passing from the "I'm giving up, its time to be a hermit" to a sort of "Steven Seagal movie where the man is near death then goes into intense seudo-Asian-philosophy training for the great battle -mood"

Mostly I am devastated as I feel like my whole value system was soundly invalidated by my country. That is a very hard thing to take.

this is not my culture

I feel sick

Got to be different

I would like to be the only blog on the Internet to say...

Don't Vote

OK, there. I've done it.