Year Zero

I found myself actually purchasing the new Nine Inch Nails 'Year Zero'.

I was a big fan of 'The Downward Spiral' but after that, aside from a couple interesting points, it has been all downhill for NIN. However, I really am enjoying 'Year Zero.'
Perhaps it has something to do with a topic I recently discussed with BenEdge. It is a bourgeois lie that art can be separated from its content. 'Year Zero' contained enough interesting/right on imagery/content to capture my attention (along with the dystopian landscape posters I keep seeing).

Also, VERY interesting marketing/packaging.

Hypnotic sounds of sirens
echoing through the street.
The cocking of the rifles,
the marching of the feet.
You see your world on fire,
don't try to act surprised.
We did just what you told us.
Lost our faith along the way and found ourselves believing your lies.

I got my propaganda i got revisionism.
I got my violence in high def ultra-realism.
All a part of this great nation.
I got my fist I got my plan I got survivalism.

links

MacArthur Maze destroyed!

This is gonna suck so bad.

The place to be

...was apparently some cellar in the Mission, SF last night!

I went to see The Vicious, Young Offenders, and Surrender at Thrillhouse Records in SF (actually beneath Thrillhouse past the darkened hallway passage).
This show was fantastic and definitely had that feeling of being at the right place and right time. It was the type of show that I adore; fab music, small fucked up venue, and a great crowd that was a mix of dirt punx, sXe kids, bike punx, old dudes, young fresh faces, and rabble-rousing Vikings.

Surrender I had never heard or seen before. I dug it. they play in a vein somewhat similar to Submission Hold (and didn't Crass or Rudimentary Peni play like that too?). Very political, very bouncy groove, almost a bit theatrical.

Young Offenders are becoming one of my favorite local bands. These guys are great live. They seem to be awesome old dudes. Plus, their music is danceable and has great chants. Amazing.

The Vicious so far exceeded my expectations, they elevated the show to one of the best I have been to in quite a while. The crowd went off; singing, bouncing, jumping around. The Vicious are the fuckin future!

fanboy stuff

Another pic of Iron Man:

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I love the TV show Heroes! Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I can never watch it and have resorted to staying away from any word of the show until it is released on dvd.
Well... Apparently, people involved with the movie adaptation of Watchmen are upset with Heroes for reportedly "ripping off their ending."
LINK WHICH I HAVE NOT READ

Crazytown

I just had to post this...

I have heard for years that siqq nu-metal flash-in-the-pan Crazytown covered Refused's "New Noise" live. Here is video documentation:


I realize there comes a point where the subculture that spawned something great may no longer "own" it. Capitalism co-opts everything. But that obscenity surely deserves a beatdown...

The ridiculousness continues:

(Joel Madden and Mr. Shifty Shellshock goin' at it)

The only thing more ridiculous is that Stryker dude at the end trying as hard as he can to appear relevant.

choco-seitan

I did it!!
I conceived and executed (with help from Mel) chocolate/peanut butter flavored seitan.


Everyone is so unsure of this, but it just tastes like chocolate bread or a brownie. Plus, it has major protein!!

I am a genius.

(thank you Mel)

AZ and class suicide

Today I found out my (younger) sister is moving to Arizona (from Southern CA).
To say is came as a shock to me is an understatement. My sister adores CA and wanted her soon-to-be-born son to be born in CA. However, her husband's work made an offer to relocate them that they felt they would be stupid to refuse. They will be easily able to purchase a house twice the size of their current house and including a pool for half the price. My sister will not have to work so that her children can be raised by her and not a daycare. And on and on.

It made me sad.
Yes, it completely voids my sole vacation plans but I also wanted to be the cool uncle to her children since I will have none of my own. The cool uncle is a lot more difficult to pull off when they live in a faraway state I have never been to and had no plans of visiting til now.
It is all very 'grown up' of her and her husband (and, I mean, they are adults). That might be the part that makes me most somber. It shows me my reflection of being a "loser." I mean I don't want to climb a corporate ladder, move to AZ, do things JUST to buy property, or wear a suit and tie. However, I also don't like the extra work everything requires when living this life I have chosen. My last big expendeture I had to mull over was whether or not to buy some jewelry for $200 (which is a lot for me still... and I did buy the jewelry), I would love to travel. I would love to find a plce to live that I can afford and meets my desired criteria plus allows me to have pets.
I could say that at least I don't have to stress over work like I imagined "normal" people do, but I found out that I work just as hard as they do for less money.

I guess this is all what I unknowingly aimed for when I took to heart all that I learned from punk rock ("Young til I die") and radical politics (class suicide). I hope my contribution and commitment isn't in vain (especially since I have no progeny to instill such destructive values in).

fashion tidbits

"Eco-chic" is the new buzzword when it comes to fashion. according to Lucky Magazine and The Today show's segment on vegan fashion.

Asiaphile: Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino has a long history of fetishizing and coopting Asian culture(s).
Now he ups it a bit more with a GQ photoshoot.
Dragon-lady Asian women as props are plentiful with one pic even having Tarantino ejaculate (blood) from a phallus (sword) onto an Asian woman.

How long is this dude gonna churn out Asian and Black exploitation and pass it off as hip?!


(thanx Mel)

Coheed & Cambria comix

The band Coheed & Cambria's music/lyrics are apparently all part of some epic sci-fi story.
I don't know much about it because they pretty much annoy me (I hate Rush too). However, now that story is going to be told in the comic book medium.

Interesting.

FMTM : Nihon

From Monument To Masses are currently in Japan opening for Don Caballero.
Sounds/looks like they are having a good time- which is easy to do in Japan.

Dan Africa Project: vox

Last night Dan and I layed down some demo vocals on our track #1 at Atomic Garden Studio aka Dan's roommate aka Jack's AMAZING space.
Overall, it defiitely went well. It was my very first time recording my vocals so it took me some getting used to. In the end I learned a lot about my voice. Mostly I learned my limitations. In the future, I can arrange (and ultimately record) lyrics that have a more natural flow and lend themselve more to my voice. I had serious problems with my timing (some of which could be attributed to not being used to recording) but most of that was corrected by producer Jack.
My vocal sound is kinda old school. It reminds me of Bold or early Lights Out (-don't know if either of those are positive).
It is nice to hear this song with some vocals on top of it finally.



(thanx Dan and big thanx to Jack)

stop snitching

60 Minutes did a report on how Police are having difficulty solving crimes (it focuses on homicides) because people don't trust them. haha

1st Joker

here it is; the first bootleg set pic of Heath Ledger as THE JOKER:

music blah

Sean Ingram (most notably of Coalesce) was on The People's Court.


Jared Leto thinks he is Adam Ant now.

Two Gallants v. HPD

...and the winner is Two Gallants.

After 7 months, all charges against drummer Tyson Vogel have been dropped.

Remember the YouTube videos of a Houston pig trying to brutalize Two Gallants (and Trainwreck Riders)?

movie movie v.2

Now it is being reported that Laurence Fishburne is voicing The Silver Surfer in the new movie.
It is unknown if or how Galactus will appear.
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The first photo of what looks like the prototype Iron Man armor from the film is out:

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Matthew Fox is in negotiation to play Racer X in the Wachowski Bros. film of Speed Racer.
silly.

movie movie

A biopic of The Runaways might be getting made.
It will be financed independently to secure an R rating (important to Jett and Curie).

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In Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, Galactus will appear as a "storm cloud" voiced by Laurence Fishburne.
So far it has not tested well but could you really have a giant dude in a weird helmet?

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goth cruise

Yes, a goth Carnival Cruise!
Complete with fashion show, Club Goth at Sea, and VNV Nation sponsored by Vampire Rave.

Can it get any more absurd?

Prisoner Day

Today Palestinians commemorate the more than 9,000 Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails.
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Let's remember everyone who has been unjustly imprisoned.

review: The Wind That Shakes The Barley

I have become sick of seeing movies that for one reason or another, no matter how good, disappoint me in some way or another. The Wind That Shakes The Barley does not disappoint at all!

The Wind That Shakes the Barley is essentially the tragic story of two Republican brothers living and struggling in 1920's Ireland. It is directed by progressive director Ken Loach and maintains a radical rebel theme throughout. (The film's title is actually an Irish rebel song.)

The film is wonderful and tragic as it paints a picture of life under foreign occupation and the struggle for liberation. It draws what can only be conscious correllations to the current US occupation of Iraq. It even questions what is liberation as it introduces the conflict of national liberation against class liberation.
It stays close to its Irish-ness with Irish actors, locations, thick-as-fuck accents, and even Gaelic speaking (although the director is British).

I urge everyone to go see this film!

Bay Area has done it again: Skin Like Iron

Another new amazing hardcore band:
Skin Like Iron

Apparently, Alex C is making his bid to be in as many bands as possible as he is credited with Skin Like Iron's vocals and guitar.
This is definitely in the same vein as Cursed.

Skin Like Iron play this Thursday at Sam's in Oakland.

Joy Division kicks

New Balance has not yet approved these for actual release.


At least they could come up with a better design that might actually appeal to Joy Division fans.

baked goods + health

After too many cupcakes (as if there was such a thing), Mel has began baking/making some more healthy treats.
I like to think of myself as the inspiration since they are somewhat designed for my massive daily intake of protein.
First up: vegan protein/fiber muffins:


Mel also made some seitan which is fabulous in taste and in protein content.
I look forward to making some seitan of my own. This homemade seitan rules any storebought seitan in protein content!

Dan Africa Project

Entry 1.

(Hey, Jade can do it why not me, huh? haha)

Wednesday night constituted the first real band practice for vocals. Dan and I hammered out the lyrics and vocal arrangement for song#1 and touched on some suggested outlines for songs 2 & 3.
Very productive and very confident.

Thanx Dan.

clarification: Jamba Juice non-dairy

It seems I have fallen for the internet urban legend of Jamba Juice non-dairy dairy.

It is still a little confusing but Jamba Juice says they don't sell a "non-dairy blend," and their non-dairy options don't contain milk.

vegan potluck

The wonderful Shaudi hosted a great vegan potluck this weekend.

It was a collection of the usual suspects and fabulous food, including:
creamy chutney dip, fruit salad, 2 variants of mac-n-"cheese", homemade(?) seitan "chicken", ginger beer, spring rolls, chocolate/peanut butter pie, chocolates with various delectible centers, & rootbeer cupcake "poppers."

Shaudi had been wanting to get a potluck going and I am so glad she did. Her house is a nice spot to gather and I enjoyed the company of a lot of people I don't kick it with enough. Talk of important things such as The Dark Crystal, 18 Visions, Arsenal F.C., Michael's Diner, and Sandy, UT abound (along with plentiful plastic fork tossing).

Afterwards, the gang plus more headed to see Grindhouse. I refrained due to my committment to avoid movies with rape scenes (especially ones Jello Biafra condemned). This prompted me explaining why I refused to see the film and how rape is in almost every movie. I felt a little like I was speaking a foreign language to the group.

Oh, I ate so much!
Thank you Shaudi for hosting. Thank you everyone who brought wonderful food.

racism is funny

Apparently, White people think they can say anything reflecting their racism so long as they follow it with "it was just a joke."
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"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ..."

"Some hardcore hos," said producer Bernard McGuirk.

"That's some nappy headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said.

EMAIL THEIR BOSS: viewerservices@msnbc.com
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Eggrolls Etc sells Chinese food and is owned by a racist White man in Tuscon, AZ.
"old Chinamen are getting expensive these days."

CHECK EGGROLLS ETC'S MENU

Owner Mike Reynolds:
"This isn't meant to degrade by any means the Chinese"
"I don't see why I would be required to stop doing what I spend my money on, because a minority of people are upset."



(thanx Mel)

fuck insincerity

I re-read the last communication I ever had with my ex-wife.

This was the first time I read it since the initial reading. That is saying a lot since for the longest time just the thought of reading it would have made me sick with anxiety.
There was no anxiety this time. It's weird; I only felt a little angry. Angry at her and maybe more angry at myself.
Hindsight is 20/20 and that letter is full of it. Her words written when our separation was still fresh were full of insincerity. I am able to read it clearly now.
Her set up with smalltalk and things to fill me with a (false) sense of security with the separation. Then that last paragraph... That last paragraph where she tells me that she is living in her present and not her past and does not wish to see me again. She gets it out quickly and signs off.

It all makes me a little angry with myself. Angry at my naively sincere attempt to establish a new and healthy relationship with someone who once meant the world to me.
I now know I want nothing of her world she escaped to. I still hope her sky comes crashing down and her god is nowhere to save her.

Wolf Freed

226 days locked up.

Fuck the Grand Jury!

Jamb Juice: lies & dairy

Jamba Juice says it won't tell you upfront the ingredients in its "non-dairy blend" because of "trade secrets," but perhaps the real secret is that it contains milk products.

hype: The Initiative

Matt Brady at Newsarama reviews the comic I am the most excited about reading: Avengers: The Initiative.

He addresses what Marvel finally addresses with The Initiative and what I have also wondered for a long time:
Why have Marvel's characters been almost exclusively active in New York!?

Marvel's hype machine must be doing something right to get me to buy a book that isn't one of the many X-titles.