I was gonna say "Fuck Christmas!" because of the consumerist nastiness, but it's a great excuse to spread love.
May all your Xmases be X-rated - in that good way, with lots of sexy snuggles. That's the true meaning of putting x x x on your Xmas cards - those aren't kisses, buddy.
If anyone wants to find me over the break, call me on 021-040 1964. I'm not gonna be checking email, posting here or using the 'net at all if I can avoid it. (ooo, risky - hey not really, I bet noone reads this damn thing anyway!)
In my last message I said "Lysergic acid diethylamide is not the answer."
I was wrong.
I've got Readings In Astrology by Jesse Anderson stuck in my head, so I thought I'd better listen to it, before I go nuts. It's written by Curtis Mayfield, and although there's no producer credited I bet Mayfield did that too. I wonder if he played the wicked wah guitar all over it? There's no string or horn section, but otherwise this is vintage Impressions-era Curtis.
It's very different from Mayfield's demo version that's included on the CD of his fist album, Curtis. The guitar is beefed up considerably, and Anderson's version doesn't have the word "fuck" in it. Anderson sings:
But I could see there was trouble comin'
Right here with this confused woman
While Mayfield sings:
But I could see there was trouble comin'
Right here with this fuckin' woman
I thought it was "funky woman"at first, 'cause Mayfield doesn't come across like a cussin' guy, but on Doo Doo Wap Is Strong In Here he uses the word "motherfucker" and if you listen close it's definitely "fuckin'" and besides, the woman he's singing about isn't funky.
Lysergic acid diethylamide is not the answer.
We all know that xmas is all about commercialism. Most of us hate those bloody tinny xmas carols that trumpet at us from every corner from the moment those - can I describe shops as "cocksucking whores"? It's not a sexist comment, I'm sure there are plenty of male whores who suck cock. I for one have never bought anyone a xmas blowjob but... I'm getting off topic.
Anyway, you get the idea. We all know it's a sham. Why do we put up with it? Billy always says something along the lines of "Doesn't gift giving mean more if you do it spontaneously instead of being coerced into it?" Xmas isn't about Christ - if he existed at all, historians and theologians agree that he wasn't born in December. Down here it isn't even about the equinox. It's about emotional blackmail and selling product.
Family xmas gatherings are a pain. Does anyone like them except aged aunts & uncles and grandparents and family dogs who revel in the kitchen scraps?
I suggest that this year's xmas be celebrated by renting Silent Night Deadly Night. in which a department store Santa goes nuts with an axe. Shame there's no Jesus slasher movie.
If you haven't checked out Deborah Coddington's report Saving Public Radio (it's a pdf), you should. I was turned on to it by the Media Cow, one of the better online commentators. It's as well-written and full of skilful spin as you'd expect from an award-winning journalist turned politician, and if you're not careful you might swallow it hook, line and sinker.
I'd recommend giving it a careful read. Here's an example of an interesting oddity: When you reach the bottom of page 17, have a think and see if you can work out what the quote it includes has to do with the subject of the report. Then have a quick skim ahead to page 20, and look at footnote 41. Weird, eh?
The report actually gets its own name wrong twice: once on page 5 (the first page of Coddington's introduction), and again on page 9. To her credit, Coddington said in her press release announcing the report "I do not claim that my analysis is scientific, or that this report is the last word on public broadcasting." You'd be pretty soft headed if you considered it to be either, particularly as it's as biased and skewed as it claims National Radio to be.
Look I hope noone expects me to post anything else of a political nature ever again 'cause I really can't be bothered, but this was great to read with a red pen for underlining; I can't be bothered going through all the weird and funny things I found, but I hope you have a go at looking for them yourself. I hope Act stick around a while longer, they're much more fun than NZ First - and they're not racist either. At least I don't think they are. Prebble definitely isn't, pretty sure the rest of them aren't too, for all their strange ways.
I've been listening to Bone Machine by Tom Waits. Just freakin' buy yourself a copy for Christmas, okay? It's the best album ever recorded in a chicken coop.
There are a lot of political blogs out there. Some of them are liberal, and some of them are conservative. Because, you know, those are the only possible permutations of political opinion. Are you left wing or right wing? Is your favourite colour white or black? Actually I'm being somewhat unfair. There are the options of centre-left or centre-right, so now your favourite colour can be white, black or grey.
As the current President of America once said, "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." There is no place for a third opinion. Why this insistence on the world being a binary system? Is it because we like things to be simple? I reckon it partly is, but I also reckon that a huge part of it is a desire for tribal affiliations.
No matter if you consider yourself right wing or left wing, you have a series of ready-made opinions that you can expect all other right-wing people to back you up on. You can get more extreme in one way or another by weighing in on contentious issues: you can advocate the death penalty, or the legalisation of all hard drugs, if you want to be considered "extreme right" or "extreme left" respectively. But on the whole, there is a sameness of opinion on both sides that becomes dreary and tiresome through sheer repetitiveness.
Both sides have yelled similar accusations at each other over the years; the left have called the right "Babykillers!" for creating policies that leave children starving, while the right have called the left "Babykillers!" for making abortion legal.
Conservatives are often accused of bigotry and intolerance in various forms, but in my experience liberals are just as likely to be intolerant of others' opinions, and a common practice among liberals is to shout down anyone making statements they disagree with. Both sides tend to stereotype the other to an often cartoonish degree.
Ultimately both sides are hopelessly blinkered, because they refuse to acknowledge that the world is not so simple that you can reduce it to an either/or argument. I think it's about time we all grew up and started acknowledging that things are just a wee bit more complicated.
To circle back to my original point: my god there are some childish idiots out there who seem genuinely convinced that their drivel constitutes genuine content. One would-be pundit says that in the absence of real balance in the media "It's up to the blogsphere!" Yes, that's right this person actually believes that people posting whatever nonsense leaps into their head onto the internet is a viable alternative to rigorous investigative journalism (which I will happily agree is lacking both in New Zealand and worldwide). At least I'm not deluded enough to believe that my drivel is anything but drivel.
As to my own political beliefs: they are complex. If I were to simplify them as far as I possibly can, I would say that I believe that I primarily believe that everyone should receive the same chances as anyone else; that people who are disadvantaged through no fault of their own should be taken care of; that government should be held directly responsible for their actions by the people and the media; and that ultimately we should be striving to transcend our current poo-flinging monkey selfishness and reach a state where people genuinely care about and look after one another. But of course that just sounds like the usual liberal bullshit.
This list was written & sent to me by Janet. It contrasts nicely with my little rant, I think. It is unchanged and unedited.
Top ten things we hate about a capitalist society:
1. People born between 1955-65 - Oh, sod off you horrible latte-sipping baby boomers, and go buy some more stuff to put in the back of your 4WD.
2. Anti-capitalists who smoke - In what way is the link between Capitalism and Consumerism not clear to these people?
3. Rich Dad, Poor Dad - There's no sure fire way to get rich like writing a best seller banging on about getting rich.
4. Saving for our retirement - Geez, give us a chance to live the rest of our lives first!
5. People who buy stuff to make themselves feel better - Yeah, like that's a good long-term sustainable way to feel good about yourself.
6. The growing market for depression medication - At least it provides another opportunity for the Pharmaceutical industry to make money in a growth market.
7. People who say that people in the third world should stop having children - Yeah, and perhaps we shouldn't save for our retirement, either.
8. People who say that people in the first world should have more children - Last time I checked, there were more than six billion people in the world and counting...
9. Advertising - The amount spent on advertising globally exceeds the entire world GDP of 1905. Mmm yeah, I want that burger that's been covered in varnish....
10. People who try to assuage their capitalist guilt and change the world by educating people about environmental issues through art - Refusing that extra plastic bag at the checkout wouldn't make enough of a statement.
I've been thinking about writing recently. Poppy Z. Brite made an interesting post in her livejournal on November 27, in which she said:
I don't think I will ever understand why so many people want to Be Writers. Mind you, this is not the same thing as saying I don't understand why people want or need to write; I understand that very well, thank you.
When I think about it, I always come to: "Do you write because you love it, or do you just want an audience?"
I write something every day. It's a compulsion. I don't finish a lot of things, but that's beside the point. I've submitted about five stories for publication in my entire life, and had one of them published. I feel far more embarassed about the one that was accepted than the four that were rejected. I write for myself. Sometimes I write for another specific person or group of people, but not often. It would be lovely to make a living out of writing, but it's an incredible long-shot and I don't need it; writing is enough.
Brite makes another interesting point:
A former friend ... defended his decision to stop writing fiction by saying he had to make a living. Well, yes; so do most of us, and it's rare to be able to do so solely by writing. I can't help feeling, though, that if you really care about writing (as opposed to seeing your name in print, being able to call yourself a Writer, etc.), you find a way of making a living that allows you to write. But I guess it's handy to have a built-in excuse: "I coulda done it, if only ... "
I've known people who've done this, not just for writing but for other art forms as well (eg music). A variation on it is along the lines of "I am giving up because it is time to put away childish daydreams..."
But do people give up Saturday morning cricket because they'll never make the Black Caps? Do they give up chess because they'll never be a grandmaster? Making a living off writing is probably as unlikely as either of these.
Me, I'd like to Be A Writer, but I'm happy to just be a writer.
Today I WAS going to listen to Upper Hutt Posse's Te Reo Maori Remixes but I left it at home so it's Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen, a brilliant collection of song-stories with just the Boss on acoustic guitar, harmonica, voice and four-track. Every one's a winner, and there's at least five tracks on here that would be worth the price of admission alone: the title track, Atlantic City, Johnny 99, Highway Patrolman, State Trooper and Open All Night (okay, at least six).
My main occupation the last few days has been the truly hilarious PS2 game Escape from Monkey Island. So I haven't even had time to tell the story about the idiot who tried to mug me when I was en route from Daryl, Scott & Tim's to see House of Wax in 3D on Monday. It's a pretty funny story, but I'm still not going to tell it.
Look I know there's no excuse for this lame-ass entry, but I don't write this blog for your benefit, okay? Go read the stonesoup blogs instead, there's always something going on over there.
I hope this anti-smoking legislation goes through.
Check out this article about the decrease in the amount of smokers - and more importantly in the instances of lung cancer - in California since their ban.
Why the hell do smokers think it's their right to endanger other people's health just so they can indulge their addiction? Why is it not as unacceptable as drunk driving? At least heroin abusers mostly only kill themselves.
A few years ago, the music I liked mostly featured loud guitars, and the lyrics were like:
Somewhere an animal is dying
My partner's broken my heart
I'd take LSD and go flying
But the government's fucking my arse
These days the music I listen to mostly features loud bass, and the lyrics are like:
The sun is smiling on lucky me
There's women with big butts all around
The government may still be fucking me
But I'll funk them all up with one bound
I don't know what's changed, but.
This entry brought to you by Navel Gazing, Inc.
The Mediacow has made an interesting point about media and their anonymous tipsters.
Dare I suggest that there's an element of pots & kettles about this? Unless I'm missing something important "Mediacow" is an anonymous pseudonym and could be anybody - or anybody's stooge. So dissing someone for hiding cowardly behind anonymity - and taking the Herald to task for not revealing their source - could easily be called a slight hypocrisy.
That's my take anyhow.
In a September article in New Scientist (I sadly can't link directly to the article 'cause you need to be a subscriber to read it), several respected physics boffins claimed that time travel has now been proven impossible. I don't know how they worked that out, given that I'm travelling through time right now.
Not that I have any problem with the concept of doing impossible things - I mean how much fun would life be if I only did stuff I was allowed to? I'm just worried that other people might be discouraged and try and stop their own time travelling. That would be a tragedy. Though I'm curious what would happen if suddenly everyone stopped and stayed in one point of time.
Today I'm mostly listening to Fat Freddy's Drop Live At the Matterhorn. It rules.
Every smelly fanboy in the world is crammed into Wellington right now in the sweaty-palmed hope of glimpsing a hobbit or a wizard or an elf. I think that David is right; New Zealand - and Wellington in particular - has just officially hit its dorkiest.
I don't care though, 'cause I'm listening to Curtis Mayfield's first solo album, finally released on CD by those dorks at Rhino. Curtis was pretty unique in that he could be preachy as heck and funky as a motherfucker at the same time. Nowhere is this truer than on the first track on this album, (Don't Worry) If There's Hell Below We're All Going To Go.
The CD is buffered with some extra material, along the same lines of Rhino's earlier (and more expensive) two-CD deluxe edition of Mayfield's masterpiece, the Superfly Soundtrack. There are backing-track versions of several songs, which I find somewhat disposable. At first I was disappointed that it repeated two demos from the Superfly release - Underground and Ghetto Child - but when it turned out that the Ghetto Child demo was about two minutes longer than the Superfly version I was well happy. For my money, this raw guitar-heavy demo is better than the album version, which was retitled Little Child Running Wild.
So to buggery with the Rings (ho ho).