Halloweeeeeen!

October 31st, 2008 • chatter
Tags: halloween

So, today’s Halloween and I’m off work, it’s AMAZING. I went to vote this morning and that was as fun as waiting in line can be. Why is voting so anti-climatic? There’s such a build up to the whole ordeal and once you actually do it, it’s such a let down. Anyway, I’m glad it’s over! This affords me a free 2 hours on Tuesday to do whatever I want since I have no class that day.

This Halloween will be a fun affair. Since Jess’s sister and brother-in-law are in town, we’re doin’ it big. Tonight we’re going to the Wicked Manors Block Party in Wilton Manors. We’re trick-or-treating there and well, that’s going to be interesting I think. At least I won’t be cold in our recent cold front. My swarthy but formal cowboy costume is going to keep me more than adequately insulated. I’m not going for some cheesy Buck Rogers or rodeo look, I can get a costume like that anywhere and look like just about everyone else. I’m going for a very period accurate Tombstone look: formal, mid/late Victorian, rugged. Everything except my boots are as period accurate as I can go without spending even more of a fortune than I already have. I know my thick cotton coat is going to keep the biting wind off and the thick Scully pants will definitely keep my legs warm. All I’m really worried about is if my new hat is going to work for the look. I couldn’t find an appropriate cowboy hat that was at least semi-accurate inexpensively but I at least found a fairly plain one to match the outfit well. Everything else is cake but that damned hat.

After Wicked Manors, we’re off to Holloways for a night of continued debauchery but with much more sitting down and a lot more beer. It should be a lot of fun, a bunch of other friends are coming to join the festivities too! Hopefully BlunderBuss and his wife can make it, even if just for a little bit, I want to see baby Owen all dressed up! Maybe the place will be utterly packed like it was last year. The costume contest is going to be interesting as Jess and I are fairly well matched as far as our costume periods go, which is purposefully done. This ended up winning the content last year for whomever won so I think it can work for us too except, our costumes aren’t cheesy mass produced ones so maybe that’ll help too! We’ll see.

But now, we’re off. We’ve got to head to the block party now, I’m not too interested in what kind of tricks are going to be pulled here.

Media and reaching for straws

October 30th, 2008 • 1 comment chatter
Tags: politics

My girlfriend sent me the following video, it’s apparently “controversial”: WPTV controversial interview with Joe Biden. I suggest you watch it and see how much the media not only fails to inform its watchers but it fails itself in actual journalism.

This woman is a paid journalist but she’s nothing more than a talking head. All that Joe Biden is asked is regurgitated fallacies and strawman attacks on candidate Obama. He puts everything to her in straight, common language and there’s nothing ambiguous about what he says. She asks if Joe Biden if he is embarrassed by Obama’s past ties to ACORN. Why would he be embarrassed? He plainly tells her to get her facts straight and to “get real”. The ACORN issue is a dead issue but people keep bringing it up because they have nothing else to talk about now that the Bill Ayers “link” has been plainly debunked. If I was Biden, I would’ve said I was embarrassed to be asking such blatantly dumb questions in such serious tone and in a serious interview. I hope she learns how to interview people some day. You can tell this news anchor is simply reading her cards, regardless of what Biden is actually going to say. She’s not even phased one bit when he plainly asks her “Are you joking? Is this a joke? Is this a real question?” She doesn’t even blink, she either fully believes the drivel coming out of her mouth or she’s so well paid she doesn’t care what she says. This is journalism today. It’s not about journalistic integrity and gathering facts, it’s about spitballing quips, one-liners, quotes, and muckraking. If this is how “journalists” are going to continue to inform America, maybe we should let people like TMZ and Perez Hilton headline CNN and MSNBC. They never talk about anything relevant or important but at least it’s true. That’s more than nearly any newscaster can say about their own broadcasts today.

This isn’t in the video but now the RNC and McCain/Palin are bringing up a gentleman called Rashid Khalidi who Obama worked with at some point in the past, albeit very little. This is the newest strawman to be set up because what they’re hoping for is that because Khalidi is a Palestinian and has an Arabic name, people will assume he’s got to be a terrorist. or otherwise, some kind of radical. But they’re not talking about McCain’s long standing relationship with both Khalidi and the groups they’ve both been a part of in the past — not to mention that McCain was a part of a group that awarded Khalidi’s group $500,000. So this evil strawman they’ve set up to “pal around” with Barack has in fact had more face time with McCain than Barack ever has. See a pattern here? More grasping at straws. They’re desperate and they know it. The McCain/Palin race to lose is running out of steam, not because Barack may be a better orator (which he is, IMO), or because he’s preaching a platform that at least sounds like it’s for Americans and not big corporations (which he is), or because he’s playing the “race card” (which I haven’t seen him do). They’re losing because they don’t have anything to actually stand for or even say. I’ve been watching both McCain and Palin give speeches recently and I’ve heard less about what they’re going to do differently than our current administration and more about Obama’s past. Last I checked, America’s about Americans and their issues and ideals, not the past of one man and his paper-thin links to “radicals” and “terrorists” (Tom Delay kept spouting on Hardball how much of a “radical” Obama is. I guess anything is radical sounding when it’s different). I’ve been watching Obama talk as well and thankfully, he’s talking about issues and not his opponent. Even the people who’ve been speaking for him — Biden, the Clintons, etc — are busy talking about America and the issues, not McCain or Palin. There’s a pattern here and it’s deliberate. America wants to know where Obama stands and that’s what he’s giving them.

I’m not here to stump for Obama, I’m simply sick and tired of the pathetic job journalists are doing at their own jobs. People of my generation and the one after me want to hear about how people are going to change things and make them better for everyone, we don’t care at all about what kind of shoes John McCain wears (but the media does) or what kind of crazy crap Barack Obama’s former pastor says (but the media does). We want to know what good either candidate is going to do for us and others. So far, I see one candidate doing exactly that and it’s not McCain.

Also, does anyone else thoroughly enjoy listening to Keith Olbermann simply rip Palin to shreds every time she opens her mouth? I don’t enjoy (or watch) any pundit but Olbermann simply for his rants on this woman, he puts it all out on the table and isn’t worried about what he says. That’s how all of these political pundits need to be.

SYNT’s Intervals is here!

October 23rd, 2008 • music
Tags: metal

I finally got my preorder of Intervals in the mail today and it’s so awesome. I’m not so concerned with the CD as of now since I’ve heard many of the tracks, I was looking forward to the t-shirt that came with it:

It’s so insanely vibrant in person, a complete contrast to the CD cover itself which is dark and gloomy. I didn’t realize there’d be a Ferret Music logo on the back but oh well, my hair will cover it up any way. I’m ready to get this thing washed and worn! It’s a great design. If you have a chance, pick up the CD from Merchnow if you like deathcore or their earlier stuff, you won’t be disappointed!

This is what Americans need to be busy doing

October 23rd, 2008 • 2 comments chatter
Tags: charity

Blake Mycoskie, one of the participants of The Amazing Race, started a little shoe company called TOMS Shoes two years ago and it’s been churning out quality shoes since then. But Blake’s not in it for the money, he’s got money. He’s doing this for the children. Yep, children. Recently, Blake just completed the first TOMS Shoes U.S. Shoe Drop to children still suffering from Hurricane Katrina.

What did he do? Well, he did what his company does: gives away great shoes for free. Once or twice a year, TOMS sets up a “shoe drop” where Blake and a handful of volunteers give away a pair of TOMS to children of a particular town/city/village. He does this all over the world and the free shoes are a part of the company’s business plan. See, when you buy a pair of TOMS, they save a pair to give out on a shoe drop. There’s no catch, you buy a pair, they give away a pair. I own a pair and plan on getting a second pair so I can help another child in need. The entire company is set up around this philanthropic idea and it’s probably the best one I’ve heard of in years. What’s even better is the shoes are made, ethically and fairly, in factories around the world where children need things like shoes. They’re not mass produced in some factory in China or Taiwan where someone’s making $0.05 per pair, they’re made right around the villages where people need this kind of help.

TOMS is a company more businesses should try and emulate. Blake didn’t start this company to get famous, he didn’t start it for money, he just wanted to help children at least have something new, something they can call their own. That’s what TOMS is all about.

I’m proud to have supported this latest shoe drop. I’m going to attempt to make the next planned U.S. drop if at all possible.

Last night’s concert was pretty rad

October 21st, 2008 • chatter
Tags: metal

We got there really early, which we meant to. It was a fun night overall. We hung out in line with two people from my Evolution and Creationism class before the doors opened. I was disappointed however because High on Fire did not play or show up. I couldn’t find anything on their site, Myspace or Opeth’s site or Myspace. They simply didn’t show up which I thought was very weird. Neither Baroness nor Opeth made any allusion to why they weren’t there either. That put a bit of a damper on the evening but at least Baroness got to play an hour long set, displaying all of their awesomeness. Opeth played for an hour and a half, ending the show (as always) on Demon of the Fall and got the pit really going. It was a great night overall. We managed to snap some photos for once because it seems security didn’t care.

I should be getting my SYNT CD/t-shirt soon, I can’t wait. The stuff I’ve heard is definitely a different direction than their previous two albums. I also picked up Baroness’s first two CDs last night and they’re fantastic. All that sludgy southern metal really shines through on their first two CDs.

Meh, I’ve got to go figure out why my VPN connection to work is screwing up.

Intervals

October 21st, 2008 • metal, music
Tags: music

Today, See You Next Tuesday’s newest album Intervals is released. I’m waiting on my preorder+t-shirt to arrive but what I heard on their site and on Myspace is blistering. From their first demo that I received through Parasite, SYNT has really changed musically. The demo, Summer Sampler, was blistering in pace, must closer to slow powerviolence than it is the deathcore on their newest album. Parasite was something of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the remixed songs from the 2005 EP but some of the other tracks I didn’t find enjoyable but I did like the direction the band was going in, although I wish they would’ve stayed in that powerviolence/grind genre as it really worked for their insane speed and Bear’s insane vocals.

That said, Intervals should be an interesting mix of deathcore. I’m usually not a fan of deathcore (which is death metal and elements of grindcore, mixed) because I always feel the songs are far too long. After all, most of deathcore bands start out as grind bands, with songs that are extremely fast and extremely short. So when I’m listening to a 4 minute song that should be at least less than half that long, it gets really boring. I know most people will find something like that difficult to understand but once you listen to a lot of grind and powerviolence, song length is very important to the feel of the track and album. Summer Sampler, for example, was less than 5 minutes long and it was three tracks. I can’t even listen to it and smoke a cigarette without it repeating at least two songs. I’ve got albums with 20 or 30 tracks and they’re still under 30 minutes, some are less than 20. As you can imagine, it’s fast.

I want my preorder shipment to get here so I can start blasting this thing! And I’m eager to see the new t-shirt, which is a colored imprint of the album art — which is black and white.

IT’S OPETH TIME!!!

October 20th, 2008 • 1 comment metal, music
Tags: concert

Tonight we’re going to see Opeth for like the 8th time. This is the first time we’ll be seeing them at The Revolution in Ft. Lauderdale and it’s an inside show so it’ll be interesting. Unfortunately, no pictures unlike the last few times we’ve seen them, Revolution has a “strict” no camera policy. I haven’t listened to Watershed enough to really enjoy it but I know it’s a stark departure from last year’s The Ghost Reveries in tonality and lyrics. It’s a much darker album, especially lyrically, but it’ll be awesome to hear live. I also heard that Candelight Records has released a limited edition digipak of Opeth’s first three albums, which were also released on Candlelight. It’s supposed to be the Japanese editions of these albums with extra tracks. I need to track one down! I’ve had a hell of a time trying to find a decent copy of Orchid, their first album.

I can’t wait for this concert to start, I’m so anxious to see Opeth again.

New camping gear!

October 18th, 2008 • chatter
Tags: camping

Last week I ordered a new REI Quarter Dome T3 tent. This isn’t replacing the one Jess got me for my birthday but it’s certainly going to be our primary tent, mainly because Jess decided to take the other one back because it was simply untenable for two people. I got the new REI tent yesterday and setup was mostly a breeze. I had a little trouble setting it up in the living room, mostly because of the odd pole-hub design but got it quickly figured out. Having all 3 poles connected all the time cuts down on losing or leaving one but it makes setup a little more tricky than expected. The tent is a 3 person tent, which means it’s a tight fit for three. After getting it all up and getting the rainfly on, we chilled out for about 10 minutes before the final debate came on. It was rather comfy, if a bit stuff since there’s no breeze in our apartment that could flow through the rainfly vents. I couldn’t stake out the tent, the rainfly, guylines, or the footprint but I’m going to see if we can go camping next weekend, just the two of us. I’ll still be without a sleeping bag at that point, since I took mine back due to it being a giant piece of cheap crap, but that should be OK with me and I’ll just bring a blanket. Still need a cooler and some cookware for car camping though, maybe I can order that this weekend.

I’m glad we’re getting this stuff now because I really missed camping. Even though it’s not full on hiking/camping/primitive camping, it’s still just as fun. My dad is actually mailing me my old tent from a few years ago so I hope it’s still in one piece. I don’t really remember taking good care of it but then again, it’s been 5 years and I probably took better care than I remember. Now we’ll have two big tents for us and anyone that wants to come. We’re planning a trip to Bahia Honda State Park in November and that should be a blast. Neither of us have been to the Keys — well, I went 25 years ago — so it will definitely be an experience. I just hope the spot I want to get isn’t filled for the weekend I want to go. We also need to buy some saltwater fishing gear, anyone got any suggestions?

Overall, I’m pretty stoked!

Midterms, midterms, midterms

October 17th, 2008 • education
Tags: education

It’s the week college students dread the second most: midterms week. I only had one, really, but it was a real bitch of a test. However, I feel worse for Professor McCarthy and his TA who have to read all of our essays, must be at least 400 pages to plow through. It was a 10 question take-home test in which he wanted us to basically write a whole bunch and I’m sure that about 10 of us actually did, the rest half assed everything. They’re the same bunch (basically everyone) that never does the reading and complains about doing work. Too bad for them because I’m sure we’ve still got our ethnography to do. Not that I’m looking forward to it either.

I went to see Religulous this week, twice in fact. Once just to see it for shits and giggles — of which there were many — and the second time so I could jot down notes for a paper for McCarthy’s class. Like most skeptics that saw the movie, I enjoyed watching Maher poke fun at people who mostly deserved it. I don’t agree with all of the critics who say that the segment with Rabbi Dovid Weiss was anti-Semitic in any way unless they’re referring to Rabbi Weiss. I’ve seen attacks against Maher for comments he made which I’m wondering if we saw the same movie because Maher barely got a word in before he called the interview off…because he couldn’t get a word in. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, even with its quick cuts. I hope the director’s cut will have extended interviews or simply include them on the disc(s) as extra, I know a lot of people would like to see more of what was said.

I’m glad this week is over, it was too stressful. Now I’ve got to read Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson for another paper that’s due soon.

The birthday weekend!

October 8th, 2008 • chatter

This past weekend was the weekend preceding my birthday on Monday, just two days ago. If anyone’s wondering I turned 27. My girlfriend had spent all last week plotting and scheming about what to do and frankly, what we did do to celebrate was something of a surprise. While we were hanging out at Holloway’s Pub on Friday night, she hands me my present which turned out to be this massive 7 person tent. Needless to say I was absolutely thrilled, I hadn’t been camping in about 6 years at this point — much longer than that for her though. It seemed that myself, my girlfriend, and my best friend were all going camping!

So off we set on Saturday to get supplies (sleeping bags, food, beer, etc) even though we were going camping later that day. Since everything was a surprise, we couldn’t have purchased much of this beforehand without me suspecting something, especially if she brought home sleeping bags. But we managed to get everything and set off to Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound in the rain. The fact that it literally rained the whole way up there and pretty much the whole time we were there didn’t stop us from having fun anyway. After setting up this monster tent, we dug into the beers and took a walk around to scout fishing spots.

Word to the wise: don’t go fishing at Jonathan Dickinson in late September/early October, there’s no fish in the river.

The night went on with us nearly failing to start a fire in the rain and me dropping my steak twice in the fire pit, although it tasted damn good, and the tent being nearly unbearably hot/humid all night. It was a lot of fun even though we ended up being extremely hot and sweaty while being rained on all night. I’m definitely ready for our next camping trip!