Archive for August, 2008
Endorsing Barack Obama
Friday, August 29th, 2008
I am CEO of Livingston Communications, and while I don’t feel it is right for the company to openly endorse Obama (we are more than one voice), I personally feel compelled to do so. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech convinced me without a doubt that he should be our next president.
I don’t believe in McCain and think he is basically a campaigner who will drop his drawers at the slightest opportunity to get into the white house. Today’s Palin move was a blatant attempt to hijack Obama’s momentum, and for a guy who voted with Bush 90% of the time, I cannot see McCain as a game changer.
Barack speaks to me on so many levels:
Obama knows America is broken. I love his passion! He is my candidate for President. And I have donated to his campaign twice now, and will do so again soon. Here is his acceptance speech, Part I and II.
Popularity: 68% [?]
Posted in Me, Myself and I, Pop Philosophy, Rants, Reality | 12 Comments »
What Internet Nano Fame Brings You
Friday, August 29th, 2008
I usually don’t feed the trolls, but this one made me laugh.
Popularity: 44% [?]
Posted in Me, Myself and I, Pop Philosophy, Reality | 1 Comment »
Neal Stephenson Returns
Thursday, August 21st, 2008
This September’s Anathem will be Neal Stephenson’s ninth book, and a long-awaited one at that (See WIRED). This will likely be the most anticipated sci-fi release since William Gibson’s Spook Country.
I’m an early Stephenson fan dating back to the mid 90s. I’ve turned dozens of people including friends, my dad, my cousins and even my father in-law into Stephenson readers.
Yet I wonder about Anathem. Why? It’s long, 950+ pages long. And I didn’t finish the Baroque Cycle, Stephenson’s last effort, a trilogy focusing on the Age of Reformation. Why? Because the Cycle was tediously long, 2500 pages. So was Cryptonomicon, but I liked that book, and rolled in my airplane chair crying over the pig scene. The hipness of modern cryptology and humor worked for me.
Snow Crash and the Diamond Age were by far Stephenson’s best works. There is a part of me that longs for a return to the brevity and punchy humor of those magical books. They did so well envisioning our current future… still. These two books were riveting!
Anathem aggressively focuses on an alternative universe, so it will be new territory for Stephenson. I’m sure it will fulfill many geek dreams. But before I embark in this new world, I may have to wait to see what the NY Times says first. Because 950+ pages is a real commitment. And I’ve been disappointed by Stephenson before. Let’s hope Anathem represents a return to Stephenson of yesteryear.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Posted in Entertainment, Geekery | No Comments »
New Motorcycle Helmet – Safety First
Sunday, August 17th, 2008
So my old helmet was more than five years old and had been dropped several times, making it unsafe. I have already totaled one bike in an incident that involved my head hitting the offending vehicle (see there was this minivan).
Because I had a full face helmet on (an HJC), I walked with a grade two concussion, so I am a believer in safety equipment for your motorcycle. If I had one of those idiot skull caps that Harley riders seem to prefer, I’d be dead. I also wear full leather upper body armor, and still have a small road rash scar on my chest from that accident. In spite of the leather.
There are really two kinds of top-tier, super safe helmets, ranging in price from $400-$800: Arai and Shoei. I prefer Shoeis. My last one was silver for road visibility, and overall they suggest white, silver or yellow.
Given that my new bike will be fire engine red (on order), I opted to get a red helmet, but one that was patterned so it had elements of white and silver for visibility. Here’s what I chose:
I kind of like the star (rocking!), and the gothic letter styling. It’s got the right kind of red to match my bike, as well as a fair amount of white and silver, which should adequately reflect headlights. My leather also has a small V reflecter sewed in the back for such situations. All in all, it’s a nice new add on to my gear, just in time for the new bike!
Popularity: 66% [?]
Tags: helmet, motorcycle safety, motorcycles, Shoei
Posted in Entertainment, Me, Myself and I | 3 Comments »
Returning to a Country Road Soon
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Glad I didn’t sell this stuff on eBay! Of course, the return will be on a new bike, the Ducati SportsClasic GT 1000. It’s just a question of when now.
Popularity: 28% [?]
Posted in Entertainment, Me, Myself and I | No Comments »
Boycotting the 2008 Olympics
Friday, August 8th, 2008
I’ve decided to boycott the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The Chinese governments continuing human rights violations, the country’s horrific environmental policies, and the ongoing oppression in Tibet have made this event unacceptable to me.
Popularity: 61% [?]
Posted in Rants, Reality, Video | 3 Comments »
The Battle of Chicago
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Number 56 on the 101 Things I’d Like to Do Before I Die is done. Rage Against the Machine was outstanding last weekend at Lollapalooza.
Rage’s “The Battle of Chicago” performance opened with hard hitting numbers Testify and Bulls and Parade. The enthusiasm to see the once-broken up, and rarely together Rage Against the Machine was too much for some fans who rushed the stage creating a very dangerous situation. For a while there it looked like the concert might not happen, and the band had to stop three times to try to stop the crush of people on the stage.
See the video of Rage lead singer Zach de la Roche asking fans to stop.
In the end the performance happened. They were not as good musically as Radiohead, a phenomenal performance band. Perhaps it’s the long lay-off and the extra years. But Rage was the band at Lollapalooza that won my heart. Because even though it has been almost ten years since their last studio album, their racially charged politics, the raw unchanelled angst, the timelessness of their message, and their unbelievable presence just wowed me.
I could not ask for much more. It was exactly as I expected. My favorite songs were Bullet in the Head, Guerilla Radio, Bombtrack, Killing in the Name, Sleep Now in the Fire, and Wake Up. Obviously, most of these songs are from their first self titled album, although a couple came from The Battle of Los Angeles.
For me the Rage concert become something special during Wake-Up. Zach de la Roche’s condemnation of the Bush administration, our current political structure, and even Barach Obama was just awesome. No punches were pulled. de la Roche said black and Latin America are going to give this country an offer that it cannot refuse.
This band has something to say still (Rage will hold a protest concert during the Republican National Convention). It does not believe in our country, and its politics, or the continuing exploitation of Black and Latino America. That anger, that angst, these politics make Rage as relevant as it ever was.
I am so glad I caught this performance, and have not stopped thinking about it since. In parting, I have included the lyrics for Wake Up below as part of this post.
Wake Up
Come on!
Uggh!
Come on, although ya try to discredit
Ya still never read it
The needle, I’ll thread it
Radically poetic
Standin’ with the fury that they had in ‘66
And like E-Double I’m mad
Still knee-deep in the system’s shit
Hoover, he was a body remover
I’ll give ya a dose
But it can never come close
To the rage built up inside of me
Fist in the air, in the land of hypocrisy
Movements come and movements go
Leaders speak, movements cease
When their heads are flown
‘Cause all these punks
Got bullets in their heads
Departments of police, the judges, the feds
Networks at work, keepin’ people calm
You know they went after King
When he spoke out on Vietnam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot
Yeah!
Yeah, back in this…
Wit’ poetry, my mind I flex
Flip like Wilson, vocals never lackin’ dat finesse
Whadda I got to, whadda I got to do to wake ya up
To shake ya up, to break the structure up
‘Cause blood still flows in the gutter
I’m like takin’ photos
Mad boy kicks open the shutter
Set the groove
Then stick and move like I was Cassius
Rep the stutter step
Then bomb a left upon the fascists
Yea, the several federal men
Who pulled schemes on the dream
And put it to an end
Ya better beware
Of retribution with mind war
20/20 visions and murals with metaphors
Networks at work, keepin’ people calm
Ya know they murdered X
And tried to blame it on Islam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot
Uggh!
What was the price on his head?
What was the price on his head!
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard a shot
I think I heard, I think I heard a shot
‘He may be a real contender for this position should he
abandon his supposed obediance to white liberal doctrine
of non-violence…and embrace black nationalism’
‘Through counter-intelligence it should be possible to
pinpoint potential trouble-makers… and neutralize them.
Through counter-intelligence it should be possible to
pinpoint potential trouble-makers… and neutralize them
and neutralize them, and neutralize them, and neutralize them’
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
How long? Not long, cause what you reap is what you sow
Popularity: 27% [?]
Posted in Entertainment, Me, Myself and I | No Comments »
Lollapalooza Day 1: Radiohead Reigns Supreme
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Radiohead is one of those bands that seems to defy finite descriptions. Alternative, yes? psychwdelic? Yes. Classicly trained musicians? Yes. Some more for you after last night’s performance: Loud? No. Beautiful and touching? Yes! Uncompromising? Yes.
Radihead didn’t kick ass (picture above). They demonstrated to an uncultured mass of alternative rock lovers what real music was. They did not play uber hits Creep or High and Dry. Instead they played their artistic blend of orchestrated rock and jazz rhythm with alternative flairs.
These guys are Incredible Performers. I’d say you got a Radiohead event, not a concert. THe light show was so well choreographied. And in the middle of it, real Fourth of July caliber fireworks complimented the show in the distance behind the stage. This occurred while they played the rather melancholy Fake Plastic Trees, and these lyrics:
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can’t help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And it wears me out, it wears me out
And that my friends is Radiohead. They make you think and appreciate. Unbelievably good, one of the top ten concerts I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to well over a hundred. I hope to see Radiohead next time they come to DC.
More Lollapalooza
The show was overall outstanding. I loved Perry’s stage (named after Jane’s Addiction Frontman and Lollapalooza creator Perry Farrell), which featured DJs. I happened upon Million $ Mano (see below), who was ripping up Bel Biv DeVoe’s Poison and actually making it into a good song.
In addition The Black Keys were outstanding. They had some nice riffs, and were pretty incredible for a two person band. On the other hand, Bloc Party sucked ass. They just didn’t have any soul and reminded me of a bad version of the Cure.
More Lollapalooza today, including Rage Against the Machine, The Toadies, The Battles, Does It Offend You? (DJ), and Perry Farrell. You can see my full Lollapalooza photo set here. Will try to add more, and I am also going to try to live tweet Rage tonight.
Popularity: 28% [?]
Posted in Entertainment | No Comments »
