5.31.2007

musings { fiddling while Rome burns

I'm sitting finally again at my office away from my office sipping coffee (decaf) and trying to focus my thoughts and day to come, today is Thursday. Thursday is meeting day, 4 hours of meetings.

I sit sipping my extremely hot coffee and in the background CNN is on (here it is usually CNN, thankfully never Fox News). So far the headlines have been different from the norm. One piece that took 10 minutes, which is an eternity on headline news, is about a woman who, according to the headline (the sound is off) 'Woman Had an Abortion Due to Extreme Morning Sickness'. I almost wish the sound had been on because by headline alone (besides the bad grammar) something seemed fishy. I didn't see and couldn't hear if a 'pro-life' rebuttal was there. I strain my mind to decide if that is news worthy or not. The next piece was about a miniature quarter-horse, so it must a slow news day in the world. It reminds me of a 'King of the Hill' I've recently seen where Gribble's wife, who was a news anchor was told by her boss 'We're moving you to features, nobody cares about the news anymore. All they care about is features and interest stories.' CNN used to have news, but it is also just a infotainment station now geared to delivering you the very best in commercials. The Fourth Estate is dead.

I've been reading a piece on why Bush hasn't been impeached yet over at Salon.com. It saddens me further. This guy should have never been elected (or appointed), should never have been re-elected, and sure as hell should have been brought up on binding, impeachment charges. But we seem to have lost our will. Like the whole country is on prozac or whatever the current, trendy happy pill is today.

Speaking of soul sucking, time to check work email.

musings { fiddling while Rome burns

I'm sitting finally again at my office away from my office sipping coffee (decaf) and trying to focus my thoughts and day to come, today is Thursday. Thursday is meeting day, 4 hours of meetings.

I sit sipping my extremely hot coffee and in the background CNN is on (here it is usually CNN, thankfully never Fox News). So far the headlines have been different from the norm. One piece that took 10 minutes, which is an eternity on headline news, is about a woman who, according to the headline (the sound is off) 'Woman Had an Abortion Due to Extreme Morning Sickness'. I almost wish the sound had been on because by headline alone (besides the bad grammar) something seemed fishy. I didn't see and couldn't hear if a 'pro-life' rebuttal was there. I strain my mind to decide if that is news worthy or not. The next piece was about a miniature quarter-horse, so it must a slow news day in the world. It reminds me of a 'King of the Hill' I've recently seen where Gribble's wife, who was a news anchor was told by her boss 'We're moving you to features, nobody cares about the news anymore. All they care about is features and interest stories.' CNN used to have news, but it is also just a infotainment station now geared to delivering you the very best in commercials. The Fifth Estate is dead.

I've been reading a piece on why Bush hasn't been impeached yet over at Salon.com. It saddens me further. This guy should have never been elected (or appointed), should never have been re-elected, and sure as hell should have been brought up on binding, impeachment charges. But we seem to have lost our will. Like the whole country is on prozac or whatever the current, trendy happy pill is today.

5.29.2007

review { movie - Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At Wits End



Others have more in depth reviews such as:

Dan Carlson

Or my favorite review as always, the Ninja, who just replayed this
pirates 2 trailer.

Ask A Ninja

Now to be fair, I found Pirates 3: At Wits End, quite a bit
more rewarding than P2: Suck, but did find it a little long at 168 minutes. I
thought Depp once again pulled the plane out of a tailspin to make a
crash landing, something he didn't do with Pirates 2: Man This Sucks.
Once again every plot line has a plot line, but this time also an
ending, something like sixty endings. Seriously more endings than Lord
of the Rings but without the closure. The last scene again was a
plot line. I would also like to thank Lucas for giving us the
genre-busting 20 minute long sword fight scenes which appeared again
in P2 and P3. Except unlike Anakin vs Obi, these were yawnfests.

Excellent showings from Bill Nighy, Stellan Skarsgard, Johnny Depp,
the monkey, the parrot, Geoffrey Rush.

Once again poor showings from Orlando 'forever to be known as Legolas'
Bloom, and Keira 'She's a MAN! Baby!' Knightly.

5.28.2007

musings { So I've been silent a while

I've been out of touch with the world, partly by choice, partly but circumstance. Avoiding the news, reading my fiction books, catching up with friends, spending time with nerdwife, playing World of Warcraft.

I've started easing myself back into the news, by reading the New York Times. But I had the feeling, at least for the last week that there is no news. Its the same issues, the same woes, the same failed policies as the day before. We're stuck in a suck spiral, globally. We need something, preferably positive, to break out of this and end the cycle. I'm not sure what that solution is, or how to do it. As I've said many times before if I did, I wouldn't be here saying we need something, I'd be out trying to do something. Everyday for the last two weeks the front page of the New York Times, save for when the Queen was here going to the Derby, consisted of pretty much two topics:

1) Israel and Palestine are fighting (again, for the millionth reiteration).
2) More dead in Iraq, officials say we're making progress, but it sure still looks like a shit storm.

There is some business shit as well, capitalism is screwing you here, big businesses caught cheating there, private equity firms are buying up public firms, thus making them private. Trade imbalance, weak dollar, etc. (whatever happened to us raising a stink about China's human rights violations? Oh that's right, that was before we started abducting people, torturing them and spying on our own, we can cast stones while in a glass house I guess).

Pretty much its the same shit, different day. I guess that can be true of all of history. I'm not sure of what I would like to see on the front page of the news, but I'm tired of the Middle East. Lets figure something out and make some progress so that before I die I can read a newspaper without some god awful event being on the front page. Utopian vision I know, highly improbably, but not impossible.


On a side note, last night while questing in the Outlands, in the orc village of Garadar, in the zone of Nagrand I witnessed something amazing. Thrall, the warchief of the orcs returned to his ancestral home, and while there retold a tale of the breaking of the blood curse on the orcs, a seminal event in the history of the lore of Warcraft, in which Grom Hellscream defeated Mannoroth the Pit Lord, who long ago corrupted the orcs for his own purposes. The event was a well done cinematic in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and they replayed it in game in WoW:



I keep finding gems in this game.

His arrival was a major event, he traveled with an honor guard of many Wolf Riders.

team { Welcome

Team CubeZoo has a new member today, well ok, he's an old member who came back. Welcome back aboard Mick!

(aka DJMagicMike)

5.25.2007

42 { Don't Panic

Happy Towel Day!

casual_friday { Its 3am, I'm at work

In honor, REM 'Bad Day' coupled with 'Daysleeper'. Two for one people!


5.23.2007

WoW { Account Payable/Accounts Receivable


Life post 60 in World of Warcraft is a roller coaster. You go from what appears to be the poor parched desert of Azeroth into a XP filled land where gold almost literally rains from the sky. Where the purple item you spent hours trying to get and hundreds of gold in a quest chain that seemed impossible to complete, is replaced, in your first easy quest by a green, that has double the stats and double the dps.

Though gold flows freely and the average quest reward is 2g+, expenses go up...a lot. My average repair bill post-raid is now 4.5g. My alchemy recipes are on average 3g cost now and require Imbued Vials, which cost 1g80s if I get them in the old world per 5 vials or 2g70s in the new world (until my rep gets higher). My skills, are amazing, but now cost 4-8g to learn. So I'm making more but spending more. The grand-daddy of all expenses await me at lvl 70, the Purple Swift Flying Mount (see left). I wants this. But to get it I need to first get a regular flying mount, the regular mount is 100g, and the 'epic' is 200g...but the training...master riding (for regular flying) is 800g and artisan (required for epic flying) is, I kid you not, 5000g. In all 6130g. It took me 2 weeks of, for me, hard questing to get 630g for my epic bony pony. This will take me a while. I'm starting to save, but I'm only 4.5 levels until 70. But I think its worth it. Once I get the regular flying mount, a whole new part of Outland will open up, and I will have access to places where I can get mats for my profession in an easier way and will be able to get gold faster. I also need to play the AH a bit more.

5.21.2007

games { coming soon: Starcraft II

story { Saturday May 19, 2007...

...or Quest for Veg.

The morning started cool. A tingle in the air that promised rained...lying bastard weather is. The clouds rolled through and humidity crept in. Blessed rain fell briefly, compounding the humidity. The mercury rose, approaching 30C (or 86F for you lamers). Beef broth had been delivered, to a vegetarian, in a cruel twist of life. Thus began the 'Quest of Veg'. Off in to the world of Rochester I go. Deep into highways and byways of the seedy or shiny underbelly that is local grocers. I walk first to a very small mom and pop, they primarily service the people who have loved ones in the hospital. All they have is pop and gum. This is a grocery? Fear not, one exists but a hundred feet further down the walk. Go I forth to seek the juice of veg. I enter ye good establishment and forsooth! Actual grocer found I. To the soup and soup making section I go...sadly only one type of broth to be found...BEEF. Think I then, not clearly, otherwise to 'The Good Food' store would I have gone, but another local grocer exists but 3/4 of a mile down yonder. Walk I. Sweaty I arrive at my destination, more from the fact of humidity/transition from A/C to the outside, and go forth to the soup aisle. Great variety of broth have they...3 kinds of beef, 2 kinds of chicken...sadly no veg. I stand outside and ponder. My mind, clearly still not thinking straight for from where I stood 'The Good Foods' store was but a 1/2 mile distant, comes around to the local Indian Grocer. He has been helpful in the past and a large portion of Indian cuisine, while spicy, is vegetarian, surely they must have broth made from the flora. I walk forth another 1/2 mile. I arrive and am heartily greeted. I peruse the various isle and see many tasty things, but no broth. Confront the proprietor I did, to find that they do not carry broth of any type since most Indian dishes are prepared fresh from fresh ingredients. I thank him and buy some tea. And with my head held low, I walk the little over a mile back, in defeat, sweating for by now it is quite hot and sticky. I arrive back to realize...duh...'The Good Foods Store'. It has Vegan food.

5.20.2007

tagged { 7 deadly musical sins

Fantastic. This particular TCZ challenge has caught me at a time when I'm listening to pure shit right now. No elevated harmonies. Nothing to make me look awesome... 'cept if ura 13y/o m/f omg! rotflmao!

1. Young Lions - Adrian Belew
Ok, so this one isn't so bad because it's almost completely unknown = indie, right? I love this song like I once loved Africa by Toto. It inspires me to do great things. Or at least feel like I was meant to do great things.

2. Umbrella - Rhianna f. Jay-Z
A top 40 snare I heard on the radio one day a couldn't let go. Ooh that low synth on the bridge to the chorus gets me everytime. (Worst video ever.)

3. Hands Open - Snow Patrol
'It's hard to argue when, you won't stop making sense'

4. Everyday I Love You Less and Less - Kaiser Chiefs
Just discovered this on my iPod song shuffle, can't resist it. Fantastic anti-love song.

5. Wannabe - Spice Girls
Sigh.

6. Give it to Me - Timbaland f. Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
I like JT more than I should admit. Great song all 'bout shuttin' down them haterz.

7. Make it Rain - Fat Joe f. L'il Wayne
Because I'm a terrible person. And I make it rain on them hos.

I will not tag 7 more people or we will be awash in a sea of lists.

5.19.2007

tagged { music and the internet chain letter

GeistX has tagged me, (List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what they are. They must be songs you are presently enjoying. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.) so here are musical compositions (I won't confine myself to just songs) I'm into right now:

1) Tori Amos - 'Live To Tell'. This is a cover of Madonna's adult breakout hit, where instead of singing pop pap, she sang about keeping secrets and knowledge/wisdom hidden away. It was a great song and the Tori Amos adaptation was great, a perfect match for her style. Plus the sound of her Bösendorfer instead of synths was a nice change.

2) Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - 'Oregon Girl'. I first thought this was Weezer, as it had a certain Rivers Cuomo flavor to it, but it was too balanced to be from the fairly absent band. I learned in horror that this song gained its popularity by appearing on an episode of 'The O.C.'. A nice little thing, in any case.

3) Fountains of Wayne - 'Stacy's Mom'. A New Wave tribute and a genuinely funny song. I dare you not to be hooked by its catchy lines and cleverness. Plus its a tribute to MILFs everywhere.

4) Brian Eno - 'An Ending (Ascent)'. Originally written for a documentary film called For All Mankind, and released on the 'Apollo' album, this track is classic Eno and an example of how well subtle, yet simply layered ambient music can form together to make something nearly transcendent. The piece is at once both awe inspiring and also deeply comforting. I had to find this track after hearing it on 'Top Gear', a favorite British car show, and then learning the track's origin when it appeared in '28 Days Later'.

5) Kohachiro Miyata - 'Tusuru No Sugomori'. At once primal and yet relevant, this solo performance on Shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) has more highs and lows than other recordings of that instrument I have heard, yet without the often superfluous addition of Koto or Shamisen. In this form it is mysterious, ancient, powerful, and captivating.

6) The Smiths - 'Girlfriend in a Coma'. Here is intricate and carefully crafted lyrics both acid and suggestive. Morrissey and Johnny Marr in top form, which is good because it was the last song The Smiths ever recorded.

7) Weezer - 'Butterfly'. Probably my favorite song off the superb and underrated Pinkerton album, its just Rivers and guitar, singing sadly. Indeed, this is a melancholy song on an album that none could describe as cheery, but it is done with such earnestness, such raw emotion, that you can't help but get drawn in.

For the record, I tag Barb, Ingo, Amy, Timothy, Karen, Michael, and Raj, although I doubt any of them read the blog.

politics { McSweeney's Guide to the candidates

The folks over at McSweeney's have compiled a list of the pros/cons of the various Presidential candidates.

I suggest you give it a read:

Pros/Cons - Democrats
ex.


1.

HILLARY CLINTON

Pro: Known commodity; strong fundraiser.

Con: Polarizing; unlikely to woo those already opposed to her.

2.

BARACK OBAMA

Pro: Articulate; resembles foxy actor Blair Underwood.

Con: L.A. Law was kind of overrated now that you think about it.




Pros/Cons - Republicans
ex.

1.

RUDY GIULIANI

Pro: Unifying force after 9/11; articulate speaker.

Con: The whole "pro-choice, pro-gun-control, New Yorker, used to live with gay dudes, adultery" thing might hurt him with conservatives. A bit.

2.

JOHN MCCAIN

Pro: Comforting resemblance to character actor Gavin MacLeod.

Con: Murray from The Mary Tyler Moore Show lacked leadership qualities and Captain Stubing from Love Boat got a little goofy whenever Charo was a guest star, leaving executive branch vulnerable to Charo impersonators who are actually Al Qaeda operatives.


tagged { So I've been tagged...

Knight of Nothing has tagged me as one of his seven to post about 7 songs that I am into right now and why, regardless of what they are...

So here's my list:

1) 'On the Radio', Regina Spektor - dark humor, deep message, quirky.
2) 'Sex', The Pipettes - The Pipettes have a 50s era rock sound styling but with more modern twists, I've loved their album. 'Sex' has a catchy chorus and rhythm.
3) 'Yell Fire', Micheal Franti and Spearhead - reggae sound with a message about the BS that we are quagmired in thanks to the six years the neo-cons and the Republicans have been in total control. This song angers me and makes me want to yell 'FUCK YOU BUSH! FUCK YOU ROVE! FUCK YOU AMERICA FOR BEING STUPID!'.
4) 'Hurricane (don't come knocking)', Husky Rescue - entrancing song, all I can say.
5) 'Renegades of Funk', Rage Against the Machine - another revolution song. I'm really in a rebellious spirit at the moment, my inner revolutionary has been awakened.
6) 'A Good Start', Maria Taylor - damn this song is addictive, entrancing much like the Husky Rescue song, philosophical. I love her voice.
7) 'Huddle Formation', the Go! Team - mainly b/c I can't figure the freaking chorus out and the lyric sites are all full of bullshit, that's not what they're saying.

Those who I tag: Allthingsspring, Celesathene, Zophorian, Avindair, romunov, Nerdwife, Jeffery

(I won't do DAV since Knight already tagged him)

time { Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so...

...and hospital time surreal. Recently I've been reminded of a phenomena I call 'hospital time'. Hospital time proves Relativity. When sitting in a hospital room, either as a patient or as a concern friend/family/spouse/etc. time passes differently than the normal world. It is a surreal passage where hours melt away and days merge and blend into one another. You know the world still exists, you can see it going by outside the window. But inside the schedule is one that passes based not on lunar, or rotational cycle, well not a rotational cycle of the earth/moon anyway, but a rotational cycle of nurses, doctors, PCAs. Even though you may or may not be sick and all you do is sit, it is exhausting. You are either worn down by worry, illness, or interrupted sleep schedule.

While in a hospital you are pulled out of the mainstream space/time continuum and float adrift on emotion, hospital coffee, and physical exhaustion.

When I was in the hospital for treatment of AML, it was six weeks. It both felt like an eternity and the blink of an eye. I was in isolation due to not having a functioning immune system and the view out my window was one of a hill and a wall of the hospital. The only visual landmarks I had of the passage of time were the light/dark cycle of day/night, recess of a school on the top of the hill, and changing of guard of the docs on duty. Add in the drugs and time became a simuflow, no longer discreet, no longer trackable, and at times, no longer linear.

5.18.2007

5.12.2007

warcraft { Knockturne gets an upgrade


My trusty mount Knockturne, whom I've had since lvl 43 has finally be upgraded:

pernox (lvl63) w/ knockturne (purple skeletal warhorse - epic)

5.08.2007

video { Jon Stewart on Bill Moyer (full interview)

I know I said I wasn't going to post anymore this week. I hope you learned your lesson.

Here is the full interview of Jon Stewart on Bill Moyer. It is an excellent interview. Enjoy.

life { This week

I woke up yesterday morning and thought...I can't do this this week. So with the exception of today. I'm taking the week off. I'm not going to blog beyond this post and as of 5pm today I'm not thinking about work until Monday.

I plan to be anti-social and out of reach, with the exception of Nerd Night. Nerdwife has some time off as well so who knows what we will do or where we will go or whatever.

5.03.2007

observance { National Day of Reason

Today is the National Day of Reason. Enjoy the fruits of reason, logic, and science, all while wondering if anyone at the Fed has ever bothered to read the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment (in regards to the coinciding, Congressionally supported observance).

5.02.2007

site { World Without Oil

Check it out. I've heard it described as a 'what if?' site documenting how the world degraded in a oil shock scenario. Its meant to be informative and educational. I'm still checking it out to make more sense out of it, but it is very, very interesting.

Chronicle the new future. They're simulating what the country would look like/degrade into as gas prices rose and oil availability started dwindling. And you are invited to take part.
I may discuss this with Team CubeZoo and we might put something together, since this is an important subject to us.


from their about page:


WHAT'S HAPPENING?

There's an oil shock going on. It started April 30, 2007. The world oil supply is falling short of demand - by 1.5% at first, but it's expected to increase to 3% or more throughout 2007.

WHAT'S THIS WEBSITE FOR?

We had a clue that an oil shock was going to happen, so we set up this website as a central point to assemble information about its effects. We don't want a repeat of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, where news from the government and media was spotty and often inaccurate. It’s our belief that truth comes from people telling their own stories. (To quote Gracesmom: "You gotta grow truth out the ground, coax it on up. Because it sure don’t rain down outta the sky.")

WHO ARE WE?

We’re a group of people that suffered together through a little mini-crisis, the December 2006 closure of the Denver airport. Most of us had never met until that episode. One of the things we discussed at length was how the Internet should be used to cover a crisis... and we discovered that it was nothing that the ten of us couldn’t do. So here we are, just doin’ it.

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?

Tell us your story. Fuel prices are sky high (see top of this page!) and the ripple effects are pulling at the seams of our society (see the latest Weekly Story). Everyone’s life has taken a hit - but how much of a hit are you taking? How much pain are you in? No one will know if you don’t add your voice to the collective shout. And who knows? If enough people speak up, maybe the force of collective truth will help prevent this crisis from ever happening again.

UM, CAN YOU SHOW ME AN EXAMPLE?

You bet! Here are other people’s stories: videos, phone calls and audio, images, and blogs and other writing. Pick one and see what you think!

I'M A TEACHER. CAN SCHOOLS HELP?

Yes. Students can be a big force in capturing the stories of the crisis. Guidelines are here.

I’M STILL CONFUSED.

Sorry ‘bout that. Try here.

tech/code/DRM { supposedly HD-DVD can be broken

*BUMP*

I think this needs to be seen.

With this code:


09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0


DIGG kept removing the code and diggers bit back at the site in protest.

*Update - excellent discussion over on the doom9 forums.

mood { Day after May Day

*UPDATE: I should put this rant in context. I stayed home yesterday to work, one of the joys of a results oriented job, my boss does not care where I work as long as the work gets done, I attend the meetings I have to, etc. While at home I thought about May Day. It was a time of reflection (as well as being highly productive). I listen to stories on the radio, about how protest march turn out this year is down, everyone is afraid. That made me mad. It made me think about America in a larger sense. I watch KTTC news last night, disappointed as usual, I watched Leno, bland. The commercials, sickening. I don't know why I torture myself, its the only remains of 'TV' I watch (that isn't obtained from other sources, such as YouTube). I read the paper. It more of the same shit, different day. Its been like this for a period of time that is exhausting. Bush veto'd the spending bill, no surprise there, but the Dems don't have enough votes to override. No one has any balls to stand up to this administration. Politicians are all looking to 2008 and not the now. I woke up to my neighbors yelling at each other, something that doesn't happen on my block and I somehow got tapped into an angry vibe. A vein of frustration.

Angry, sadness, revolution, renegade, love, hate, compassion, apathy.

(rant factor 10 in this post, be warned)

May Day, a day of solidarity among the workers of the world. Repressed, but not as brutally as elsewhere in this country.

America where the fuck are we? Do we know who we are? Where will we be in 20 years after the bastards in power have died off, but not before plundering the essence out of the earth, out of us. Where will we be after they have sacrificed us at the altar of greed? Who have we become that we will let them? We are in a never ending war but its business as usual? Put a flag on your house a ribbon on your car saying you support the troops but don't understand where or why we are there. Jingoism is the new patriotism. Fuck you, fuck me, fuck us all. Baby Boomers I blame you. Gen X I blame you (and me) for not trying harder. MTV and Gen Y and whatever they call the generation that follows, though you will never realize it, I am sorry for the world you will inherit, but you will not see it, its not covered in your Reality TV. You will pass us who lived through this time as 'old timers' or 'curmudgeons'. I'm sorry to the babies who will never know their mother or father who died in this war for oil, wrapped in an American flag and passed off as a mission of mercy and the spread of democracy. We have the illusion of choice but no choice. We have the illusion of compassion, but little compassion. Worship of the dollar. Censorship of the dissent. Violation of your privacy. Stifling of the imagination. To quote the Matrix 'the desert of the Real'.

Yeah I'm angry, tired, sad, worried, here's what I'm listening to:


0xANGRYrenegadeRevolutionMIX:


Songname Artist Composer Album
Yell Fire Michael Franti & Spearhead Yell Fire!
Tricky - Black Steel
Renegades of Funk Rage Against the Machine Renegades
Guerrilla Radio Rage Against the Machine Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford, Tom Morello & Zack de la Rocha The Battle of Los Angeles
War Photographer Jason Forrest Shamelessly Exciting
Destroy Everything You Touch Ladytron Witching Hour
Staring at the Sun TV On the Radio Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Parting of the Sensory Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
War Edwin Starr 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the '70s
Superhero Ani Difranco A. Difranco Dilate
Godlike-Doglike KMFDM Retro
Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana Nevermind
America's Boy Broadcast Tender Buttons
For What It's Worth Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield
Juke-Joint Jezebel KMFDM Retro
Sunday Bloody Sunday U2 Adam Clayton, Bono, Larry Mullen & The Edge The Complete U2 - War
Evil Ladytron Light and Magic
Bukowski Modest Mouse Good News For People Who Love Bad News
16 Military Wives The Decemberists Picaresque
Army Dreamers Kate Bush Kate Bush The Whole Story
Infra-Red Placebo Brian Molko/Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal, Steve Hewitt Meds
Meds Placebo Brian Molko/Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal, Steve Hewitt Meds
Pierrot The Clown Placebo Brian Molko/Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal, Steve Hewitt Meds
Metal Heart Garbage Bryan Vig, Douglas Erickson, Shirley Manson & Steve Marker Bleed Like Me
All Along The Watchtower Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland
Cannonball The Breeders Last Splash
Walking With A Ghost Tegan & Sara Sara Quin So Jealous
Morning Glory Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
An Honest Mistake (Superdiscount Remix) The Bravery Sam Endicott An Honest Mistake (Superdiscount Remix) - Single
I Have Not Been to Paradise Zoe Poledouris Starship Troopers
Deceptacon Le Tigre Le Tigre
Maps Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell
Haïti The Arcade Fire The Arcade Fire Funeral
Girl Anachronism The Dresden Dolls Amanda Palmer The Dresden Dolls
Hurt Johnny Cash American IV - The Man Comes Around
Cello (Where You Were) Souls Bird Fish or Inbetween
King Of New Orleans Better Than Ezra Friction, Baby
Low Low Low James Laid
Candy Everybody Wants 10,000 Maniacs Our Time In Eden
Open the Door Magnapop Rubbing Doesn't Help
Unbelievable EMF Schubert Dip
Gravedigger Dave Matthews Some Devil
Hunger Strike Temple of the Dog Temple of the Dog
Land of Confusion Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists (Bonus Video Version)
God Tori Amos Under The Pink


Yeah they're not all angry, but they have a thematic tie of anger, sadness, loss, revolution, or at least sound it.

5.01.2007

milestones { On not having a cow, man...

With Walpurgisnacht behind us, today is a happy May Day, the day most of the world considers Labor Day, but which America officially refers to as 'Loyalty Day' (it was moved to disassociate it with leftist labor movements _). The day has a variety of things associated with it, from Communism to Paganism.

For me, the major significance is that it was the day I went vegetarian. No thought or significance was planned, it just ended up happening on that day. I woke up and decided not to eat meat anymore. There was no one reason, although I found the arguments for health, the environment, ethics, aesthetics, and the fact that meat never did much for me in the first place sufficiently compelling in combination. That was ten years ago today. A little milestone, but one worth a moment of contemplation.

So here's to not eating animals for a decade. I don't miss it at all.