Good Night For A Heart Attack

11:24. Tired. Tired as all hell. Can't sleep. Again. Meeting was today. I went in knowing the outcome. I went in knowing nothing would change. I wasted everyone's time. What does that make me? I wonder. People left there pissed. Things happened. Things will happen. None of it pretty. I had to apologize to people for wasting their time. One after another they said, "Don't. You did a great job."

Yeah, I don't feel like I did.

I don't doubt our words were heard. The physical reactions told us that. I just think we were dismissed. It's not a good feeling, and now I head something that has to make a procedure implementing something that nobody thinks will work well.

I guess people get what they deserve. I forget what anarchist said it (maybe Emma), but a society gets the criminals it deserves. I always believed that. It means that you get what you put up with. You have to be responsible for what occurs. We get the criminals we deserve, the laws we deserve and the policies we deserve.

We got 'em. But this time we fought 'em.

Now what?

Burn After Reading

If you've noticed the book I'm reading (located at the bottom of this page), you may be thinking to yourself, "Why the hell is Doug reading a Conan novel?" It's a valid question.

I think I've made it perfectly clear that women who read are sexy. I, being a writer, also enjoy reading ... anything ... everything. I'll read the back of a cereal box if nothing else is around. I read fiction and non-fiction. I'll read magazines, comic books, text books, police reports. You name it, I'll devour it. Reading, I think, is one of life's great pleasures. It's an escape, an awakening, a detour. I haven't read any of the "Twilight" books, but I'm glad they got people (including teens) cracking spines.

I read anything from political theory to pulp fiction to porn to biographies. I'm not ashamed to admit to reading stuff that some people would call garbage ... or highbrow. Honestly, I have a hard time trusting people who tell me they don't read. I wonder about their motivations and education (and I'm not talking about the kind you get indoctrinated with in school). It's like people who say they don't like music.

Oddly enough, as I write this the "Today" show is talking about the First Lady and how she inspires people to be like her simply through her existence. Women will want shapelier arms and will want to garden ... all because the First Lady has nice arms and does photo ops. As people were interviewed about this I couldn't help but think that these women, the ones inspired by the mere presence of the First Lady, are the same ones who don't read. They are the ones who are so easily duped. (And men are much the same way, but the "Today" show was not doing a segment on men who are dumb.)

Read a book. Throw a brick. Do something to better yourself. There are plenty of people out there who will put you down and make you feel an inch tall. Why help them? Why not make the job a little harder and better yourself somewhat? Explore some new territory. Who knows? You may just enjoy it. Perhaps if you saw the First Lady doing it ...

New Post

Review of the film Jericho's Echo.

My Minions Attack AT And T

Yesterday the credit from AT and T came. It sat in my mailbox right atop my last phone bill from the company. The bill, as noted earlier was for $2.17. Any company that runs its business like this (issuing refunds and bills without taking the bill out of the credit) deserves to go under. No bailout. No bonuses for CEOs. Nobody needs a company that runs this poorly. That's why I dropped it.

It's no the money that caused me to switch. It was the company's utter lack of understanding about its own products. (See my earlier posts.) And also its lack of customer service. Talking to people who have worked for the company has affirmed my stance that customer service means zip to the company. Therefore, I dropped it and declared war.

Every check I send, I include my blog address so that employees there can read about this. If any employee wants to post a horror story, go for it. Any readers, too. Enter it as a comment. It will be fun.

AT & T will most likely never have my business again. Never say never, though. It could monopolize everything and enslave us. When that happens, we send the minions out again. Let's have three cheers for the destruction of AT and T!

AT and T Headquarters Mishap

My war with AT and T continues. This week I received a notice stating I was getting a $53.61 credit. Since this was AT and T, I figured I'd call to make sure this was correct as AT and T has made a business out of not knowing how to run a business.

Sure enough it was true, but I also discovered that, after my final bill, I had an outstanding bill of $2.17! Normally, I wouldn't care. It's less than an issue of "100 Bullets," so not a big deal. Since this was AT and T, however, I had to pursue it. You guys love reading about this, and I love screwing with AT and T.

After talking to a few people at the rotting phone giant, I was put in touch with a seemingly frigid customer service representative. I asked why AT and T was charging me after my final bill. I was told it was for calls made after my final statement. Whatever. I then asked why the bill wasn't taken out of the credit, as that seemed to make the most sense. I was told that it just didn't work that way.

"Okay, so what would happen if I only pay part of this?" I asked.

"We'd send you a bill for the rest."

"So I could pay a nickle, and eventually AT and T would realize it was costing them more money to keep sending out letters?"

"No. We would turn it over to a collection agency," she answered. I had serious doubts any collection agency would take such a small debt. I didn't want to tell her that, though. She works for AT and T and doesn't understand things like "logic" and "common sense."

"Okay," I responded. "Then I'd like to set up a payment plan."

"For $2.17? We don't do that." She was pissed.

Looks like I'll be writing another letter and sending my blog address again. The war continues ...

New Release Tomorrow

Press release as sent.


Hi

brand new on voodoo rhythm records :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Spring is here and the Summer’s gonna be a one of a Hot BBQ Party every day !!!!! so welcome MAMA ROSIN From Geneva Switzerland with their new Album of Fulminate Cajun music.. those Cats catapults Cajun into the new generation !!!!



-------------------------------------
BAND: MAMA ROSIN

ALBUM TITLE: brule lentement
Original Release Year : MARCH 27. 2009
Formate : LP/CD



DIRECT Order : http://www.voodoorhythm.com/VR1255.htm

WHOLESALE: http://www.voodoorhythm.com/distribution.htm

HOMEPAGE: http://www.voodoorhythm.com/MAMA%20ROSIN.html

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/mamarosin

HI RES PICTURE 2009 http://www.voodoorhythm.info/IMAGES/PICTURE-MAMA-ROSIN-2009.jpg

HI RES PICTURE 2008 http://www.voodoorhythm.info/IMAGES/PICTURE-MAMA%20ROSIN.jpg

MP3: http://www.voodoorhythm.info/MP3/MAMA%20ROSIN%20-%202.%20LE%20TWO-STEP%20DE%20L%27HARICOT.mp3







Title



1. Où est passé E.C Lenoir ?

2. le two-step de l'haricot

3. je vas mon chemin

4. honky tonky tout le temps

5. la valse des beaux-frères

6. you stole my motorcycle

7. les blues d'Amede

8. le pistolet

9. when the police came

10. eh ti monde

11. dead love rag

12. johny dance

13. bon temps rouler



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



RECORD RELEASE TOUR :



Mar 24 2009 RSR avec les Hell’s Kitchen Radio Paradiso, Vaud (CH)

Mar 25 2009 HELSINSKI, release party tour Zurich (CH)

Mar 26 2009 ISC, release party tour mit Delaney Davidson Berne (CH)

Mar 27 2009 + Dos Hermanos and DJ Ecky Unrund Basel, (CH)

Mar 28 2009 Mariaberg with Delaney Davidson & Dos Hermanos Rorschach (CH)

Apr 2 2009 BAG Night w/Demi EVANS au Manège, Spectacles Onésiens Onex, Genève (CH)

Apr 4 2009 Trokson Lyon (fr)

Apr 9 2009 la Javanaise avec kestekop Aiguelèze-Gaillac, Midi-Pyrénées (fr)

Apr 10 2009 L’Usine + Mojomatics Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées (fr)

Apr 11 2009 Les Voyageurs puymirol, Aquitaine (fr)

Apr 12 2009 "EL BOQUERON" + DJ Looch (The Magnetix) Bordeaux, Midi-Pyrénées (fr)

Apr 13 2009 Epicerie de Tarnac chez Paul Corèze, Limousin

Apr 17 2009 Living Room (VRR crew) -TBC lugano, Tessin (ch)

Apr 23 2009 TBC - Genf ---, Genève (fr)

Apr 30 2009 LINDE Königsfeld-Burgberg (d)

May 2 2009 Substanz Munich (d)

May 3 2009 Cayman Bar Gunzenhausen (d)

May 4 2009 tour germany TBA -----, Berlin (d)

May 5 2009 tour germany TBA ------, Brandenburg (d)

May 6 2009 HIEDE with tee Watzloves ! Hambourg (d)

May 7 2009 Amigo music Delmenhorst (d)

May 9 2009 Drei König’s Keller Frankfurt (d)

May 10 2009 Hausbar Münzgasse 13 Tübingen (d)

May 22 2009 Dirty Water Club @ BOSTON ARMS (uk)

May 23 2009 Pyrate Punx @ THE WINE CELLERS Bath, (uk)

May 24 2009 The Square and Compass - Worth Matravers Dorset, London (uk)

May 24 2009 Stranger Than Paradise/Last Bastion Of Hope @ THE GEORGE Commercial St, London, London and South East (uk)

May 25 2009 London - TBA TBA, London and South East (uk)

Jun 12 2009 festival - TBC ..., Lucerne (cH)

Jun 13 2009 - Private - EPI - fête, Genève (ch)

Jun 20 2009 Broquante Tigel Zürich (ch)

Jun 27 2009 Mama Rosin House - Lucie Festival Carre d’Amont, Genève (ch)

Jul 3 2009 gibloux les nuits blanches - TBC Ogoz, Fribourg (ch)

Jul 11 2009 festival Burgdorf, Berne (ch)

Jul 25 2009 Juke Joint Festival Ravensburg (d)

---------------------------------------------------

DEUTSCH

Mes dames et messieurs, wir präsentieren voller Stolz das zweite Album unseres Genfer Trio MAMA ROSIN: BRULE LENTEMENT: Mhhhhh, that’s CAJUNLICIOUS! Nach Ihrem Debutalbum auf Voodoo Rhythm in 2008 ist viel passiert: Sie tourten sie durch die halbe Welt, standen im Vorprogramm der Stray Cats auf der Bühne, gaben BBC's Marc Lamarr die Ehre und heizten der WM-Eröffnung in Wien ein.

Die Energie und Leidenschaft zur Musik geht auch dieses Mal nahtlos in die 13 Tracks ihrer neuen Scheibe über; ganz getreu dem Motto aus „alt mach neu“: Ein Gumbo alter Cajun und Zydeco Wurzeln, verfeinert und gewürzt mit dem Sound und der Power des neuen Milleniums; Old Deep Lousiana Black Roots treffen auf Velvet Underground und Daniel Johnston! Ebenso live überzeugt das Trio; die ansteckende Spielfreude und Liebe zu Musik, sowie Einflüsse und Elemente aus dem Blues, Karibischer und Afrikanischer Musik, Calypso bis hin zu psychedelischen Klängen macht Mama Rosin zu einem einmaligen Augen- und Ohrenschmaus. Aufnahme und Mastering in den Inside Outside Studios / Italien, Artwork by Lady Black Sally aus Genf.

ENGLISH

Ladies and Gentlemen, with pride we announce MAMA ROSIN's second album "BRULE LENTEMENT: YES! That's CAJELICIOUS!"

Many things have passed since their debut album for Voodoo Rhythm Records in 2008. Tours around the world, (over 120 gigs only in 2008), sharing the stage with the Stay Cats, graceing BCC's Marc Lamarr with their presence and firing up the crowd at the Football Championship Opening in Vienna. and the EXPO 2008 in Zaragoza

Again, their passion and energy flow seamlessly into the 13 new tracks according to the spirit of making old things new:

A gumbo of old Cajun and Zydeco roots, minced and spiced up with the sound and the power of the new Millenium; old Deep Louisiana Black Roots meets Velvet Underground and Daniel Johnston. The album starts with “Où est passé E.C Lenoir”: quite a trip into the world of Cajun. They are searching for Eraste Carriere, the guy of the Freres Carriere (Cajun Legends) then the keep on rocking on “Le Two-Step De L'Haricot” where you can learn how to dance with a bean! For the first time you hear Vanina, the drummer, sings on The Clash inspired “You Stole My Motorcycle” and you find a cover version of the Movie Star Junkies “Dead Love Rag”.

One thing is for sure: They are amazing on stage! You feel their love to many styles of music: From Blues to Calypso, from Psychedelic to African and Caribbean Music. Don’t miss to see and hear them live!

Recorded and mastered at Outside Inside Studios in Italy, cover artwork by Lady Black Sally.

FRENCH

"mesdames et messieurs, avec fierté nous vous annonçons la sortie du deuxième Album du trio Genevois Mama Rosin.... "Brûle Lentement": yes c'est CAJELICICIOUS!"
Beaucoup de choses se sont passés depuis leur première album sur Voodoo Rhythm Record en 2008. Des concerts autour du monde, des scènes partagées avec les Stray Cats, une live session à la BBC-London dans le Mark Lamarr show, et dans des caves rock n' roll les plus sales jusqu'au concert de Vienne lors de l'ouverture du championnat d'Europe de Football, où ils bravèrent les milliers de supporters alcoolisés!
Leurs passions et leurs flows d'energies sont distillés dans 13 nouveaux morceaux explosifs, toujours dans l'idée de faire du neuf avec du vieux: un gumbo de cajun poussiereux et de zydeco, mixé et épicé avec la force d'un nouveau millénaire chaotique dans lequel les profondeurs obscures où s'étalent des racines créole rencontres le Velvet Underground et Daniel Johnston.
Un dernier mot pour dire qu'ils sont incroyables sur scène. Ceux qui les ont vu peuvent sentir leur amours pour ces puissants styles musicaux que sont le blues, le Calypso, le garage psychadélique, les messes africaines et les danses des Caraïbes. Ne les ratez pas en live, ni ne ratez leur nouveau disque"

Voodoo Rhythm Records

Wankdorffeldstrasse 92

3014 Bern



Switzerland



www.voodoorhythm.com

info@voodoorhythm.com

tel/fax: ++41 31 3321319

Stage 5

Earlier today I reached Stage 5 in Space Invaders Extreme for the PSP. This was no small accomplishment. I figure I want to reach Stage 10 and then I can let it go for a while. The level designs for the game are close to genius, and if you think it's a simple arcade game it only takes a few rounds to see that just is not the case.

This game gets into your head and sticks with you.

Apparently, a sequel is out or is due out in Japan. I'm hoping it is brought here, but it shouldn't matter because Japanese PSP games should play on our system.

Beautiful.

Click here if you want to buy Space Invaders Extreme from my affiliate and be sure to check out the other Space Invaders games, including one that looks like a sequel.

Games

I've got about a minute before I go to work, but I need to get something off my chest.

I've never felt that adults are good at acting like adults. I'm just as guilty, too, but I try. We are petty,spiteful beings who like nothing more than exerting power over those who we think will let us. We like to play games and then act innocent.

But what happens when you start fucking with the wrong people?

There's a great line in "The Devil's Rejects," a movie I recommend highly. The sheriff has just caught three of the killers and has them attached to chairs. The dynamic has changed. The killers are now victims, and the sheriff admits his familial history of vigilantism. He tells these madmen that they are now playing on a higher level that most people never get to see. You people who have never seen that level should be thankful. It goes beyond the normal reindeer games that people who are little more than window dressing play. It turned nasty. Those who saw the movie remember the scene. I know they do.

The problems of games can be solved very easily. Don't play them. Don't screw around. Don't be passive aggressive. Say what you mean, do what you say. Treat people with the respect you wish were given to you. Do that and you get it back. I don't play games with people. Not much anyway. Not about important things. Do people do it to me? No. Why? Because when they do, I take it to the next level.

A friend of mine once said he had no doubt I would do myself great harm in order to get at someone else. It's true. I don't respect games. I don't respect lying. I don't respect people acting all too human.

When you wake up in the morning you always have to ask yourself, "Where do I stand?"

That's the question, isn't it?

Not That I Need To Explain

You may have noticed the ad for Play-Asia on the right hand side. It's a site I've been fond of for a few years, and now I've become an affiliate. If anyone has any issues with this, please let me know.

Take The Slow Boat

Every once in a while I like to publicize some of the press releases I get. Here's one you ought to know about. Slowboat Films now available for download in HD.

Just click here to go to the website.

I wouldn't put this here if I didn't recommend them.

30 Years Of Shooting Things

I am not a huge Space Invaders fan. I've played it in the arcade and had it for the Atari 2600, but it was never a favorite like Centipede was. I read some good reviews for Space Invaders Extreme for the PSP (the year it came out, 2008, was the game's 30th anniversary) and decided to pick it up. For under $20 you really can't lose. Hell, you spend just that much on a hummer and sometimes the outcome isn't nearly as good.

I get the game. I put it into my Darth Vader PSP with the Ghost Rider theme. I start playing.

Good God, it is fun.

Addictive? Check. Colorful? Check. Great sound? Check. Chaotic? Check. Replay value? Check.

In an instant my worldview on Space Invaders changed. Would I recommend it to everyone with a PSP? Yes. There is no doubt in my mind that it should be in every collection. And I say this without having gotten past stage four yet.

If anyone has a copy of the soundtrack CD and wants to send me a copy, I'd be forever grateful.

Click here if you want to order it from Play-Asia.

Menocide

I'm writing this because the face I want to break is nowhere near me.

I'm a guy. I've got all the parts that make me a guy. But I look at other guys and their actions and it makes me wonder.

If you don't know me, and many of you don't, let me just give you an overview. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I am heterosexual, don't believe in God, enjoy my sex. I like video games, reading, writing, movies. I believe in respecting women, and I will admit that a naked woman is one of the most spectacular sights in nature. Sex and violence and are my vices, but I don't believe in hitting women. I know and acknowledge my violent side. I don't let it control me.

Obviously, things go deeper, but that's a quick intro to how I operate. When I see my gender, though, I start to think I may be out of whack.

I grew up like many other males in America did. Keep your feelings inside. Work hard. You are a slave to no one. "Be a man" isn't just a saying. It's a way of life. That's what men are taught if not by our parents, by society. Sure, there is an effort there to make men more "civil," and in some respects I applaud it and in others hate it. Then I see these other men and I think we really need it.

One difference in the sexes I've noticed is that men externalize and women internalize. Women cut themselves when they hurt. Men beat others up. Neither is very healthy, but at least the women know enough to engage in a little introspection. I can't say the same about most men. Men lash out blindly, never knowing or admitting why they feel inner pain. Never admitting that most of our problems come from within. Never thinking that if that is the case the only way they can be solved is from within.

So we lash out at the ones we claim to love, never understanding that you can't love someone else unless you understand yourself. We drown our sorrows in spirits and drugs. We beat and rape. And we take it out on the people closest to us.

Is it any wonder society has tried to tame us? Is it any wonder women eventually get fed up with guys who can't grow up and get out of the relationship.

Then these same guys, the ones who lose everything they ever claimed to hold dear, put themselves up on their cross, blame the other party and embrace the idea of being a victim to circumstances beyond their control. All while begging to be taken back while saying how much they hate the woman they want to reconnect with.

I think some of you may be one of those guys. Here's what I think of you.

I want to break you because you won't do it to yourself. I want to make you the victim you claim you are. I want to shake you and force you to look in the mirror. I want to point out every contradiction you ignore while claiming you know the truth. I want to punch out every single one of your teeth not to teach you a lesson, but because it will make me feel good. I want to force you to see how your stupidity effects not only you but everyone around you. I want to choke the life out of you because, yes, the world would be better off without you. I want you to know you are a pack animal ... and not a particularly useful one. I want you to sit and think and come up with a sentence that you think best describes yourself ... then I want to show you why it's bullshit.

I hate you for even claiming to be in the same species as me. I pity you because you'll never know yourself. I envy you because you seem to fuck up so many good things and are too ignorant to learn from your actions (that must be fucking liberating in some weird way). I am sick of you and your little boy games. Start turning your self-loathing into introspection and self-respect. No problems were ever solved by a bottle, and no relationship was ever saved with a fist.

At what point do you stop being a stupid fuck and turn into a real man?

Let me know when that happens, but don't try to talk to me before that. My fists want to feel bone break, skin split, and blood spill, and I'm smart enough to know I'll have a hard time stopping what I start.

Leno Loves Obama

You can't miss the fact that Obama made "history" by appearing on "The Tonight Show." Why this is news or history is beyond me. No sitting president has ever appeared on "Attack of the Show," either. Who the fuck cares?

Leno, while not a political analyst, did ask a great question in regard to the financial destruction this country has faced. "Shouldn't someone go to jail?"

Yes. Lots of people.

Most of the Bush administration. A whole lot of CEOs and CFOs. Various politicians both in and out of office. Problem is, they won't go. Unfortunately, more attention is being paid to the president's comments about bowling and the Special Olympics.

Jesus, there's the problem with this country in a nutshell.

People should be in jail, but we don't discuss that in any serious manner. We don't debate it in the mass media on any level that matters. But the administration is forced to offer an apology on a remark that speaks for itself, but there is no press release regarding imprisonment. The news covers this apology with all the seriousness afforded to 9/11. The prison issue is passed over with a mere mention.

Bush should be in prison. Cheney should be in prison. Obama should be pushing to put them there. America should be pushing to put them there. And the rest should follow.

I make no apologies for my anarchist views. I believe in holding people responsible for their actions. I don't believe in prisons and jails, but as a society we seem to think this is okay, so I am asking society to follow through with its ideals and values. If some guy robbed a bank, and a jury found him guilty, he would go to jail. Why isn't America demanding the same thing of its political and business leaders? I don't think I'm being radical here. I think I'm being fair. If I ripped off people, if I conducted a home invasion (the mini version of Iraq), I'd be in jail. I'd be behind bars trading jokes for smokes.

Some mother fuckers need to be held responsible for this mess the country is in. No self-respecting Republican can disagree, either, since personal responsibility is such a big issue to them. (I often say that morals and values are a matter of convenience. I think the last eight years have proven this.)

When Americans are losing their homes at an alarming rate, when jobs bleed out like a slaughtered pig, when soldiers are fighting a war based on lies ... people need to be held responsible. You can't gloss over it and expect to maintain any sense of respect. You just can't.

If the justice system won't hold these people responsible, the people should. These people shop. They go out to eat. They go out on the town. People know who they are. Start to shame them. Start to shun them. Throw shoes. Demand they turn themselves in. Mock them. Make them feel like the scum they are.

If the justice system won't do it, the people need to. If they don't, it will happen again ... and they'll deserve it.

I do not own a gun because I would use it. This herd needs thinning.

Men are weak creatures undeserving of many things. Fragile psychopaths on the road to self-loathing without a care.

Space Invaders Extreme for PSP is like crack.

The Brain Trust

Faced with decisions at work, I've been thinking a lot about what would happen if people suddenly stopped lending their brain power to things. Ayn Rand touched upon those ideas, but in a fictional setting. What if it were done for real? What if you were depended upon to come up with ideas to make the workplace "work," but you were forced to make decisions on bad policy and just decided that you wouldn't do it? It's not in your job description, and how would they really force you?

I'm a firm believer in letting people choke on their own stupidity. I think that sort of thing must be done in order to drive the point home. Justice is making people feel the ramifications of their own decisions and actions. What we tend to do instead is protect them from harm. We punish smart people, protect the dumb herd and consider this righteous. I don't mind lending a helping hand, but I start to get a little indignant when obstacles are put up by the very people I'm supposed to be helping.

I don't want to invest any more time in trying to help people who don't appreciate it and who do their best to make it as hard as possible for me to help them. I will continue with projects I've started, but I think I'm pulling my brain out of the mix. It's not that I don't care. I do. A lot, actually. I just have other things to do with my time ... like help people who really deserve it.

I'm sure some of you are in the same position. The place where people in power expect you to use your mind to get them out of a bind of some sort, to use your brain power to help enact policies that can't possibly work out well or even have the facade of fairness. Take a page from Mrs. Reagan and just say no ... or come up with an idea so bad it really fucks things up.

Imagine the possibilities...

From Berlin

For all you people who are in or will be in Berlin at the end of this month, there is a benefit show for Voodoo Rhythm. It has a great line-up, so if you're there, you should try to get to it. Me? I'll be in CA, but my spirit will be there (probably in the body of a 20 year-old girl who likes other girls and sushi).

The Howl

Yes, you may recognize that song title. It's from the first CD I ever bought. I bought the CD before I even owned a CD player. My cassette copy of Samhain's "Initium" was eaten by my friend's car, and I was bummed. I couldn't find a replacement copy, so I bought a CD. Then I taped it on my brother's stereo.

I hate CDs.

I'm a vinyl person. No, I don't like to dress up as Catwoman and have creepy sex with drunk housewives. Well, not usually. When I'm talking about vinyl, I mean records, LPs, EPs, 45s, 7"s, 12"s. The music sounds better, the art is bigger and it feels more like art and less like entertainment.

Most of the music I listen to these days is punk and blues. The two have more in common than most people think. A lot of my punk is on record. Almost all of my blues is on CD (rare blues records cost more money than I care to think about). Sure, the music loses something when it's reduced to ones and zeros, but the sense of history is there and the magic that soaks through the speakers is still strong.

I'm not a huge fan of MP3s, as this has made art even more entertainment-like. You can't argue with convenience, though. When you can put a couple thousand songs in your pocket, work becomes far more tolerable. You can drown out the stupid with Opiate For The Masses and appreciate the irony.

I once went to a used record store to check out the stock. This was back in PA near when the glorious Nikki lives. The owner of the store was a scum bag. No prices on anything. His method was seeing how wealthy you looked and what kind of care you drove. He had told me that he just got a new collection of tapes in. I looked at what he had, and there was Big Black's "Songs About Fucking." I wanted this badly. I had just been thinking of buying it. I asked how much it was.

Forty dollars.

His reasoning? They didn't make the cassette anymore.

That was not true. I had just seen it new for around eight dollars in a catalog. I just hadn't ordered it yet. When I told him that, he told me it had to be a misprint. Obviously I didn't buy it or ever step foot back in there again.

Record stores are going the way of the dinosaur these days. Can't say I'm too displeased, as all the ones I've been in as of late have sucked. The new music mostly sucks, and the record stores are run by leeches.

Good riddance to bad medicine, I say.

He's A Killing Machine

It's about 1:30. Been up since before five a.m., but I can't sleep. My mind is racing. How can I get to PA? How can I move a family out here? I need a television. Can't beat Kinetica. Space Invaders Extreme is addictive. Work is killing me slowly and with intent. I don't understand the concept of "classic beauty." Hippies bug me. I hate when females pretend to be dumb in order to catch a guy's attention.

Yeah, my mind goes off on tangents sometimes.

Most of my problems stem from money ... or lack of it. Most of my friends' problems come from that same poisoned well. I'm lucky in the fact that I have a job. I know and appreciate that, but at what price? It provides me with money, which I need to keep a roof over my head, but my soul is slowly being burned out of me. With each passing day, incompetence, and co-workers with no work ethic threaten to overcome me. I'd rather be writing all day and living off my talent. Instead, I sit in front of a computer screen, enter data, and answer co-workers' questions (and I don't mind doing that). Didn't Devo ask how long this could go on?

To survive I do little things. Subversion. I humor myself. Anyone who knows me knows how that goes. It's how I get by when I'm not tying a noose.

I don't feel like I can complain. There is a lot of good in my life. Not everything. But a lot. I can feel good that I'm not that musclehead in the Verizon commerical or that my stool has no blood in it. I can't rest easy knowing I don't watch YouTube religiously, and I have no desire to get U2's latest. It's the little things.

Later on today I'm going to the tattoo shop to see JLo ink my supervisor. It's her first. It may or may not be her last. If you have a tattoo you know how that goes. One is never enough. That's another thing I need money for. Number 16. Black Flag bars. "Who needs love when you have a gun?" That was going to be my first tattoo. It won't be my last.

I am watching a commercial for The Night Exchange. Some 800 number you call to talk to real people. The lady on the phone in the commercial looked liked she was two seconds away from masturbating. Odd.

AT and T sent me my final bill today along with a statement that my latest bill, which is due on 3/20/09, is late. Today is 3/13/09. Apparently AT & T is as good as reading the calendar as it is in understanding its long distance plans. I plan on doing all kinds of shit to AT & T. Steal from its trucks. Vandalism. Happy trails to you.

Pandora's Box

I am addicted to Pandora, that online radio that picks songs based on what you like off of some crazy programming voodoo that only thirteen-year-olds and idiot savants can understand. It lets you pick and choose songs so as to further fine tune your listening experience.

And Voodoo Rhythm acts are on it, too, so it has to be good.

My station is The Last Samurai, and according to Jem, a listener advocate with Pandora, the music that pops up in my window is from their personal collection. Impressive. I've got some eclectic tastes (Prince and GG Allin come to mind), but the program was more than able to satisfy me.

I know this thing has been around for a while, but if you haven't checked it out, I recommend it if you really love music. If you aren't a huge music fan, you won't understand the joy of discovering something new.

When I first heard it through my tattoo artist/vice parent to my daughter, JLo, I knew it was something I had to check out. Now that I have a new computer am I able to access it, and I haven't stopped listening since.

100 Bullets

Here it is. Post 100. I expected some big thing, but it's 11:27 and I should be in bed, so don't expect Shakespeare. Instead, all　I want to say is that today was not a good day. I keep pretty quiet these days for a bunch of reasons. Mainly being the people I thought I could trust kind of let me down. Not all of them. Enough of them, though. I learned. I don't make the same mistakes twice. Second, I've been happier. No need to write about pain when I have good things on the horizon.

It was hard to see that horizon today. It was cloudy.

I hate feeling second class. I hate feeling like my daughter is slipping away from me. I hate it all, and I'm tired of it.

What can I do? I know what I have to do, and I know what I will do. Some will understand. Some will not. Some will approve. Some will not. Don't really care either way.

Post 100. The title is from a great comic book series. You are given a gun with 100 bullets. You are to set things straight. You won't get in trouble. The gun and bullets can't be traced.

If only life were so easy.

100 bullets.

Still ain't enough.

These humans are not fit to be animals. Their actions make little sense. No wonder I hate humanity.

Lux

Lux Interior died last month. Passed away. No more tight leather pants. No more writhing on stage. No more songs about an It Thing Hard-On. The singer of The Cramps, a band like no other that was psychobilly when psychobilly didn't even exist yet, is gone. It sucks that in this world someone like Wayne Newton can keep kicking, but Lux isn't afforded that luxury.

He will be missed.

More New Stuff

From "Tattoo Savage," it's a Crazy Town and Grudge review. Can't believe I liked Crazy Town so much.

New Post

Posted some more work over on my other blog for anyone interested.

Los Alamitos Is Full Of Morons

A few weeks ago AP ran a piece about Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose. He was resigning due to an e-mail he sent out that had a picture of watermelons on the lawn of the White House with the title "No Easter egg hunt this year." Grose said he didn't mean to offend anyone when he forwarded the e-mail to a "small group of friends." He also said he was "unaware of the racial stereotype that black people like watermelons." His black friend, Keyanus Price, wanted a public apology, which he gave.

Are people really expected to believe Grose was unaware of the stereotype? I mean,first of all he's an idiot because he forwarded the e-mail in the first place, and forwarded it to a black friend no less, so one would believe that supports his position that he was "unaware." Think rationally for a minute, though. If he was unaware of the stereotype, why forward the e-mail? People forward things like this because they think it's funny. If you are unaware of the stereotype (which is why the e-mail is supposed to be "funny"), you wouldn't get the joke and would therefore have no reason to forward something you don't understand. How many people want to seem like morons in front of their friends?

This leaves some other unanswered questions, too. Does Grose think voters are so dumb that they can be lied to that easily? Are they so dumb that they would either A)Vote in a racist, or B) Vote in a man so ignorant that he didn't realize the stereotype? My guess is the former on that one, though in all fairness he probably didn't run for office in black face.

I have no problem with people being racist and open about it. It's their right. I prefer to know what their opinions are because the ones who hide it (perhaps like this mayor) sometimes get into positions of power and then let their feelings through in their actions. I'd much rather have someone be proud of their feelings and let the world know. It makes them easier to deal with, and I respect it much more.

The people of Los Alamitos have little to do with this mayor's social faux pas, other than electing him into office. He probably hid his racism well enough to get there, which is to be expected. After all, Los Alamitos is in Orange County and you can't really run a David Duke-style campaign there because it will make the citizens look bad. But Los Alamitos does have some responsibility to really call this guy out on his stupidity. I'd like to see him grilled in the press about this. (He may have been, but I haven't delved into it that deeply.) I want to see him explain why he forwarded an e-mail he couldn't have found funny if he didn't get the stereotype.

What was he thinking? Answer: He wasn't. That's the problem with people who don't admit their racism. They don't think their feelings through. It worked out well for him, didn't it. It sure worked out better for the people of Los Alamitos ... though I'm not sure they deserved to get off that easy.

The Spin Doctors

"Spin." Don't know why I get it, but I do. I've tried to right for it in the past, but have had no luck. I would try to write reviews breaking in new music, figuring I would have a better chance getting new music covered there than in "Rolling Stone," which I also get for some reason.

"Spin" has never published one of my pieces, though. Ever. One of the last ones I submitted was a few years back and it was for King Kahn and His Shrines' "Three Hairs and You're Mine" on Voodoo Rhythm. It was great Screamin' Jay Hawkins-like music, which, as many of you know, isn't being done these days. "Spin," a magazine that prides itself on exposing readers to new music, turned it down.

I wasn't too upset, though. I didn't really expect "Spin" to publish the review because it only really covers bands that have been floating around underground for years anyway. In other words, by the time it reaches "Spin" it's old news.

Flash forward to the 2/09 issue of the magazine and it's "Big in '09" feature. Page 59. The King Kahn and BBQ Show. Apparently, back when I first tried to expose "Spin" readers to the awesome power of King Kahn, that wasn't good enough. Now, however, years later "Spin" thinks it's time.

Is it any wonder I have no respect for the cutting-edge music magazine?

How can readers trust "Spin" to say music is worth listening to when it is years behind the curve? I'm not musical guru, but I can tell when something is worth watching out for. Ten plus years in music journalism taught me that. "Spin," on the other hand, has a lot left to learn ... but at least it's still light years ahead of "Rolling Stone." That magazine thinks Bruce Springsteen is still relevant.

Flirting With Disaster

My sister and her friend have left, and my television is my own again. No more "Rock of Love" or "Tool Academy." No more Lifetime movies. I'll miss her and her friend, but their taste in television left me a little dumber.

I don't understand shows like "Rock of Love" and "Tool Academy." I don't see the cheap appeal. Maybe it makes people feel better about themselves. Maybe it gives breast implant women something to aspire to ("I don't have to strip no more!"). Maybe it takes guys with manga hair and turns them into something their psychologists can be proud of. I just don't have it figured out. How, in a world where books exist, can these shows be on the air? Who signs off on this sort of shit?

If I had to do a reality show, this is what it would be. I'd call it "Dead Dumb Motherfuckers." Every week we'd read an e-mail on the air from some lucky viewer who had an experience with someone they thought was so dumb they shouldn't be allowed to share our precious space. We'd give the offender a chance to respond and let the audience vote on whether or not they should live. On the next show we'd post the results. Thumbs up, and the idiot gets to go home and fuck his equally dumb wife or girlfriend. Thumbs down, and it's execution samurai style. I can see it being a hit with the crowd that thinks "Survivor" doesn't live up to its name. After all, we'd boast the ultimate voting off.

That will never happen, though. We like to pretend that we, as a society, are above this sort of thing. The truth of the matter is that we are below it. We only pretend to have such lofty ideals. We'd say we wouldn't watch such a show, but you all know damn well we would, and it would be a hit. Social critics would lament the destruction of culture until they were blue in the face, but it wouldn't matter. When you deal with groups, you get group think, and group think is not a product of intelligence. It is the product of lowest common denominator, blood lust, and voyeurism.

I won't be watching those shows now that my guests aren't here, but I know some of you will be. Some of my friends do. I can't figure it out, and I give them all kinds of shit for it. But what really intrigues me is where do they draw the line? What is unacceptable? I'd be curious to find out, but I don't think we've reached that point yet.

AT and T Blamed For Rise In Breast Cancer

Got my AT and T bill, fully expecting a nice little credit. No such fucking luck. Not even an an apology. Looks like I'll have to write the company again.

I know people who swear by the company and have had good experiences. I believe it, too. I just got unlucky. I won't ever knowingly deal with the company again. In fact, I will now go out of my way to cost it money. Too bad there are more AT and T phone booths to destroy. Hey, here's an idea: Anyone who has any great (in a bad way) AT and T stories, photos, hacks, etc., send them in. I will publish them here.

Any employees of AT and T want to chime in? I won't print real names.