The Sun Inn (get it?) at Bentworth, near Alton, were happy to take our money for a long leisurely lunch on a bleak afternoon in the dieing gasps of 2010.We struggled to recognise each other on arrival, tin top cars and civvy clothing not being the norm, of course, but introductions duly made.We were naturally careful not to regale too loudly our tales from the year of driving skills and prowess, nor of trunnions and A- frame bushes, balanced carbs and limits of adhesion... because, we'd not only be 'in public', but also with the SWMBO's !!
The 'She Who Must Be Obeyed's'.
It was great for everyone to meet each other at last and the conversations were suitably positioned to include all in attendance, from 5 months to nearly 5 decades.
Paul C made the effort to bring a particularly virulent strain of virus along, the rest of his family remaining at home in the isolation ward, he sat by himself.
Andy DaLongBloke did his usual long range trip up from the coast ... this time in SWMBO DaLongBloke's diesel Smart Car...no wonder we didn't recognise him! And he went all the way to Italy and back in that? The small run up from Worthing in the middle of winter is nothing then, thanks for making the trip up though, good to see you and the oft spoke about missus.
We didn't get to touch Cannonball B's new sheepskin flying jacket sadly ... or his Nurse SWMBO. Both were administering elsewhere.
All of Ian H's family were wearing shorts, it's a cult thing.
Rob W and wife SWMBO ate hot spicy chicken wings, but they're all right now.
Missus Carrots and Baby Carrots were both well behaved and will be invited out again next year.
Happy days and nice grub.
We look forward to a good year of Sunrise Seven Blats and fine breakfasts in 2011.
. So without any ice clear roads to drive on , or temperatures that would allow the thought to develop into reality, then a collage from the album is all that suffices for now:
Thanks for stopping by. I made you all a wallpaper to remember this moment forever; the moment you abandoned your family for Noblesaur! I'm so happy you love me and this blag more than everything else... If anyone makes this their desktop wallpaper I would be so happy that I'd send you money! Seriously...
It's Christmas Eve, tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Jesus! I love how two blatantly Christian holidays won Federal status as days off... it's just awesome. I admit I'm kind of split though, because I believe in a separation of church and state. Maybe... Christmas as we know it is no longer religious...
GASP! How could I make such a claim!?
Well I won't. There, are you happy? Never mind I lied. I believe Christmas is a time of love and celebration, the (albeit debatable) birthday of the greatest man to ever walk the earth! We should all sit and ask, in a secular or religious manner, "what would Jesus do?"
Here's an idea... I bet Jesus didn't care about his birthday. In fact, I'm pretty sure that back then, the only people who really cared about their birthdays were Emperors and Kings (see The Emperor's New Groove).
If you came up to Jesus and said, "Lord it's your birthday! What should we do!?" I would bet he'd throw out some awesome rhetoric including a metaphor and one sided question to make us really think about it, because we all know the answer inside. It really doesn't matter, be thankful he was born, be thankful he blessed us with his badassery for thirty-some-odd years, be thankful we have each other, but not what we do now, I'm sure he wouldn't want us to be commercial whores.
If Jesus saw us running about trading gifts, debating the meaning of Christmas, packing into stores for the latest action figures and arguing over dinner with family you hate, I'm pretty sure he'd just put his face in his palm and walk (or float) away.
So fuck it, let's say it! Christmas as we know it isn't a religious holiday!
Coca Cola invented the rosy cheeked plump man who we imagine hops from house to house all night, consistently pulling off the greatest and most awesome night of B&E's in history.
We stole three quarters of our Christmas traditions from Pagans in Scandinavia )thus the deer, evergreens, and sleighs).
Christmas is the single greatest day of the year for every store in America.
God damn it (and I'm sure he does) what the hell happened to Christmas? It's dead. I say we stop calling it Christmas and give it a new name, Clausmas, The Festival of Kris Kringle, All Shoppers Day, Give-A-Little Get-A-Lot Day, whatever. We can just end all this stupid denial once and for all.
I know all the atheists like to celebrate Christmas, who doesn't? I mean we have created the most awesome holiday in history! Everyone is happy, everyone gets a little, everyone gives a little and feels good for doing it. Stores finally pull into the black and win big. We get a whole week of celebrating afterwards.
Shit, we should celebrate straight through! Europe and Latin America pulls off shit like that, why can't we?
I think we should make a new celebration. A time to travel and see family and celebrate the end of a year. December 25 through January 1; let's call it The Great American Years-End Festival. Or, even better, FESTIVUS. We can celebrate all week long and be thankful for another week of awesome. I'd work all year for a week long party of paid vacation.
Let's restore the sanctity and meaning of Christmas without killing this amazing holiday season, because let's face it; as screwed up, corporate, commercialized, disillusioned, and insane this next week is...
IT'S FUCKING AWESOME.
But Merry Christmas, if you don't celebrate, why not? Like I said, it's religiously dead. Call it Festivus if you wish... in fact... I think we should petition to call it Festivus.
Save Christmas, save the holidays, make some All-American culture.
Comon' baby, just a quickie... before they get back...
I couldn't help but preface with that because I'm immature and a dork (as you probably all know by now).
Okay so this is actually addressing a comment that someone (I think I know who) posted on yesterday's blag post. Instead of confronting person after person in an attempt to adequately explain myself, I'll just make a full on post for you all, in case you were offended and didn't comment.
At the end of my post yesterday I said:
Also, hurray for Christmas coming up soon. I don't care if you're not Christian, fuck you, Jesus was a saint, A SAINT!
Someone immediately pointed out, quite eloquently, that "umm.. Jesus wasn't a saint.."
Believe it or not, I am a Christian and know that Jesus was never canonized, it's not necessary, he is God after all. I'm not flaunting around my ignorance or being blatantly disrespectful to the man/God that is Jesus. I was using it in a comedic way, like an expression.
For example, in the climax of a great scene from Anchorman, Vince Vaughn's character Wes Mantooth responds to an insult to his mother by crying "Dorothy Mantooth is a saint! Dorothy Mantooth... is a saint!" this while being held back, stereotypically, by his comrades.
However I was actually referring to a different instance of this terminology being used, by none other than Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants. Below I have embedded the entire episode (in chipmunk form) for your enjoyment. The quote I'm referring to is at time 1:48.
So, now that everything's cleared up, who else can't wait for Christmas? I don't care if your not a Christian; Jesus was a saint, A SAINT!
Yesterday was the 21st of December, which means all you Druids, Mayans, and astronomers must be recovering from one hell of a party. The winter solstice has come and gone, and the fourth and final season now begins!
If you don't know what the solstices are then stop reading and go bury your head in some sand.
It sure as shit felt like a short day (which was oddly satisfying); but that may have been because I woke up so late in the afternoon.
From here on out each day will get minutely longer (pun intended). The sun will bake the landscape for longer periods of time and it will inevitably become warmer as a result. At least that's what my intuition tells me should happen. I mean it only makes sense, sun is shining for longer, it must get warmer as a result, right?
Based off of that logic; what we call winter should be spring, spring should grow hotter and hotter like summer, and summer should be the cool off like winter is.
This pissed me off for the longest time!
Time for some fun information guys! Basically, being in a temperate climate fucks with everything.
You see down at the equator it's pretty straightforward. They really only have two seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The two coincide pretty well with winter and summer, respectively. Way to the north and south at the poles, the same is true but with a cold/dark and warm/light season.
The reason why temperatures change more slowly is because of seasonal lag, a phenomenon mainly caused by atmospheric conditions in given climates and, more importantly, the presence of water, which has a relatively high latent heat.
Basically, because water changes temperature without changing heat, we get some fucking retarded ass shit.
Seasonal lag is different for every place on earth. For example, San Francisco, which is surrounded by water on three sides, has a summer lag of almost three months, with temperatures spiking in late September and early October (makes no sense, I know).
I'm not very satisfied with this answer... I need more... someone explain it to me.
Until then I guess I'll just have to deal with it and have my coldest months in January and February. Science man...
Happy Winter times everyone! Let's strap down for some coldness! Also, hurray for Christmas coming up soon. I don't care if you're not Christian, fuck you Jesus was a saint, A SAINT!
Well that was uneventful; fortunately, there seems to be some sort of war going on less than a mile from my house, so I guess that makes up for it. I hear the same happened in Arizona, we'll all go see the 2012 total solar eclipse to make up for it. Hell yes to group camping by Big Sur!
I hope you all enjoy the poem I posted earlier this morning, I sure as shit do. Also, if you feel like you've already read a lot of the poems I'm going to be posting for the next few months it's because I'm cleaning them out of my Facebook Notes so that now they have a more permanent and safe home. For many of the poems I will be editing and making them better so it might not totally be a waste of your time. If you particularly like one, tell your friends about, link to it on Facebook, or, God-forbid, FAVORITE IT!
Anyways...
The main focus of this short little posting is to remind you all that if you live in North America, especially the United States, there is a very good chance that you're going to be in sight of the total lunar eclipse occurring tonight.
In case you don't know what a lunar eclipse is, it's when the moon passes into the shadow of the earth. I know intuition brings us to the simple conclusion that this must happen all the time but in reality it doesn't!
The reason why this particular eclipse is special is because, for one, it's already bad-ass because it's a fucking eclipse (science man...)
Secondly, this particular eclipse will be occurring during the Winter solstice which is annual date with the least amount of daylight, the beginning of winter.
The last time a winter-solstice-total-lunar-eclipse occurred was 372 years ago in 1638, so it's a pretty rare thing to say the least. In fact it even has NASA all wet and bothered, so much so that they've decided to lay aside their geekiness and lay down some solid poetic justice for the event:
For 72 minutes of eerie totality, an amber light will play across the snows of North America, throwing landscapes into an unusual state of ruddy shadow.
Now if my physics-sense is correct the prominent times of the eclipse should be the same for everybody, no matter where you are, and the times are as follows:
10:30PM Eclipse begins, it will be partial until...
11:40PM when the total eclipse begins and the moon will look blood red!
12:50PM the total eclipse ends and the shadow slowly recedes.
2:00AM the eclipse ends and we all go to sleep.
I expect you all to be up all night, celebrating the winter solstice like pagans and hailing the red moon goddess!
I found this in my English binder from the last semester, I was going to scan it but I can't get the piece of shit to work. I just made it in paint and used cool font for no reason.
Also, since finals are over and I'm on break I'm officially going back on schedule! Let's do this...
Sorry for not posting last week! Finals are a bitch.
Anyways, double post today.
-Armac
Track Seven - Armac
This song is what Armac, the hero of the story, tells The Hunters to get them on his side. It's really hard to gather that context-wise, because this chunk of the story is very lacking with the exposition. So, Armac explains that he was one of the Shadowmongers, and now he's the shit. He was a badguy but realized that he was, and stopped. He is asking the Hunters to do the same.
This song is one of the ones with a 'theme' associated with it. The simple guitar riff at the beginning. In this original recording it only happens once. Then chords, then theme. It doesn't sound bad at all yet. :D Chords again, still not bad. Cool, I don't dislike this song. FUCK. Singing comes in. I sound like a 5 year old. And not a good singer of a 5yo. I come in early "they call me" sigh. This song got kinda boring. Meh. The singing doesn't help at all. Yeesh. Its almost atonal. "I will be there..." part is really idiotic. I hate it, and then the next part is too high and stupid. Gross. Repeating first verse, I guess thats cool? Ooh, now I'm getting aggressive. Not really. Nice fade back to the theme though. Musically, not bad. Singing wise, deplorable.
New version slows the theme. And extends it and adds bassiness. The transition to chords is less stilted, as there is more than one guitar going on at once. The first voxless playthrough of the verse isn't bad. Singing is much better. Its understandable and more powerful. It sounds kinda like it was run through an old radio or something though. I kinda like that effect. Whatev. Gets loud at the chorus, good show. Extra chord in between chorus and verse, probably an unnecessary change, but whatever. Loudness stays through second verse and chorus, then break comes in. Its a lot more thought out than the original one, the theme recurs here, cool. Play it over verse chords? Woa. Then Verse 3. The second half of Verse 2 and 3 are switched. Also: double vocals at the end. *Shrugs* Ending lacks theme, but is not bad.
Track Eight - Kill Them!!
This song is sung mostly by Eval, spurring his men to kill their heroes. He threatens them and forces them to attack the Hunters and Armac. They succeed, and the someone says to Eval "you killed the Hunters, I'd like to see you dead" and then "Eval triumphant..." Then it goes back to the chorus. The music for this song was originally gonna go with a song about The Hunters, and the lyrics are modifications of a set of lyrics for a Hunters song. The original "The Hunters are here, they'll kill them all off" becomes "The Hunters are here, get them quick they'll disappear".
The original doesn't start with The Hunters theme, as it should. As I recall the quality of the recording was lacking, so I cut it. The part where the guitar is supposed to cut out, and then a descending bass happens is not in this version. The vocals are weird, because I was trying to sound like the lead singer of Social Distortion. Lol. The electric guitar suits the song, the vocals sound like a 5 year old trying to sound like an adult. After the 2nd chorus the guitar falls apart. And then I whisper for some reason. Sounds stupid. Then you can barely hear my high-pitched voice, then I 'aaahhhh' shittily. Then guitar falls apart again, and a new riff happens, and i sound little again. Sigh. Yeesh that is not a note. "We relied on them" has no rhyme for some reason. Whatever. Then the main riff happens again. I kinda like the squeal on the guitar here. Messy transition back to the chorus, and I don't even come in with the vocals immediately. Lame. The ending is lame too. And I whisper again for no reason. But the guitar crash sounds kinda cool.
The new versions starts with The Hunters Theme, as it should. Faux-bass comes in, nice touch. Lol. I don't think I've done the chord version of the Theme before. I like it. I also didn't try to transition directly, as i have in the past. I like the abrupt start. The descending bassline is here and better. The vocals are more audible and appropriately loud. And they're totally understandable. :D The bass is kinda messy in the background, but I like it. It adds to the fact that this is a battle, its hectic. The first and second verse are kinda the same. Whatever. I kinda changed up the strumming patterns. I like them. I say listen to me "now" instead of "quick" because i never liked that i said "quick" so many times. Same with "finished" instead of "works done?" I changed the break here a bit. Same with the next part. This part kinda comes out of no where, but that was like that in original anyway. This break is a lot less infant-sounding. So thats good. I like the build back to the main riff. One final double-chorus. Second half of this double chorus has different vocals. The theme comes back at the end, and I like the final bass note.
Uh-oh... I made a whoopsy and broke my promise. Well in my defense I have fucking finals and I've been busy as all fuck.
Don't worry, after Thursday I'll make it up to you guys, or something. I'll be on break so I'll probably be able to post like-every-single-day-ay-ay-ay-ay. The janitor, will not want to clean up, all the PISS ON THE FLOOR... anyways...
. A flurry of txts and e-mails, a quick confirmation that a drive to Brooklands for the Piston Heads 'Sunday Service' might do nicely to clear the cobwebs, and it was so.
More than 700 cars turned up to bathe in the Benz patronage.The three pointed star turned slowly atop the altar of the new car showroom, sorry, 'Mercedes Benz World', beaming it's corporate icon across the world's home of motor sport.The heritage 'sheds' of the Brooklands Museum shone less brightly in the shadow of their new neighbour, despite the clear crisp winter sunshine. A Concorde tail fin flag waved as a reminder of true glory from behind a green corrugated hangar, now silent to the V8's of Daimler Benz joy rides and demonstration runs. A cuckoo with a different voice.
That being so, the facilities are superb. The hotch-potch of super, and less than super cars were martialed into three immaculate rows, by which the subliminal game of trumps is more easily completed.The displays in the glass and steel showcase building are pretty impressive as immaculate examples of flow management and brand efficiency with an ever present 'go on, you know you want one' sub text.Tempted by all the sweets on display, look carefully for the modern day child catcher in a suit with an earpiece. He can smell your interest and he's more than likely already got your e-profile in his net.
The exploded 3d representation of this year's F1 car with all 3600 of it's components suspended from the ceiling by wires was truly impressive. Not sure how they'll dust all those bits so as to maintain the sterility of the curators demands.
Meanwhile: in the visitor display line, there was extreme stuff:
Expensive stuff:
Old classy stuff:
...and unfortunate stuff:
Nice to be out in public again, even if my attempts at interaction were less than eagerly received:
PS: Ian H's car looked mighty shiny, he's even been polishing his carbon nose cone. Snigger.
The following is somewhat rant-like in nature. Forgive me, I tried to get my point across as clearly as possible. I encourage discussion below, but don't expect it. Share this and forward this with friends if you agree or like it. Thank you for reading.
____________________________________________
Hello readers, I hope your week was good, mine wasn't.
For years people, American and foreign, have talked about how the United States is in a flat-out, pedal to the metal, flaming, nosedive that will likely end in the crash landing of the century. A few days ago I read that analysts agreed the day of reckoning would probably be sometime between years 2030 and 2050.
I think the collapse of the United States as we know it will be much sooner than those estimates.
There are three things going on in this country that are directly attributed to the suicidal trajectory our nation is on, and they have only been getting worse with time. They are all somewhat intertwined and equally dangerous.
Censorship and the infinite amount of little steps toward a society where civil rights are confused with privileges, and therefore easily cast aside.
The growing wealth gap between the richest and the poorest Americans, coinciding with the collapse of the once prominent middle class.
A politics-first, tyrannic government system where it increasingly and scarily feels like having two political parties was actually outlined in the Constitution itself, and where the parties and government represent the people less and less.
All of these problems are only growing and it's becoming ever more apparent to the moderate, typical, American that they are powerless to change anything. I know I sometimes feel this way, I know my father and mother feel this way, I know my friends feel this way. It's us feeling the tyranny inherent in both sides of the coin.
People are knowingly forced to simply "choose between the lesser of two evils."
Why are we settling for this? Because it's all that's given to us? I don't like that answer; you shouldn't either.
The extremes on both sides have brainwashed us into a bipolar society, myself included. We fight to defend a group we don't fully appreciate or agree with. I have found that some people even vote for and with the party that they don't even truly believe in. They've been raised from birth to be a certain way; even if, realistically speaking, they would act oppositely. There are no longer civil discussions or debates because there's a feeling in the air that it has to be all or nothing.
The Rally to Restore Sanity was about this. It was an unprecedentedly large gathering of Americans from all across the country. I even know a friend who came all the way from here in Sacramento to see the rally. This is the middle of America, the roots.
I fear that the rally was passed off and looked over for most people, dismissing it. At least that's what the news networks signaled. Looking back on the rally though, a main purpose of it was to not rely on the likes of MSNBC, CNN, and FOX. None of us really want to, do we? We are more than capable of deciding for ourselves based off of legitimate evidence; so shouldn't that be ourright?
I think it is our right, and it feels like we're starting to realize that again.
As you all know from a post I did earlier this week, I am no longer an advocate or proponent of President Obama. In fact, come 2012 I will be pushing for him to be primaried out by the Democrats. Simply put he isn't what this country needs right now. But that does not make what he said any less true.
Judging from the reactions I've seen on television, on the internet, and throughout people in life, I think it's fair to say that many people who so vehemently supported Obama feel somewhat betrayed and hopeless. I've seen pictures, done by liberals, of Obama with a "Yes we could've." on the bottom in stead of a "Yes we can!" People feel as though change isn't happening, and if it is, it's for the worst.
Even I shared these sentiments, as you all likely know.
However, I took a step back and had a realization or revelation of sorts. Perhaps Obama was exactly what we needed. He stood before us and convinced us, without a doubt, of the one inherent truths of our great democracy.
Yes, we can have hope. Because we have the power to change things.
The heart of America has been stepped on long enough, and everything that is happening now is all a reaction to it. At times we forget that we are the most powerful people in the country. Yes big corporations may buy out politicians, and we have no say in it; but they heavily rely on one thing, our own lack of knowledge about our own powers.
Our constitution, by far the greatest on Earth, defends us.
If we amass, as we have begun to, we can do things that can put all the powers that be to rest. I have read memos, letters, and speeches amongst politicians and corporate heads detailing and affirming their fear. They've been winning this fight though. They win because they are in control. They are in control because of a simple fact of our society, information is hard to come by.
These days information is becoming more accessible and more easy to spread, thank you internet. Because of this, we're seeing people organize faster than ever before and on much larger scales. People are finding information and becoming more informed. As a reaction, the people in power seem to have made it their goal to stop the dissemination of info.
By now many of you may tune out on the grounds that this sounds like conspiracy talk, but I fear that it's very real and I see no reason why it wouldn't be. Whoever the top of the pyramid may be, whether the corporations, banks, political parties, or shadow government straight out of a sci-fi action thriller novel; if it wants to stay alive, it has to keep us ignorant. It's finding this more and more difficult.
Our news sources no longer bring forth evidence, but spawn stories and media out of nowhere, expecting us to their word. Our news has become something of a frightening nature; a system of opinions in stead of facts. Networks such as MSNBC, FOX, and CNN give biased opinions on a regular basis; and they spin it as factual news.
America has a history of trusting its news networks. Since the beginning they have been championed as the truth-bringers. I fear they have betrayed this inherent trust we give them in the name of money and power. Don't get me wrong, opinion has a place in journalism. But when differing political opinions also bring about differing facts, there is some sort of problem.
"What does all this have to do with 'Yes we can'?"
It has everything to do with it. We have a tool like no other in history, this, the internet. Instantaneous and near infinite data sharing. This is ours! As a people on all of Earth we own this thing, this massive web we have created. We can now find the truth and make our own opinions about it. Discussions are easy and common and (when civil) bring about higher truths.
When President Obama told us we could he wasn't lying. We've always had the power but it has been excessively curbed in the name of something else we don't even know. We've been pitted against each other in some of the most inane arguments by the media-news that decides how we should think instead of letting us think for ourselves.
Americans, in fact all people, can and do cooperate. As Jon Stewart so eloquently said, "We do it every damned day." This is so true, and once we gain the information we need realize that we are not all so different. We all have the same core values, we have to because if we weren't we couldn't all be functioning members of the same society.
But weare.
In case some of you didn't know, the War of Information has begun. Whether you like it or not Wikileaks gives you a right that has been curbed, and the United States government, the champion of "free speech, press, and information" is trying its hardest to stop it.
This War spreads beyond the internet. We deserve the information, for everyone and everything. We deserve to be able to make our own decisions. We deserve, from birth, the opportunity for a politically clean slate.
I don't agree with the Tea Party on many issues but they represent the very same thing. They stand up to the convention and power of the establishment. If only information was easily disseminated to them, and these two political parties weren't there to so heavily divide us, so that we cannot even cooperate to function as a nation.
The truth is, they don't have to be and they shouldn't be. We can and should unite and decide what's best for ourselves because either side obviously doesn't know, or doesn't care.
This is our nation.
This is our internet.
We have the right to fight for it, and we have the right to work together.
I plead with you. If you understand, or if you feel the same; if you are one of the middle, the independents, the swing voters, the bulk of this country; if you have any sense of true freedom; I plead that you help in your own way.
Become active in government, whatever your side may be.
Be open to the people around you, listen, and understand.
We are in dire straights, and we need to act in our own best interests now. I don't care how long it takes, or how many times we have to flip from red to blue, it needs to be done. Unless we start making steps now and defend our last bastion of true hope and freedom; we will only become the scum. All of us, few will be saved from the tyranny of money, and the hoarding of information.
Let's work together again. Let's elect a president we can all believe in. We can find it, and it starts at the grass roots.
So I don't really know what to post about... I wasted my one valuable mid-week post on Tuesday (I suck so bad). I figured I would attempt to concoct, in a stream of consciousness, a seven degrees of separation thing. I chose something entirely random, something that came to mind earlier about something entirely unrelated. Today's starting point is...
the Red Box!
Yes, I am talking about the vending machines. The ones at Wal-Marts and 7-Elevens. They dispose movies, take movies back, and alongside NetFlix, are systematically ass-raping video rental stores such as Blockbuster.
Uh oh...
I just realized how easy this would be...
Well this won't be fun at all...
Oh well.
Degree 1: Red Boxes dispense movies.
You see where this is going yet?
Degree 2:Kevin Baconstars in movies.
I WIN! Man I'm good.
Seriously, this turned out so fail that I'm depressed about it, and I just have to leave it up and post it. I don't know how I apparently lacked the function to recognize the ease this would have before I committed to it.
Sorry for the disappointment guys.
At least you can laugh at me and call me a retard for having absolutely no foresight and amazing hindsight.
How about this, you can all send me suggestions for really difficult Kevin Bacon Seven Degrees games. Sometime next week, I will take the hardest and work through it!
On February 10, 2007 then-Illinois-Senator Barack Hussein Obama II announces that he will be running for President of the United States in the 2008 election. With conservative President George W. Bush's second term coming to a rocky end much of the nation is ready for a fresh, startand Obama, considered one of the most liberal senators in Washington at the time, seems like a prime candidate.
June 3, 2008, Obama defeats Hillary Clinton in the Democratic National Primaries and becomes the official Democratic Nominee for President. Rallying behind his Hope and Change catchphrases, hundreds of thousands prepare and unite for the upcoming November. If I recall, there is a sense of joy and anticipation in the nation.
The election arrives on November 4, 2008 and Senator Obama becomes President-Elect Obama after winning on an electoral college tidal wave of 365 votes to Senator McCain's 173. The nation is a land of mixed feelings, but mainly excitement. The first black president in United States history is elected to the highest seat in the land. People rejoice and prepare for the impending change that the man they have invested all their hope in has promised.
January 20, 2009, Obama is inaugurated in front of the largest crowd to ever visit the National Mall for any event (somewhere around 1.5 million people) and becomes the 44th President of the United State. National pride seems to soar and every prepares for an all-Democratic, all-change-we-can-believe-in Government. I remember wishing I was able to vote in that election. I remember being excited to be able to help re-elect him in four years time. I am proud of my nation and happy that change is coming.
December 6, 2010 President Obama loses my vote, and the votes of many others. In my opinion, this man can be and should be primaried out of office. He's let us down for the last time.
I can't blame him, he was just naive. I genuinely think he meant to stand up for us, to be the leader of a movement for change. The problem was that he underestimated the power of Washington and overestimated the power of the people.
For the last two years we've had a Congress with a Democratic majority in both houses, and a Democratic President. For the last two years we've watched as nearly 300+ men and women who we put our faith in to take care of us and enact change for the betterment of our country
were trampled on by the Republicans. For the last two years we've seen a decline into complete and utter politics.
No doubt, they got things done, I know... I've been to the website. But they didn't get what we wanted done.
As a nation we put our hearts into this candidate. We defended him and his seeming lack of power for almost two years; but I, for one, am done.
Nothing has changed and if it has, it's only changed for the worse. I've never felt so hopeless before now. Our government doesn't seem to care about us anymore. Our elected leaders, the men and women we send to Congress to run our country. The people we send to maintain this country and keep it good, are not there for that.
The Republican party's behavior over the last two years has been disgusting to me. Never before have there been more filibusters. Their entire purpose is not to get their point across and aid in the reconstruction of this nation, as it should be. From what I have seen and heard straight out their own mouths, their entire goal is to ensure that President Obama is in office for only one term.
I am saddened to say they may have won.
Starting at 12:01AM on January 1, 2011 the Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire. This will increase taxes for all Americans by nearly 5%. In an economic recession this is simply not the right thing to do. Both sides understand this, and wish to extend the cuts. There are just some little problems.
The deficit, debt, and the richest 2% of Americans.
Simply put, the wealthiest 2% of Americans have a tax break of, on average, $100,000. Meanwhile middle and lower class Americans have a tax break of something like $2000-$5000.
Letting the tax-cut extend is like refusing to fix a badly bleeding wound. On that same metaphor, overdoing it can easily lead to an immobile economy, one that starts to decline again.
It's a tough decision, tax-cuts give a much needed tax-break to those middle and lower class people who put money back into the economy and stimulate it, but it costs so much. If you want to know how much it costs, here is a quick statistic.
The top 2% have about 25% of the wealth in the nation. If they continue to have tax cuts then it will cost 4 Trillion Dollars over the course of 10 years. Along those thought lines it's pretty easy to see that ending all tax-cuts would be a massive step towards fixing this country's debt and deficit (the main thing Republicans want to have fixed). However, as I stated earlier, we can't do that because of the state of the economy. Taking $2000 from a lower-middle class worker is extremely detrimental.
After looking up some other statistics, you find out of all of the income-increases for the past 20 years (since Reagan and his trickle-down ideology started) 80% has gone to the top 1% of America in terms of wealth.
In theory, this should have made jobs. But all over the nation we see jobs disappearing, they have been for 20 years, just look at our car manufacturing.
The theory works on paper, but in reality there is one problem, one fault, one part of the equation that fucks it all up... GREED.
Simply put, a millionaire or billionaire is not going to spend that extra $100,000, or $300,000. If they do spend it, it's not going to be on creating new jobs for us lower class folks who are suffering. It's cheaper to outsource, plain and simple.
So you would think that letting those tax-cuts expire for the top 2% would, overall, be a good thing, because it is. The Republicans don't think so... they let unemployment benefits for the poorest Americans expire because "it costs too much" while simultaneously waving the banner for a greedy minority in America who will cost us a ridiculous amount, and to no avail.
The Republicans filibustered a plan to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the lower and middle class while letting them expire for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. As they have been doing for this entire 111th Congress. In fact they said that they refuse to vote on anything else until they resolve the issue (as they turn around and stall it).
Democrats, Obama, had a chance to call their bluff, and for a moment, just for a moment, I had hope that they would. Republicans would never let all Bush-era tax cuts end for everybody. Even House Minority Leader John Boehner said, himself, he would vote with the Democrats if he had to.
The House passed a bill. It went to the Senate, where it was filibustered. Democrats didn't have the votes to break it.
That would have been fine, it would have been amazing because then they could have pushed the Republicans to the very edge and forced them to either take blame for raising everyone's taxes or help out.
Monday, December 6, 2010, Obama throws in the towel. Our last chance, the lame duck congress with two Democratic houses. He caves. He has let me down. He has let America down.
I don't know the interests of the Senators, but it isn't us. I don't know who the Representatives care about, but it isn't our country. I don't know what Obama is fighting for, but it isn't me, or you.
It's all politics.
Democrats step on us, so we vote Republican. Republicans step on us, so we vote Democrat. It's no longer about the well being of our country, it's about whether Washington D.C. is Red or Blue.
There are two Senators who are Independent. One of them, Senator Bernie Sanders speaks for us. The people, the majority. He speaks for the poor, and the shrinking middle class. He isn't a politician, he is a Senator. He made a great speech before this bill was turned down. I want you all to listen. This is a man who is in Washington for us, not some politics, or some money.
Next election, we're going to elect a Republican. After that, a Democrat, and then a Republican. But I have faith that one day we will turn our backs on these monsters that are controlling us, and elect someone like this man.
We Lie Dieing On the Battlefield (Yet the Cavalry Never Arrives)
We lie dieing on the battlefield Yet the Cavalry never arrives. One would assume that measures, (as rare as they normally may be) Would be deliberately taken, To assure the survival of our Cavalry.
The hills are now immortal forts, The smoking plains, so deep, entrenched,
The valleys run thick with Europe's blood,
The battle is lost, as God can see.
Yet, unknown to the men of this war,
Are the whereabouts of our Cavalry
O, where are they, our flaming scouts, Who ride, so gallant, with rapiers drawn,
Upon the noblest steeds of line,
To cause even the Huns to flee.
Where are they, those proud lion-hearts
Who call themselves the Cavalry.
Perhaps this mud of mechanical war Has slowly drowned our splendid last resort,
. The previous post's mention of the gritter truck was not meant to have been the harbinger of what then followed! Doesn't seem long ago that I posted a similar picture...
-6.5C is taking it's toll on the 7 's battery, so that's the excuse for running the car up to temperature in the garage and delivering the word of the X-flow to the neighbourhood! The carbon monoxide exhaust cocktail is strangely soporific I find.
I'll have to start summarising the year soon, planning next year's activities and organising the Sunrisers Annual Awards Dinner (or lunch at the pub, to reflect the true scale of things).
Sunday comic so I can get away with a post off of minimal effort. This was originally going to be just a little guy in a vast white expanse, but after reading a bunch of information about astronomy, I decided to give it a theme! Once again, kinda xkcd-esque. Well, I'm not Tom, I can't draw worth shit. So deal with it! Tomorrow is my Monday post, I'm thinking of picking an old poem again, but I don't know; we'll just have to wait and see.
Ok, due to complaints, I'm switching the position of the original and remade tracks.
This makes perfect sense, but for some reason didn't occur to me.
So from now on it goes:
Track [number] - [title] [Bandcamp embed of theOLD version] Description of the song's story. What I detested (and every once in a while, what I liked) about the original recording. Description of the new versions improvements and lacks. [Bandcamp embed of the NEW version]
Hope this doesn't confuse my reader (can I make this plural without lying?) too much!
-Armac
We now come to the second part of TCCV: "The Hunters".
In this part of the story, Armac is a vigilante in Thome, a medieval style city ruled by an evil dictator (Eval). Armac was trained by the Shadowmongers, a group of dark assassins (meaning they deal in dark things), but when he realizes that they aren't actually doing good things, he leaves and becomes a vigilante. I'm pretty sure no song really explains it, but The Hunters are Callan, Victual, and Stave, and are originally working for Eval.
See, to keep in control, Eval used the power of the Shadowmongers to bring in a bunch of evil creatures, like werewolves and demons. This way, Eval had something to 'protect' them from.
He created a group of the three finest fighters and put them in charge of fighting the beasts.
Armac is all the while killing the real badguys and eventually confronts The Hunters.
They realize their mistake and join up with him and the four of them attack Eval.
They are subsequently slaughtered, and Eval lives to see another day...
Now, song-wise, very little of the story is told. The four songs merely tell of a single battle between Callan and a werewolf, describe Armac, show the death of the Hunters and Armac, and describe a broken Thome.
When I extend the entire TCCV epic, I'll add a bunch more of the story.
Another major difference is that "The Hunters" was the first chunk written, and most of the songs were recorded a bunch of times.
You can listen to some of the older recordings here:
For discussing the old versions, I will just talk about the one on "TCCV" none of the other, older versions.
For now, here begins "The Hunters"
Track Six - Too Late
So, for this first song, I bet you're expecting the story of how Eval came into power? Or the formation of the Shadowmongers? Or the formation of The Hunters? Or Armac's origin story? Well, no no no and no. The first song of this section is "Too Late" a story of a battle between Callan, the leader of the Hunters, and a werewolf.
So, Callan is sippin' tea in The Hunter's headquarters, when he hears a werewolf. He springs into action and grabs his gun, named Stock. Why is it named stock? Fuck if I know. Probably to rhyme? Anyways, he goes outside, spots the beast, and then the chorus happens. The chorus is just like "blah blah blah, this guy is a werewolf now, so he's all crazy-like because its a full moon." Then the story continues with the werewolf charging Callan, pinning him against a lodge. This werewolf is like mere seconds from gutting our hero, but craftly Callan still has his gun. Chorus. Callan shoots the beast through its heart. The werewolf staggers away, turning back into a human and then dying. Callan feels bad. Then he goes back inside and beats Stave and Victual in Wii Sports. I'm just hypothesizing what happens afterwards. Who knows what really does...
The TCCV version of this song is played with an electric guitar. It starts right off with a 3 second riff and then the lyrics. Palm muting on the verses, I like that. Vocals pretty weak. Detuned. Inaudible and hard to understand. I mess up the rhythm for a second, as I begin the second verse. The guitar sounds like it may be somewhat out of tune. I'm not sure why I bend that string after the second verse. Then the breakdown thing. The breakdown was first there because I improvised it during a recording, and liked it. I still do, but it needs to be more structured. I originally based it off the Trigun theme song. Then after the breakdown, I do some whisper-yelling. It sounds stupid. Verse 3 is REALLY hard to hear. The guitar is phasing, I don't know why. Weak ending vocally. Yuck. I also leave the mic up for too long at the end. Overall, I don't dislike it musically at all. The recording and execution are very mediocre though. So is the breakdown. That part need rewriting.
For the remake, I decided to add to the intro, have a palm muted lead in to the familiar intro. There is also a second guitar and a faux-bass at this part. Then the song goes into the first verse. The vocals are very audible, and the singing is more tuned than before. I stay low on the first chorus. I kinda wish I'd make the chorus a bit louder. Whatevs. The next verse is much the same as the first, but when recording I messed up "Closes in, for the bite" and had to splice different vocals for that line, I did a damn good job, if I do say so myself. Up the octave and yelling for verse two. The faux bass sounds good. I like the segue from chorus two to the breakdown a LOT better. The faux bass only on certain notes at the beginning of the breakdown sound cool. I kinda like the clapping too, lol. Then the breakdown is power-chorded. I'm pretty sure I hadn't done that in the past. I like it. Then a 1-2-3-4. The yelling here is more real than before, and I drag it out until my voice dies. Then a solo! :O I very rarely solo, so this is new territory for me. I like how this one came out. I had to fix one of the notes though. Then verse three, pretty standard. Then the double chorus at the end. I extended the outro a bit. I like this new recording quite a bit.
Hello readers. Today's post will not be so long, because I wrote it late, because I suck.
If you live in Arizona or call Arizona your home, you know that last night was The Big Game, the Arizona State University Sun Devils versus the University of Arizona Wildcats. This college football rivalry may not be as old as some of the other east coast rivalry's, but it is the oldest in the NCAA with a certified trophy, the Territorial Cup.
The Territorial Cup has been in existence since before ASU was even an official state college (back when it was Tempe Normal School). Traditionally, the football game has been held on Thanksgiving day or Thanksgiving weekend, however, as I stated earlier this week, apparently they decided to shit on tradition and move it this year.
Seeing as the PAC-10 is one of the most competitive conferences in the NCAA, the game is usually a good one. This year's was no exception. I didn't get to see the end, but it came down to double overtime and one missed field goal. 30-29, Arizona State brings the Territorial Cup back to Tempe for the first time since 2007.
I wish I was a Sun Devil, as I was supposed to be, so that I could have been part of the real celebrations...
This latest ASU victory brings the all-time record to 46-37-1, with the University of Arizona in the lead. It also brings the score in the 2010 State Farm Territorial Cup Series to a ASU lead with 3-2.
Congratulations Tempe, I can't wait to see next years game, no hard feelings right Wildcats?
In case you didn't know, this December is the 2nd Annual Pokemonth (I'm pretty sure that I'm the first person to coin that term) and I expect all of you to participate. Basically, this entire idea started with this guy. I bet he and a couple of his pot-head friends got together and were all like, "Dude remember Pokemon!? Nostalgia right... we should post our favorite Pockeemen as our profile pictures for a whole month! Hell yeah..."
So Donte Larry created an event for the ages. A month long extravaganza inviting everyone to make their favorite pocket monsters as profile pictures. If I recall, it was a total hit. At least amongst weirdos like you and I (Yeah, I know my fucking demographic).
I had all but forgotten about Pokemonth; in fact I didn't even know it was something organized. I figured it was a random wave that suddenly and quickly spread through Facebook. Kinda like how things work when you get a group of people together and make them all anonymous, you know, supreme beauty out of utter chaos (or is it utter beauty out of supreme chaos?)
Fortunately for us it's back and better than ever! Our apparent goal is at least 500,000 confirmed attendees of this wondrous, month-long, celebration of total nostalgic geekdom. So, if you like Pokemon, join in and set your favorite one as your profile picture for the month. If you don't like Pokemon, then why the shit are you reading this blog!? Here.
Now for the half seriousness; I started to think about it and I realized that one day, when Facebook literally rules the world, events like these may just be like actual holidays. Perhaps millions, in stead of thousands, will partake in these immature yet impishly enjoyable celebrations of almost everything. It shows a sort of light in a way. We live in a dark world and people in generations like mine are keeping smiles alive.
Maybe one day, more meaningful and important holidays and celebrations will be officially and annually organized through Facebook, but until then, I think the ones we make up now are just fine.
Seeing as this is a Thursday post, and thus extraordinary, I would appreciate if you excused the ridiculous amount of links in this post!
Hey everybody! I hope you all had a truly amazing Thanksgiving, I sure as shit did. Sorry for not posting on Friday or Monday, it was a long holiday weekend. As I said in my sole tweet, my family was being retarded. But you gotta appreciate the family. I mean, they're the one people on earth that you can simultaneously hate and love at the same time, that's pretty magical.
Anyways!
I just want to vent for a minute. Why the flying fucking shit is the Big Game for the Territorial Cup not on Thanksgiving weekend this year? It's been there since my dad was a Wildcat! Not only did I look like a jerk-off, but they have officially shat on years of tradition. What next, the game will be between U of A and NAU as of 2014? Comon' guys, this is college, not the pros, you don't just do shit like that.
Christmas is fast approaching and so my family and friends are, of course, nagging at a much higher rate than normal.
Nag nag nag naggity naggy nag nagger naggist nag nag naggity naggerityly.
What do you want? What do you want for Christmas? What should I get you for Christmas? Where are you going for Christmas? Are you coming back to Arizona for the holidays? What should I get you? Where's my iPod!? Howie... Howie... Howie... Howie... Howie... Where's the bathroom? DO THE DISHES! What are you getting me for Christmas? What do you want for Christmas? Why are you mad at me!? I'm not upset. Don't be upset. Go to bed! I don't care if you're eighteen! Why don't you have a job yet? What do you want for Christmas? Why didn't you post at all this weekend!? I messed up on the blog. You okay!? Why aren't you sending out updates? I miss you. What do you want for Christmas? You're gonna get me something for Christmas right?! Don't get me anything. Maybe we shouldn't get each other gifts. I hate the Christmas tree! I'm so disappointed! What do you want for Christmas?
Blah blah blah blah blah, nag nag nag nag nag!
1) I know I didn't post Friday or Monday; I broke my promise and I'm sorry. It was a busy weekend, Thanksgive me a break... (buh duh tsst)
2) I'm nearly positive I will not be going to Arizona for any part of Winter Break. If I am, I'll be sure to tell you all.
3) I'm okay, trust me...
4) My Christmas list is below. But I don't want anyone to get me anything... that's a lie.
I hope that answered most of your questions and concerns! I will be on my regular posting schedule again, for the most part. But I can't garuantee anything because my finals ARE two weeks from today and holidays are coming up and now that I can shave I'm gonna restart my job search and a ton of other things.
Okay, time for my complete Christmas list! You're welcome. Stop asking, you know who you all are.
-) 100+ Blank CD-R
-) Really big, really nice, CD binder.
-) Chromatic Guitar Tuner
-) Large/Durable Capo
-) Mo' Money
-) Something that'll make me laugh or smile. (especially if it's handmade or small or something) -) Plane tickets to Arizona! :D
This is kinda short as posts will go probably, because neither the story, the original track, or the new version are very exciting.
Enjoy,
Armac.
Track Five - The Legend Told
Storywise, this song is just a poem that the first four songs were based on. I named it "The Legend Told" to give the impression that it was what people said about the Man of Fire after his death.
The original track was fairly simple, just a reading of the poem that the entire "Inferno" chapter of the story was based on.
To make it a tad more interesting I reversed it and added reverb and then re-reversed it.
This created an effect of everything crescendoing as it actually happens.
It was definitely more interesting than a simple reading, but it lost a bit of clarity, and was not a song.
I wanted to Songicize™ this quite a bit, so I wrote a simple guitar piece, and then recited the poem over it.
The song itself, I kinda like, and to capture the same pre-crescendo feel, I did the same reverse-reverb-reverse thing as before, but with the guitar and both vocal tracks.
All in all I like the song, but its kinda hard to follow and kinda strange as a concept.
Just seen the first gritter truck of the season!! I could hear the howl of pain from the garage at home and I was 3 miles away.Sad day.Salt & bare aluminium do not make for a happy 7.
Here's a reminder of what we've been missing over the past 3 weeks:
