Music is mad sacred to me -- it rules my world. And, I'm not alone. Many people have music they not only like and love, but its a part of their heart and psyche -- and, you don't mess with that part of people. Seriously. Just ask any hardcore music lover.
So, it is with disgust that I recently read that for the. third time, the McCain campaign has used a song (this time by Bon Jovi) for one of its rallies, without permission (nor compensation) to the artist.
Ahem, isn't that called "theft"? Of intellectual property, I believe. Its why Napster gots its behind sued off. McCain's campaign has also used songs by Jackson Browne and Heart, ignoring complaints even from the artists themselves that the songs are being used illegally, and for the wrong purpose.
Why is this so disturbing? By not only taking songs and using them without permission and, using them out to context in a way/manner they weren't meant for, you are polluting their sacredness. They're songs meant to convey great meaning, a sentiment. Using them as background accompany for your political candidate is not ok! (By any political candidate, anywhere, ever!)
By hijacking the songs, you pollute and sully their original intention, their essense and meaning. Its just like going to an art museum, taking a painting off the wall, then going out to the parking lot and using it to dry up the oil slick under your old, beaten up monster truck.
Oy, what knuckleheads.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A Small Note On Early Voting
I am encouraging you (yes, You!) to go ahead and vote early, if you can possibly manage it. Why? Because on Election Day, from what I have personally gathered, there are going to be a lot of first-time voters, etc. Why not do your little part to make lines a little shorter on the big day by going and casting your vote early? If you are a die-hard political devotee and already have your mind made up, why not just go ahead? Just a gentle suggestion. :)
The Loose Cannon That Is Sarah Palin
The choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain's VP running mate looked even more bizarre this Sunday as I read my usual three morning newspapers. (I do love my newspapers, and I'm old and like to hear the sound of the rustling paper pages turning, and the whole business.)
In sum, it would seem from what I've been reading that Palin is really outer limits -- even more so than we have probably imagined. How? Oh, as in referring to the campaign during a recent speech as the "Palin-McCain" campaign. And, upon hearing that McCain camp had decided to pull out of Michigan, Palin issued her own independent statement questioning the decision, stating she felt they ought to "stay in there and fight it out".
So, it would seem that the "little miss" they chose as some sort of calculated distraction (or whatever she is - religious right vote attracter?) hasn't just inadvertently stolen the spotlight. She's openly admitted she'd like to steal the whole show and become president one day. (Yes, really.) Her head has become this huge inflated entity, just like McCain's ego. Yikes! And, both of them on the same ticket. God, help us.
With Obama-Biden looking stronger with each poll, things look promising. But, just the mere thought of McPalin winning is enough to give me a rash! So, I will keep working, praying for change.
The psychological implications of having four more years of nutty psychos running my country compels me to keep pushing forward, personally as well as politically. I hope that you are being driven to do the same.
In sum, it would seem from what I've been reading that Palin is really outer limits -- even more so than we have probably imagined. How? Oh, as in referring to the campaign during a recent speech as the "Palin-McCain" campaign. And, upon hearing that McCain camp had decided to pull out of Michigan, Palin issued her own independent statement questioning the decision, stating she felt they ought to "stay in there and fight it out".
So, it would seem that the "little miss" they chose as some sort of calculated distraction (or whatever she is - religious right vote attracter?) hasn't just inadvertently stolen the spotlight. She's openly admitted she'd like to steal the whole show and become president one day. (Yes, really.) Her head has become this huge inflated entity, just like McCain's ego. Yikes! And, both of them on the same ticket. God, help us.
With Obama-Biden looking stronger with each poll, things look promising. But, just the mere thought of McPalin winning is enough to give me a rash! So, I will keep working, praying for change.
The psychological implications of having four more years of nutty psychos running my country compels me to keep pushing forward, personally as well as politically. I hope that you are being driven to do the same.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
O.J. Simpson's luck runs out -- and his victims families must be thrilled.
(Well, normally I don't blog on weekends because its against my "detachment code". But, oh, is this an exception!)
Late Friday evening, Simpson was convicted of about 13 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping for having held a lot of two or three collectibles dealers at gun point in a low-end casino in Las Vegas.
Seeing as how he "wrote" a book called "(If) I Did It", and has arrogantly thumbed his nose in the faces of his victims' families for years, how do you think the families are feeling right now? You don't have to think. You already know!
He's been on some sort of a "hall pass" from justice for the past 13 years. And, it certainly wasn't due to the forces of good! Oh, what will Yale Galanter do now? Maybe he'll get some effing self respect. And, maybe his murdering, sociopath of a client will finally STAY incarcerated where he belongs. Amen, literally.
A victory, not only for the families of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman, but for victims and their families awaiting justice everywhere. This shows that justice delayed isn't always justice denied. And, that if you give a fool enough rope to hang himself with, he'll eventually find a way to do it.
Late Friday evening, Simpson was convicted of about 13 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping for having held a lot of two or three collectibles dealers at gun point in a low-end casino in Las Vegas.
Seeing as how he "wrote" a book called "(If) I Did It", and has arrogantly thumbed his nose in the faces of his victims' families for years, how do you think the families are feeling right now? You don't have to think. You already know!
He's been on some sort of a "hall pass" from justice for the past 13 years. And, it certainly wasn't due to the forces of good! Oh, what will Yale Galanter do now? Maybe he'll get some effing self respect. And, maybe his murdering, sociopath of a client will finally STAY incarcerated where he belongs. Amen, literally.
A victory, not only for the families of Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman, but for victims and their families awaiting justice everywhere. This shows that justice delayed isn't always justice denied. And, that if you give a fool enough rope to hang himself with, he'll eventually find a way to do it.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Some weekend silliness. :)
Hello all. Before I head out of town for the weekend, I thought that I would post this snippet. Its an odd article that I swiped off Reuters that is sure to make you snicker (or, scratch your head...)
"Spermicide Coke, stale chips research wins Ig Nobels"
Friday, Oct 03, 2008 11:1PM UTC
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.
Other winners included physicists who found out that anything that can tangle, will tangle and a team of biologists who ascertained that dog fleas jump farther than cat fleas.
The Ig Nobels honor real research, but are meant as a funny alternative to next week's deadly serious Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, literature and peace.
Awarded by the editors of the Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific humor magazine, the prizes are based on published research, some intended to be humorous but often not. Usually the "honored" researchers go along with the joke.
Deborah Anderson of Boston University Medical Center and colleagues were awarded the chemistry prize for a 1985 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found Coca-Cola kills sperm.
She said she was serious in testing the soft drink because women were using it in a douche as a contraceptive and, later, to try to protect themselves from the AIDS virus.
"It definitely wouldn't work as a contraceptive because sperm swims so fast," Anderson said. But Coke made with sugar quickly kills sperm, she said, probably because sperm soak it up. "The sperm just kind of explode," she said in a telephone interview.
It kills the AIDS virus too, she said.
The Ig Nobel committee made up a "nutrition prize" to go to Massimiliano Zampini of the University of Trento, Italy and Charles Spence of Britain's Oxford University, who tricked people into thinking they were eating fresh potato chips by playing them loud, crunching sounds when they bit one.
The biology prize goes to a French team that found dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas, while the medicine prize was awarded to a team at Duke University in North Carolina who showed that high-priced placebos work better than cheap fake medicine.
Dorian Raymer of the Scripps Institution in San Diego and a colleague won the physics prize for demonstrating mathematically why hair or a ball of string will inevitably tangle itself in knots.
The peace prize was given to the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology for adopting the legal principle that plants have moral standing and dignity. There is a website explaining this: http://www.ekah.admin.ch/en/topics/dignity-of-creation/index.html.
A team at The University of Sao Paulo in Brazil won a special archaeology prize for showing how an armadillo can mess up an archaeological dig.
The economics prize went to researchers at the University of New Mexico who learned that a professional lap dancer earns bigger tips when she is most fertile, while David Sims of Cass Business School in London won the literature prize "for his lovingly written study 'You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations'," the committee said.
Past winners include the creator of the plastic pink flamingo, a researcher who recorded a mallard duck sodomizing a dead drake and a doctor who cured hiccups by applying digital rectal massage.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Anthony Boadle)
"Spermicide Coke, stale chips research wins Ig Nobels"
Friday, Oct 03, 2008 11:1PM UTC
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.
Other winners included physicists who found out that anything that can tangle, will tangle and a team of biologists who ascertained that dog fleas jump farther than cat fleas.
The Ig Nobels honor real research, but are meant as a funny alternative to next week's deadly serious Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, literature and peace.
Awarded by the editors of the Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific humor magazine, the prizes are based on published research, some intended to be humorous but often not. Usually the "honored" researchers go along with the joke.
Deborah Anderson of Boston University Medical Center and colleagues were awarded the chemistry prize for a 1985 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found Coca-Cola kills sperm.
She said she was serious in testing the soft drink because women were using it in a douche as a contraceptive and, later, to try to protect themselves from the AIDS virus.
"It definitely wouldn't work as a contraceptive because sperm swims so fast," Anderson said. But Coke made with sugar quickly kills sperm, she said, probably because sperm soak it up. "The sperm just kind of explode," she said in a telephone interview.
It kills the AIDS virus too, she said.
The Ig Nobel committee made up a "nutrition prize" to go to Massimiliano Zampini of the University of Trento, Italy and Charles Spence of Britain's Oxford University, who tricked people into thinking they were eating fresh potato chips by playing them loud, crunching sounds when they bit one.
The biology prize goes to a French team that found dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas, while the medicine prize was awarded to a team at Duke University in North Carolina who showed that high-priced placebos work better than cheap fake medicine.
Dorian Raymer of the Scripps Institution in San Diego and a colleague won the physics prize for demonstrating mathematically why hair or a ball of string will inevitably tangle itself in knots.
The peace prize was given to the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology for adopting the legal principle that plants have moral standing and dignity. There is a website explaining this: http://www.ekah.admin.ch/en/topics/dignity-of-creation/index.html.
A team at The University of Sao Paulo in Brazil won a special archaeology prize for showing how an armadillo can mess up an archaeological dig.
The economics prize went to researchers at the University of New Mexico who learned that a professional lap dancer earns bigger tips when she is most fertile, while David Sims of Cass Business School in London won the literature prize "for his lovingly written study 'You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations'," the committee said.
Past winners include the creator of the plastic pink flamingo, a researcher who recorded a mallard duck sodomizing a dead drake and a doctor who cured hiccups by applying digital rectal massage.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Anthony Boadle)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Biden, the statesman, shined -- Palin did a "gosh golly"
Tonights debate was a bit more spirited and interesting. In sum, Biden held up quite well, made his points concisely (or, as brief as he could for Biden), and his brilliance shone. He challenged Palin but not to excess. I felt he stuck more to making his own presense "sure" with the audience rather than focusing squarely on Palin. And, the winking!
Palin was quite scripted, even uttering a "gosh golly" at one point! She held up better than I thought she would, and now, I think she will quiet inner Republican party nerves going forward. She couldn't "invent" credentials obviously, but did refer to her governorship of Alaska as "executive experience". Ummm, not so sure about that, but I think she did as well as could be expected.
But, Biden took the win, and tonight may have helped some undecided voters reach a decision. Meanwhile, I think already-decideds are staying put!
Let's see what happens in blogs and press on Thursday eve and Friday morn.
Palin was quite scripted, even uttering a "gosh golly" at one point! She held up better than I thought she would, and now, I think she will quiet inner Republican party nerves going forward. She couldn't "invent" credentials obviously, but did refer to her governorship of Alaska as "executive experience". Ummm, not so sure about that, but I think she did as well as could be expected.
But, Biden took the win, and tonight may have helped some undecided voters reach a decision. Meanwhile, I think already-decideds are staying put!
Let's see what happens in blogs and press on Thursday eve and Friday morn.
Seduction, Beauty & Politics / The "Caribou Barbie" Haiku
SEDUCTION, BEAUTY, & POLITICS:
I'm all about poetry. But, I must say that in addition to this election lacking any sort of formidable debate or rhetoric thus far, it has also lacked beauty. Yes, I said beauty. I'm speaking about the psychology of what I term "Seduction Politics". Its my little pet concept, nothing to google.
I'm speaking about the art of highly educated, uber-entrenched candidates, seeking to engage in impressive "job interview"-like speeches morphed with charismatic, seductive charm in which they subtly woo an American electorate. An electorate they wish to serve and look after, sincerely. I'm thinking: ala JFK, RFK, Clinton, and even Carter. (My love of politics and history has convinced me that the concept does exist, but seems embodied in only a select few.)
But this year, I don't see much seduction! Instead, we've got what we've got. I do recognize and salute Obama, and I believe he's of the "seductive" variety. But, I wonder: where's his passion and righteous anger over the state of our country? His speech earlier this year at the Berlin Wall was electric! It was an incredible glimpse of his statesmanship that we aren't seeing enough of. That "rock star", saucy charisma needs to penetrate his veneer again, and much more before November.
So ends my seduction-inspired political rant. Now, to end todays post, I'm all about focusing my frustrations this day on "John McEvil" and "Caribou Barbie". Why? Among other reasons because they'd rather "game-play" and grandstand instead of "romance". They are users who want something for nothing. They don't want to love or serve America.
If there were ever a time America needed hope and inspirational rhetoric out of candidates, its now. Instead, we've got the below:
----------------------------
THE "CARIBOU BARBIE" HAIKU:
No, its not an ode to Palin. It couldve been one to Obama -- and, in the coming weeks, one will likely be written in honor of him. Sometimes, works are made to riddicule rather than honor. Hence, my wreck of a "Caribou Barbie" haiku.
In light of the fact that all McCain seems to want to do is rape, pillage, and patronize America, I let out a nauseated sigh. And, he's trying to engineer it all with his partner in crime, "Caribou Barbie" Palin!!!
So, in disgust and rebellion, I offer an embarrassingly awful haiku in response. (And, I dedicate the haiku to a cool someone named Paul.):::
"Caribou Barbie - she was once just for Alaska;
Then, McShame, he went insane!
Via osmosis, a policy expert be?
On tv, if she falls in debate, will they hear the thud all the way up in NYC????"
(*Eewww....Oh, that stunk....!)
I'm all about poetry. But, I must say that in addition to this election lacking any sort of formidable debate or rhetoric thus far, it has also lacked beauty. Yes, I said beauty. I'm speaking about the psychology of what I term "Seduction Politics". Its my little pet concept, nothing to google.
I'm speaking about the art of highly educated, uber-entrenched candidates, seeking to engage in impressive "job interview"-like speeches morphed with charismatic, seductive charm in which they subtly woo an American electorate. An electorate they wish to serve and look after, sincerely. I'm thinking: ala JFK, RFK, Clinton, and even Carter. (My love of politics and history has convinced me that the concept does exist, but seems embodied in only a select few.)
But this year, I don't see much seduction! Instead, we've got what we've got. I do recognize and salute Obama, and I believe he's of the "seductive" variety. But, I wonder: where's his passion and righteous anger over the state of our country? His speech earlier this year at the Berlin Wall was electric! It was an incredible glimpse of his statesmanship that we aren't seeing enough of. That "rock star", saucy charisma needs to penetrate his veneer again, and much more before November.
So ends my seduction-inspired political rant. Now, to end todays post, I'm all about focusing my frustrations this day on "John McEvil" and "Caribou Barbie". Why? Among other reasons because they'd rather "game-play" and grandstand instead of "romance". They are users who want something for nothing. They don't want to love or serve America.
If there were ever a time America needed hope and inspirational rhetoric out of candidates, its now. Instead, we've got the below:
----------------------------
THE "CARIBOU BARBIE" HAIKU:
No, its not an ode to Palin. It couldve been one to Obama -- and, in the coming weeks, one will likely be written in honor of him. Sometimes, works are made to riddicule rather than honor. Hence, my wreck of a "Caribou Barbie" haiku.
In light of the fact that all McCain seems to want to do is rape, pillage, and patronize America, I let out a nauseated sigh. And, he's trying to engineer it all with his partner in crime, "Caribou Barbie" Palin!!!
So, in disgust and rebellion, I offer an embarrassingly awful haiku in response. (And, I dedicate the haiku to a cool someone named Paul.):::
"Caribou Barbie - she was once just for Alaska;
Then, McShame, he went insane!
Via osmosis, a policy expert be?
On tv, if she falls in debate, will they hear the thud all the way up in NYC????"
(*Eewww....Oh, that stunk....!)
No, I'm not fooled: I stick to my 'Palin' analy
Some of my fellow political peeps are saying that us Obama-Biden faithful are falling into a Republican "trap" if we make the mistake of underestimating Palin, thinking her stupid.
Well, I don't underestimate her in that her ability to be nasty (combined with the nastiness of the Repub machine behind her) has the ability to exert plenty of damage. So, I take her "seriously" on that. But, the ability to be politically powerful and intelligent/sane at the same time isn't a given.
I'll never accept that she's a political or personal brainiac -- I refuse to believe she's "playing dumb" to curry sympathy or project an image as strategy. With her neanderthal points of view on everything from women's rights to religion, there's no way she's smart on the "down low". Without her "Republican" affiliation and the manipulators behind her, she couldn't think or speak her way out of a wet paper bag on the world stage.
So, no, I don't take her seriously -- still. I do, however, take the cronies behind her seriously, though.
Well, I don't underestimate her in that her ability to be nasty (combined with the nastiness of the Repub machine behind her) has the ability to exert plenty of damage. So, I take her "seriously" on that. But, the ability to be politically powerful and intelligent/sane at the same time isn't a given.
I'll never accept that she's a political or personal brainiac -- I refuse to believe she's "playing dumb" to curry sympathy or project an image as strategy. With her neanderthal points of view on everything from women's rights to religion, there's no way she's smart on the "down low". Without her "Republican" affiliation and the manipulators behind her, she couldn't think or speak her way out of a wet paper bag on the world stage.
So, no, I don't take her seriously -- still. I do, however, take the cronies behind her seriously, though.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
a random rant: McCain-Palin
I've quite a few thoughts on McCain-Palin this day:
McCAIN - At hospital today, I was subjected to his CNN-televised press conference. (On a gurney and IV'd, I couldn't escape!). He carried on and on, re: what he'd do, who he would fire to make amends for the current economic crisis. I noticed after each "sound bite", he literally took an active pause -- not only for reaction, but during which, the look on his face was so transparent: "Are they really believing what I'm saying???". Pardon me, but WTF?
No, I'm not surprised. But, as a keen observer of the politically nonverbal, I was refreshingly disgusted. The man himself clearly doesn't even believe his own lies and BS. Even as deluded as he is, he STILL doesn't. After this, I might be somewhat inclined to believe that subconcious guilt or regret over his "real" past agenda (re: economics/dereg) was in his mind somewhere. But, eh, NO. He's too much of a historical political Whore...
PALIN - The debate with Joe Biden is almost upon us. Why are people trying to anticipate her "performance"? The woman is VOID! In every way. And, her only "political" role, period, is as a distraction, a manipulation, and an insult to America's politically literate. (And, if you're "unwise" enough to be a party faithful Repub, she's a double insult. If you don't see it, you're blind.)
This will be a "nothing" event, just like last Fridays McCain-Obama debate. But, it can't even be or compare to that, really. You can't have a "debate" of Biden v Palin; they're unequally yoked, the gap is too wide to bridge. What you can "have" is a polite sparing on issues that could turn on Biden. Palin -- she'll come out of it no different. She can't look any more stupid, any more intelligent. She's nothing. And, neither is McCain.
McCAIN - At hospital today, I was subjected to his CNN-televised press conference. (On a gurney and IV'd, I couldn't escape!). He carried on and on, re: what he'd do, who he would fire to make amends for the current economic crisis. I noticed after each "sound bite", he literally took an active pause -- not only for reaction, but during which, the look on his face was so transparent: "Are they really believing what I'm saying???". Pardon me, but WTF?
No, I'm not surprised. But, as a keen observer of the politically nonverbal, I was refreshingly disgusted. The man himself clearly doesn't even believe his own lies and BS. Even as deluded as he is, he STILL doesn't. After this, I might be somewhat inclined to believe that subconcious guilt or regret over his "real" past agenda (re: economics/dereg) was in his mind somewhere. But, eh, NO. He's too much of a historical political Whore...
PALIN - The debate with Joe Biden is almost upon us. Why are people trying to anticipate her "performance"? The woman is VOID! In every way. And, her only "political" role, period, is as a distraction, a manipulation, and an insult to America's politically literate. (And, if you're "unwise" enough to be a party faithful Repub, she's a double insult. If you don't see it, you're blind.)
This will be a "nothing" event, just like last Fridays McCain-Obama debate. But, it can't even be or compare to that, really. You can't have a "debate" of Biden v Palin; they're unequally yoked, the gap is too wide to bridge. What you can "have" is a polite sparing on issues that could turn on Biden. Palin -- she'll come out of it no different. She can't look any more stupid, any more intelligent. She's nothing. And, neither is McCain.
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