for every action

there's a discussion over at the brooklyn vegan's blog re: free speech and that whole don imus thing. people are absolutists over free speech + they seem to think that having the freedom to do something means there should be no consequences. this would be nice, but it's not realistic. for example, if i were a politician running for office + i stated publicly that i'm an atheist, my political career would most likely be over. that doesn't mean i'm not free to declare my atheism, but it does mean that there are consequences for saying it. people are "free" to be racist and people are "free" to express disdain toward racist behaviors. i'm an atheist + there are some people who are openly intolerant of it; consequently, i keep my atheism to myself for the most part. there is, i would argue, a difference between being racist + an atheist, though: racism views one race as superior to others, to which there is only one logical conclusion (extermination or forcible removal of "inferior" peoples). there is no such logic in atheism-- it is simply a lack of theistic belief. sure, there are atheists who look down on theists, but that is simply a case of assholes coming in every stripe; there is no intrinsic hatred in atheism. there is an intrinsic hatred in racism, which is why it's justifiably viewed w/ derision + suspicion. are some people too sensitive when it comes to racism? it's arguable. is don imus racist? personally, i don't think so. i mean, i don't think he's any more racist than anyone else (i think we're all a little racist). should he have lost his job over what he said? i don't think so, but that's just my opinion. it was his employer's call + plenty of people have been fired for less (people, i might add, who actually need their jobs; imus is rich, he'll survive). they saw him as a liability + excised the problem. you have a right to say whatever you want, sure, but you're not immune to consequences. i'm free to call my girlfriend's mother a ghastly cow, but i'll be damned if i get off unscathed w/ that one. we're a culture of brats-- we wallow in freedoms other cultures only hear of, yet we clamor for more. we want to do whatever we want, whenever, and fuck anyone who dares say anything negative about it. unfortunately, reality does not offer us such luxuries.

nah, they'll still totally be huge in a few years, just like interpol and the strokes

ugh, i just watched peter bjorn anders jeb yakob whatever poop their way through that insipid hit pop song on jay leno. w/ them on stage was a tuneless karen-o-look-alike who mumbled w/ all the aplomb of a retarded yak. my first reaction was, why are they famous? but then i realized that they suck, so obviously they're famous. your rebuttal might be: "but that song's catchy," to which i would reply, "so is 'hangin' tough.'" catchy songs do not equal greatness. and more often than not, catchy songs become insufferable after the umpteenth time you hear them, which is something "poptimists" can't seem to admit. in a few years, kids will be amazed to learn that music was anything other than sonic wallpaper or something other than a soundtrack to commercials. "wait, people used to just sit and listen to music? lol, like reading or something?"

ich, der zorn gottes

forget the studio safety of greenscreen cinema like 300-- werner herzog's aguirre, wrath of god is the genuine article. shot entirely on location in the early '70s w/ infamously unstable klaus kinski, aguirre is one of cinema's most hypnotic + awe-inspiring films. it's easy to shoot in a controlled environment in front of green screen + then boast about how cool + manly you are; it's something else entirely to shoot on the amazon, w/ loads of extras scaling the mountains surrounding machu picchu, w/ imminent danger always lurking. what filmmaker would take such risks today?

begotten

there are four seven-to-ten minute clips of one of my favorite films, begotten, on youtube. the first part is a sort of music video featuring the first seven minutes of the film w/ music from aphex twin (w/ "subliminal" inserts of richard james' face spliced throughout). the second, third, and fourth parts are just straight clips of the movie. the trailer is also on youtube if you search for "begotten."

never a dull moment

so far, we're on fire #2 for the day here in houston (it's just around 5:00 local time). earlier this afternoon there was a fire at an electrical plant which knocked out the power for a decent size part of the city + now there's a fire at the medical center. right now it looks like the building on fire is in construction, so atleast there aren't any patients in immediate danger. still, the fire could get out of hand + threaten surrounding structures. i live in southwest houston, in very close proximity to both fires; weird that there have been two fires in one day here. today's been the first day in weeks where the humidity is down + has been replaced by a dry, north wind.

video nostalgia

ned's atomic dustbin, "grey cell green"
associated memories: i just remember swirly colors.



nick heyward, "kite"
associated memories: junior high, maybe? these were the drug years + it was all a bit hazy, but i do remember liking this song + compensating by listening to the exploited quickly thereafter.



nu shooz, "point of no return"
associated memories: for some reason, this song + video remind me of being bored in the mall w/ my mom while she shopped for perfume.



swing out sister, "breakout"
associated memories: rain, kindergarten, coffee cake, a glass of milk, and being wowed by the breakdown rap.



nine inch nails, "head like a hole"
associated memories: when i was seven or eight or whatever + we lived in the ghetto (fuck yes orange county has ghettos-- santa ana represent), we didn't have cable, but for some reason we got tbs. and friday night was night tracks! my brother and i were introduced to some sweet shit because of this show + nin was one particularly tasty turd. i thought they were kinda gay at first, but little did i know that in fewer than five years i'd be "that kid" who was always stoned + wearing a ratty nin t-shirt.



depeche mode, "enjoy the silence"
associated memories: it seems as if there was a period when i was in the fourth or fifth grade where, whenever i'd get dragged to a supercuts or some shit, this song would always be playing. always. it became one of my favorite songs then + remains one to this day. i didn't see the video till a few years later, but remember being floored by it, as well. it's basically just one of the greatest songs + videos ever.

in defense of the party girl

it's, like, so unfair:

We’ve become obsessed with humiliating the party girl. And granted, one could go to town on Britney Spears’ erratic behavior, I’m not saying she’s an ideal person in any way (no one is). However, all Britney Spears recently did exactly what every other woman in the world does after a breakup…she put on some slutty clothes, hung out with her bad-influence single girlfriends and drunkenly partied too much. The nation cried, “She shouldn’t behave that way, she’s a mother!” Now a mother needs to be a virgin as well? Moms don’t deserve to party, feel sexy, and put back a few? Really? Some well paid, highly qualified, nanny wasn’t watching babies Sean Preston and Jayden when she hit the town on the rebound?

homegirl forgot to add "Mexican" to that well-paid list.