Thursday, September 22, 2005
Gronk! Hulk Smash! Ugh! Grunt!
The real destruction began this morning with sledgehammers smashing the exterior walls at 7AM. In murphy's law fashion, they began outside the bedroom and then worked their way to removing the last of the stucco around the doors around the time I was leaving for work, so I had to remove materials to open the door after realizing I'd been blocked inside the house.
shows in seattle
Many, many musicians worth seeing never, or rarely make it up to Canada. Some American artists can't, cause, well, they have "questionable character". Once upon a time, Paul Robeson was denied admission to Canada, for being too left-wing.
Today, artists are more likely to skip us, because we are more trouble than we are worth. So that means, Seattle is the closest place to see some shows that are worth seeing. A good friend of mine goes to shows in Seattle all the time and it's how he met his current girlfriend, who just escaped the land of George Bush to live with him here in Vancouver.
My friend is a music nut and I have to turn him on to the dark death-bluegrass of Gillian Welch, so that I have someone to see her with in Seattle. My friend's taste in music runs more to bands with names like: "Death Mullet".
Today, artists are more likely to skip us, because we are more trouble than we are worth. So that means, Seattle is the closest place to see some shows that are worth seeing. A good friend of mine goes to shows in Seattle all the time and it's how he met his current girlfriend, who just escaped the land of George Bush to live with him here in Vancouver.
My friend is a music nut and I have to turn him on to the dark death-bluegrass of Gillian Welch, so that I have someone to see her with in Seattle. My friend's taste in music runs more to bands with names like: "Death Mullet".
Thursday, September 15, 2005
You say FANNYPACK and I say Pants!
...let's call the whole thing off.
Apparently to British ears, the term "fannypack" sounds obscene. To my sensitive North American ears, "bumbag" sounds obsc...not right, anyways. My Quebecois coworker wears a black leather fannypack, if only he knew the awful truth.
The phrase i really, really want to steal from the Brits is "pants". Trousers are pants, so pants are something you wear beneath your pants-er, I mean, trousers. UNDERpants. I get it now. Some thing that is bad or ridiculous is pants.
I want to import that: "What? That is just PANTS! The most PANTS thing I ever heard! This place is the PANTS! Awwww, PANTS!
Let the PANTS begin!
Sincerely,
Mr. Pants
Apparently to British ears, the term "fannypack" sounds obscene. To my sensitive North American ears, "bumbag" sounds obsc...not right, anyways. My Quebecois coworker wears a black leather fannypack, if only he knew the awful truth.
The phrase i really, really want to steal from the Brits is "pants". Trousers are pants, so pants are something you wear beneath your pants-er, I mean, trousers. UNDERpants. I get it now. Some thing that is bad or ridiculous is pants.
I want to import that: "What? That is just PANTS! The most PANTS thing I ever heard! This place is the PANTS! Awwww, PANTS!
Let the PANTS begin!
Sincerely,
Mr. Pants
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
creepy, creeping, creepily
The security guard on duty last night was seriously creeping me out. I understand their job is to lurk, but everywhere I was, this guy was there. It was like he was expecting me to do something illegal.
Now maybe I have a guilty conscience, but I made it clear to him during our first encounter (right outside my home) that I live here, this is my bike and I am not the suspicious cyclist from earlier this evening. My housemates were right inside the window behind me, it was hardly suspicious to be heading to return a video at 8PM. Anyways at this point, he should have marked me as "friendly". He's not the regular guy, but he can figure out that I live there and he's not hired to watch people who live there.
Then I went to water the trees transplanted from my wrecked courtyard on the other side of the complex. There he was. He watched me water the trees. He followed me onto the sidewalk of the busy road in front of the complex were the trees were now and stood there, watching me work.
Then Chelsea knocked on my door to get me to sign something. I shut the front door to keep her cat (which follows her everywhere) outside and mine inside, since they were threatening to scrap. As we stood outside speaking, there he was at the bottom of my stairs, standing, watching us...watching...
I hurried back inside to avoid his prying eyes. I hope he's not there tonight.
Now maybe I have a guilty conscience, but I made it clear to him during our first encounter (right outside my home) that I live here, this is my bike and I am not the suspicious cyclist from earlier this evening. My housemates were right inside the window behind me, it was hardly suspicious to be heading to return a video at 8PM. Anyways at this point, he should have marked me as "friendly". He's not the regular guy, but he can figure out that I live there and he's not hired to watch people who live there.
Then I went to water the trees transplanted from my wrecked courtyard on the other side of the complex. There he was. He watched me water the trees. He followed me onto the sidewalk of the busy road in front of the complex were the trees were now and stood there, watching me work.
Then Chelsea knocked on my door to get me to sign something. I shut the front door to keep her cat (which follows her everywhere) outside and mine inside, since they were threatening to scrap. As we stood outside speaking, there he was at the bottom of my stairs, standing, watching us...watching...
I hurried back inside to avoid his prying eyes. I hope he's not there tonight.
True adventure can be had in your own backyard.
Cycling to Surrey.
National Geographic, Sept 2005
The first question one asks when contemplating a ride from Vancouver to Surrey is: why? There is a perfectly good rapid transit system in place which now allows you to bring your bike along. You could pack your bike into a train and ride to somewhere nice from the end of the line. Truth be told, sometimes one has to experience the urban jungle close up. Riding through the wilds of Metrotown with barely in control drivers swirling about you, one gets a chance to feel really alive that tamer places simply cannot provide. Between here and the mean streets of Surrey, there is an urban jungle into which only the most adventurous cyclists dare venture.
The next question to ask is: how to get there? The crumbling, ancient path put down by a long-gone Socred civilization that knew Grace McCarthy as Transportation Minister? Too broken up and meandering to be much use to the urban cycle warrior. A path strewn liberally with dog walkers and their feral pets, as well as treacherous hidden road crossings between the hidden temples and Mayan pyramids. Danger lurks around every corner on that path. It is far too dangerous for even this writer.
In the interests of saving time (the society grant won't last forever), the choice of simplicity has to be made. To run with the herds along the most direct route possible: Kingsway. To ride with the armoured carriages of bulbous steel, the rhino herds of motorists galloping to and from the malls and the suburbs. To experience danger firsthand, return from the shadow of death in one piece and live to tell the tale.
Continued in installment #2.
National Geographic, Sept 2005
The first question one asks when contemplating a ride from Vancouver to Surrey is: why? There is a perfectly good rapid transit system in place which now allows you to bring your bike along. You could pack your bike into a train and ride to somewhere nice from the end of the line. Truth be told, sometimes one has to experience the urban jungle close up. Riding through the wilds of Metrotown with barely in control drivers swirling about you, one gets a chance to feel really alive that tamer places simply cannot provide. Between here and the mean streets of Surrey, there is an urban jungle into which only the most adventurous cyclists dare venture.
The next question to ask is: how to get there? The crumbling, ancient path put down by a long-gone Socred civilization that knew Grace McCarthy as Transportation Minister? Too broken up and meandering to be much use to the urban cycle warrior. A path strewn liberally with dog walkers and their feral pets, as well as treacherous hidden road crossings between the hidden temples and Mayan pyramids. Danger lurks around every corner on that path. It is far too dangerous for even this writer.
In the interests of saving time (the society grant won't last forever), the choice of simplicity has to be made. To run with the herds along the most direct route possible: Kingsway. To ride with the armoured carriages of bulbous steel, the rhino herds of motorists galloping to and from the malls and the suburbs. To experience danger firsthand, return from the shadow of death in one piece and live to tell the tale.
Continued in installment #2.
Kiss my ass, SpamBots
Word verification for comments has been switched on. That means anonymous comments can still happen, but require a real person to read a word from an image and interpret that into text. Simple for people, difficult for automated applications. Until someone writes an OCR-Bot. Hmmm...
It's amazing how much computer processing power it can take to do something people take for granted every day.
It's amazing how much computer processing power it can take to do something people take for granted every day.
I could smell the bog fire smoke today. Hope it rains. Here's some musings on the labour conflicts happening in Vancouver right now:
In the CBC and Telus strikes we have seen corporations position themselves in an extremely advantageously long before removal of labour has occurred. At the very first inklings of labour unrest at Telus, "managers" were hired to fill positions that are typically shop-floor positions, such as installation and repair. These are the guys who wear toolbelts and come to your house to fix your phone wiring. Not a job typically done by a member of management. This in an already top-to-middle heavy corporation swelled the erranks of management. These workers were integrated into the labour force within the last year, accepted their jobs which were likely an improvement over what they were working at previously and, being used to the new economy, accepted what they got, knowing that even though they were being deliberately shut out of the union, they'd gotten themselves a better job. Most of these people probably had no idea that they would be called upon to scab during a strike and not given a choice, as they were technically management. Such an unfair position to place people in.
Scab- such an old economy, old-labour term isn't it? Like something out of an old Marlon Brando or gangster movie. Surely in this new workplace, this enterprenurial environment that is the new economy, where no one can expect the jib security and workplace solidarity of the past, "scabbing" doesn't really exist? These are just people deliberately shut out of the union organization by a company bent on saving dollars and contracting out, not people who are betraying their former coworkers, aren't they?
These poor unsuspecting pawns of the Telus conflict will likely be given the boot by their employer once this issue is resolved. Telus has been filling their war chest with capable workers for a while now, it looks like and when they get what they want, it's always the fat that gets trimmed. That's the new economy. Kind of makes you wish they could see it coming.
What's next, doctors are going to be replaced by hospital administrators trained to do surgery? Teachers forced to scrub the hallways of schools? The problem with threatening a strike these days is the bosses see it coming and damn well make sure the wheels are oiled and there's someone that knows how to make them turn.
So has the precedent been set that strikes are useless now? Hardly. But it does no benefit to the union movement to remove your labour only to see the company do far better than limp along. The media is always going to be less friendly to the union than the corporation, as cynical as it might sound. The corporate media thrives on conflict, angry faces on the picket lines make for good press. The police is there to make sure the picketers play nice. What the corporation is doing is sneaky, underhanded and as far as I am concerned, unethical, but technically legal. Not a pretty picture for the Canadian labour unions of tomorrow.
To steal an idea from a friend of mine, strikes are futile if you cannot shut the workplace down. Perhaps this is what needs to happen. Unions need to adapt to the new economy by hauling out some ideas from the old economy. Raise the level of radicalism, bring out the burning barrels and play the old economy game of shutting the place down. Totally. Doing things half-way only means people are going to lose their homes after their savings erode and strike pay no longer pays the rent or mortgage. Strike harder and shorter. At the very least, no one will be able to call unions ineffectual, bloated bureaucracies. What we are seeing today is the legalized form of early 1900s union busting, which was often violent, but now has become institutionalized. The cards are stacked in favour of the corporations more and more. It's time for a new radicalization in the union movement during this summer of labour unrest.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Fire in the Bog
To Quote David Zirin's political sports column, Edge of Sports:
"There is nothing “unnatural” about the disaster of New Orleans. When politicians smirk at global warming, when developers look at our wetlands and dream of mini malls, when billions are flushed in the name of war and tax-cuts, when issues of poverty and racism don’t even register in Presidential debates, all it takes is wind, albeit 145 mph wind, to expose a sturdy super power as a house of cards."
-------------------------------------
It makes me think about our at times short-sighted land use planning right here in BC and the tragic consequences it could have. Burns Bog would be much less likely to burn regularly if it weren't being drained at it's edges by industry and berry farming. Richmond is a bad place to build high-rises if an earthquake happens...
If we were to allow Burns Bog to function as a natural system, like it is supposed to, and clooect water instead of slowly bleeding it out through it's edges, it would reduce the fire hazard. How simple. Now if we could only stop dumping garbage on it as well.
I've hiked through Burns Bog quite a bit and it is a truly wild place to be so close to a city. Parts of it are completely inaccessible, unless you have hip waders, ropes and maybe are an olympic pole vaulter ( a method Europeans use to traverse bog landscapes). But on a walk through this private land that should be a nature reserve, park or other protected area, the impacts of humanity are constantly there, albeit often partially sunken into the peat.
"There is nothing “unnatural” about the disaster of New Orleans. When politicians smirk at global warming, when developers look at our wetlands and dream of mini malls, when billions are flushed in the name of war and tax-cuts, when issues of poverty and racism don’t even register in Presidential debates, all it takes is wind, albeit 145 mph wind, to expose a sturdy super power as a house of cards."
-------------------------------------
It makes me think about our at times short-sighted land use planning right here in BC and the tragic consequences it could have. Burns Bog would be much less likely to burn regularly if it weren't being drained at it's edges by industry and berry farming. Richmond is a bad place to build high-rises if an earthquake happens...
If we were to allow Burns Bog to function as a natural system, like it is supposed to, and clooect water instead of slowly bleeding it out through it's edges, it would reduce the fire hazard. How simple. Now if we could only stop dumping garbage on it as well.
I've hiked through Burns Bog quite a bit and it is a truly wild place to be so close to a city. Parts of it are completely inaccessible, unless you have hip waders, ropes and maybe are an olympic pole vaulter ( a method Europeans use to traverse bog landscapes). But on a walk through this private land that should be a nature reserve, park or other protected area, the impacts of humanity are constantly there, albeit often partially sunken into the peat.
Blog Spam
I've been getting spammed through my blog. I am so livid about this. This is a public statement of my intense hatred of spammers.
This post will probably get me more spam. Eff'in great.
In Soviet Russia...
This post will probably get me more spam. Eff'in great.
In Soviet Russia...
Thursday, September 08, 2005
BCParisTopia
I am at work right now (still at Radiant) and it is a slow day here. I have been thinking about writing/editing lately on the side. Leigh picks up extra cash by copyediting in Brussels. I figure I can specialize in high-tech/engineering/IT manual copyediting, as I have a familiarity with the language. There are some copyediting and grammar courses at SFU to help refresh my grammar and teach me writing styles other than CP style.
I spent last weekend at Leigh's parents visiting him. They are in the process of completing a home on Bowen Island on a waterfront lot. It's nice. It's a pretty regular home, sort of a modern rendition of an arts and crafts home, but the location is great and kindo of historic, as it was part of the Union Steamship Company's picnic grounds on a big resort which covered most of the lower part of Bowen. They look out on a little bay, with a weir/bridge across a lagoon which is a good 60-70 years old. Old by BC standards, anyways.
Lisa, Leigh and I launched a canoe right next to the house and paddled up-island. A few bays over, we found a spot where we could paddle out into the channel between the mainland and Bowen Island and drift back into shore almost to the rocky shore, then paddle back. We had a good supply of dark German beer tins and lime-flavoured tortilla chips. Except fothe odd ferry wake and overzealous speedboater, we had a relaxing time.
Discussing the merits of European cities versus Western Canadian cities, we imagined taking Paris, and dropping it just about where Vancouver is now. Having the culture and food of Europe, with the view of green mountains and islands we had in front of us with Paris just a ferry ride away. Does a place like that exist?
Anyways, it was a great lazy afternoon, drifting about as much as paddling
I spent last weekend at Leigh's parents visiting him. They are in the process of completing a home on Bowen Island on a waterfront lot. It's nice. It's a pretty regular home, sort of a modern rendition of an arts and crafts home, but the location is great and kindo of historic, as it was part of the Union Steamship Company's picnic grounds on a big resort which covered most of the lower part of Bowen. They look out on a little bay, with a weir/bridge across a lagoon which is a good 60-70 years old. Old by BC standards, anyways.
Lisa, Leigh and I launched a canoe right next to the house and paddled up-island. A few bays over, we found a spot where we could paddle out into the channel between the mainland and Bowen Island and drift back into shore almost to the rocky shore, then paddle back. We had a good supply of dark German beer tins and lime-flavoured tortilla chips. Except fothe odd ferry wake and overzealous speedboater, we had a relaxing time.
Discussing the merits of European cities versus Western Canadian cities, we imagined taking Paris, and dropping it just about where Vancouver is now. Having the culture and food of Europe, with the view of green mountains and islands we had in front of us with Paris just a ferry ride away. Does a place like that exist?
Anyways, it was a great lazy afternoon, drifting about as much as paddling
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
may you live in interesting...places
Just learned that Vancouver was home to the first hybrid vehicle taxi. Apparently we are very friendly to alternative-fueled vehicles here and known for it throughout the world. Ironically, we are a place where the large SUV is quite popular as well.
Vancouver is like that: home of the richest and poorest postal codes in Vancouver, some of the most conservative and most looney-left politicos, basically on opposite ends of extremes sometimes.
More later, when I figure out a point to all this.
Vancouver is like that: home of the richest and poorest postal codes in Vancouver, some of the most conservative and most looney-left politicos, basically on opposite ends of extremes sometimes.
More later, when I figure out a point to all this.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
loot.
When black people do it, it's called "looting":
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/480/ladm10208301530
When white people do it, it's called "finding":
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/photos_ts_afp/050830071810_shxwaoma_photo1
Why don't we pretend it's just "shopping"?
Update: Associate Press must have recieved flak for these photo captions, as I believe they removed the second one. Seems I wasn't the only one who has blogged about this.
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/480/ladm10208301530
When white people do it, it's called "finding":
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/photos_ts_afp/050830071810_shxwaoma_photo1
Why don't we pretend it's just "shopping"?
Update: Associate Press must have recieved flak for these photo captions, as I believe they removed the second one. Seems I wasn't the only one who has blogged about this.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Hokey.
you route some packets in,
you route some packets out,
you flap the interface,
and you get some packet loss.
You do the Hokey-Pokey
and you call up Tech Support.
That's what it's all about!
you route some packets out,
you flap the interface,
and you get some packet loss.
You do the Hokey-Pokey
and you call up Tech Support.
That's what it's all about!
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
"Blog(People)Power"
The CBC strike (and to a lesser degree the Telus strike) have been somewhat radicalized by Blogs. This excites me to no end, because it is people, albeit highly media-savvy people, wrestling their media out of the hands of the corporations. In the past, people like me would have had to rely on news filtered through more corporate media. It is interesting listening to the perspectives from the people that are directly affected, without heavy editing.
The workers haven't stopped doing what they love to do, just because they can't get into the studios anymore. They are the CBC and so are we.
http://www.cbcunplugged.com/
http://thetyee.ca/News/2005/08/22/CBCUnplugged/
http://radio.blogware.com
-Lots of CBC blogs here.
Studio Zero streaming broadcast (I hate the term "Podcast")
Joe Keithley and East Van's own Geoff Berner play live on the pickets.
An interesting note on BBC's union not really liking the fact their wireservice is being pressed into scabbing.
and the whole thing deserved a mention on my favorite: Metafilter
plus there is a couple great CBC employee blogs I think deserve mention that haven't been mentioned in these sourcest: http://slushpile.blogspot.com http://cannedclams.blogspot.com -keep your chins up!
as Deb said in her Blog- just wait till hockey season for the fur to start flying.
More on Telus later- my father-in-law expects they'll be out for the rest of the year.
The workers haven't stopped doing what they love to do, just because they can't get into the studios anymore. They are the CBC and so are we.
http://www.cbcunplugged.com/
http://thetyee.ca/News/2005/08/22/CBCUnplugged/
http://radio.blogware.com
-Lots of CBC blogs here.
Studio Zero streaming broadcast (I hate the term "Podcast")
Joe Keithley and East Van's own Geoff Berner play live on the pickets.
An interesting note on BBC's union not really liking the fact their wireservice is being pressed into scabbing.
and the whole thing deserved a mention on my favorite: Metafilter
plus there is a couple great CBC employee blogs I think deserve mention that haven't been mentioned in these sourcest: http://slushpile.blogspot.com http://cannedclams.blogspot.com -keep your chins up!
as Deb said in her Blog- just wait till hockey season for the fur to start flying.
More on Telus later- my father-in-law expects they'll be out for the rest of the year.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
today at work, Salesperson phoned the other techs and asked them to escalate a firewall issue for Big Customer to the configuration group. I phoned BC and looked at the issue. Seeing nothing obviously wrong, i told them what I saw and was told to escalate as they'd been promised. i called sysadmin pager #1, no answer, pager #2, same thing. I called OnDutySysadmin at home and left two messages, no answer. I called Manager#2, next up in chain of escalation, played phone tag for a bit then was told to call Manager#2, as it is his group that deals with configuring devices , M#2 tells me to call M#1. I call M#1 and tell him I am calling his technical guy, where I leave a mesg. This guy is going to have to call M#2's technical guy to make any sense of this problem. All along, we have been asked to escalate to M#2's technical guy, who is technically on call this weekend, but the interdepartmental boundaries have to be respected.
Sometimes I think I work for the smallest byzantine bureaucracy ever invented.
I called Salesperson and told her she should be the one calling people who aren't home to do things they don't want to do.
What sucks about my job, is I am the only one who cannot refuse ownership of customer problems. I have to listen to all their bitching and I end up having to fix the problem myself anyways, with more problems piling up. Yet, senior management will never realize this, because they think I can escalate things and people will take ownership of them and then I can simply move to the next thing. When things are escalated to me, they are not recorded.
When things are escalated to me, they are not recorded. Meanwhile, people's inability to take responsibility for their own work makes my work flow appear to stop in the eyes of management.
Sometimes I think I work for the smallest byzantine bureaucracy ever invented.
I called Salesperson and told her she should be the one calling people who aren't home to do things they don't want to do.
What sucks about my job, is I am the only one who cannot refuse ownership of customer problems. I have to listen to all their bitching and I end up having to fix the problem myself anyways, with more problems piling up. Yet, senior management will never realize this, because they think I can escalate things and people will take ownership of them and then I can simply move to the next thing. When things are escalated to me, they are not recorded.
When things are escalated to me, they are not recorded. Meanwhile, people's inability to take responsibility for their own work makes my work flow appear to stop in the eyes of management.
Friday, August 19, 2005
my rubble garden
The courtyard of my townhouse is gone for repairs until at least december, when I will get a nice new courtyard. Question is, will I still be living there then?
Update: the only plants I will be allowed will be in pots, which can look nice, but are way more work. my trees (I have 6 decent-sized trees) will be gone, I will be working with the arborists to save what we can. I am such a softy that I hate to cut down a tree or other plant that is healthy unless it is a trumpet vine, which I hate passionately.
Like everyone else, I want to kick the ass of whoever designed and built this place. As much as I like renovating, I wish I was just improving my place, instead of ripping it to the guts just to make it work properly and not grow mold inside.
I just pray it gets done quick, so I can enjoy the benefits. Then I can finally start my bonsai and otherwise stunted plant garden that I've always wanted. I have some little trees in pots now that would make ideal bonsai candidates. Now hopefully I can culture them without killing them.
Update: the only plants I will be allowed will be in pots, which can look nice, but are way more work. my trees (I have 6 decent-sized trees) will be gone, I will be working with the arborists to save what we can. I am such a softy that I hate to cut down a tree or other plant that is healthy unless it is a trumpet vine, which I hate passionately.
Like everyone else, I want to kick the ass of whoever designed and built this place. As much as I like renovating, I wish I was just improving my place, instead of ripping it to the guts just to make it work properly and not grow mold inside.
I just pray it gets done quick, so I can enjoy the benefits. Then I can finally start my bonsai and otherwise stunted plant garden that I've always wanted. I have some little trees in pots now that would make ideal bonsai candidates. Now hopefully I can culture them without killing them.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
My cousin Traci is now a real estate agent. She's also of German and Scottish ancestry. You know what famous person is German and Scottish?
Christopher Walken.
Interesting.
Me on the other hand, I'm pretty much German with a dash of Polish, which is typical for NorthEastern Germans. I always prided myself onbeing one of the few people I knew in Canada who wasn't at least partly English/Scottish/Irish/Welsh.
Anyway, I don't know if this is real, but if he's not a total bigot, I might vote for him (if I were American, which I am not). Perhaps with Bruce Springsteen as VP. I know he's got some politics I agree with.
Walken2008.com
Christopher Walken.
Interesting.
Me on the other hand, I'm pretty much German with a dash of Polish, which is typical for NorthEastern Germans. I always prided myself onbeing one of the few people I knew in Canada who wasn't at least partly English/Scottish/Irish/Welsh.
Anyway, I don't know if this is real, but if he's not a total bigot, I might vote for him (if I were American, which I am not). Perhaps with Bruce Springsteen as VP. I know he's got some politics I agree with.
Walken2008.com
Friday, July 15, 2005
she's smart, she's pretty, she can write well...
Well, I'm kind of biased, I'm married to her. I think I'm pretty lucky. Now if I could get her interested in washing dishes...And I can't link her from my blog, cause she's on Livejournal and I am a Blogger man. It's like West Side Story. "oh Libelle, Libelle, wherefore art thou..."
http://www.livejournal.com/users/blaue_libelle/
She's stiltwalking tonight:
web.radiant.net/phoenix
http://www.livejournal.com/users/blaue_libelle/
She's stiltwalking tonight:
web.radiant.net/phoenix
Friday, July 08, 2005
Lay off Bono and Bob already
#1. Rock stars should shut up and sing and not have opinions.
Firstly, their hearts are firmly in the right place no matter how ridiculous things get. They are fighting what they see as the good fight and I can't see them doing it for any other reasons than they believe it's the right thing to do.
Secondly, anyone who crosses genres gets ridiculed in popular opinion, yet we have managed to eventually accept Reagan as president, Arn as the Governator, Cate Blanchett as a serious actor and David Hasselhoff as a popular singer in Germany. Well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad at least.
Thirdly, you can only sing about it so long until it becomes either boring, uncommercial or preachy-sounding. How do you write lyrics about debt relief? Eventually, you have to put down the guitar and pick up the soapbox if you consider yourself a truly political person.
#2. Rock stars should not be entitled to opinions.
And neither should politicians, journalists, pseudointellectual criminologists, right-wing pundits, church bigots, neo-nazis and other racists of any form, corporate leaders (unless talking about the corporate sphere) and anyone else I didn't vote for personally, yet I am constantly subjected to the opinions of these people wherever I go, plus a few other random bigots whose presence I can't escape for one reason or another.
I'm soft on including journalists in this list, because you can only report on other people's opinions for so long before you begin to develop your own. I just think they need to be open about the fact it is their opinion, despite illusions of neutrality taught in journalism school.
#3. Leave the opinions on making the world a better place to the politicians.
That's worked well for us so far, hasn't it?
#4. They're just the guilty idle rich.
This is the best one I've heard so far, and it comes from the far left mostly, not from the opinion columns of, or letter writers to, major newspapers. I kind of agree. Problem is, no one in society's mainstream wants to listen to the unwashed poor at all. Certain members of the educated classes fare better at getting their opinions across, because of respect, fame, or the fact that our post-feudalistic society has pretenses of being a meritocracy and values the opinions of so-called experts above others.
But rock stars? Now those guys make history. A single lyric captures a moment everyone has felt, a sense of Zeitgeist, an opinion we share. David Bowie famously and controversially called Hitler the first rock star, a fact that Marilyn Manson has played with in his live shows.
I can see how someone might want a rock star to plead their cause, I can see how a rock star might think that massive fame could be put to a use. Rest assured, behind those rock stars are people who have worked for these causes for years, whispering lines in their ears to repeat to the media.
Guilty rich bastards? Well, yeah, Bono probably earns a large portion of the Irish GNP personally, but the Prime Minister of my country owns a shipping empire. No one in the mainstream seems to mind that nearly as much, but I find it far more worrisome.
Firstly, their hearts are firmly in the right place no matter how ridiculous things get. They are fighting what they see as the good fight and I can't see them doing it for any other reasons than they believe it's the right thing to do.
Secondly, anyone who crosses genres gets ridiculed in popular opinion, yet we have managed to eventually accept Reagan as president, Arn as the Governator, Cate Blanchett as a serious actor and David Hasselhoff as a popular singer in Germany. Well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad at least.
Thirdly, you can only sing about it so long until it becomes either boring, uncommercial or preachy-sounding. How do you write lyrics about debt relief? Eventually, you have to put down the guitar and pick up the soapbox if you consider yourself a truly political person.
#2. Rock stars should not be entitled to opinions.
And neither should politicians, journalists, pseudointellectual criminologists, right-wing pundits, church bigots, neo-nazis and other racists of any form, corporate leaders (unless talking about the corporate sphere) and anyone else I didn't vote for personally, yet I am constantly subjected to the opinions of these people wherever I go, plus a few other random bigots whose presence I can't escape for one reason or another.
I'm soft on including journalists in this list, because you can only report on other people's opinions for so long before you begin to develop your own. I just think they need to be open about the fact it is their opinion, despite illusions of neutrality taught in journalism school.
#3. Leave the opinions on making the world a better place to the politicians.
That's worked well for us so far, hasn't it?
#4. They're just the guilty idle rich.
This is the best one I've heard so far, and it comes from the far left mostly, not from the opinion columns of, or letter writers to, major newspapers. I kind of agree. Problem is, no one in society's mainstream wants to listen to the unwashed poor at all. Certain members of the educated classes fare better at getting their opinions across, because of respect, fame, or the fact that our post-feudalistic society has pretenses of being a meritocracy and values the opinions of so-called experts above others.
But rock stars? Now those guys make history. A single lyric captures a moment everyone has felt, a sense of Zeitgeist, an opinion we share. David Bowie famously and controversially called Hitler the first rock star, a fact that Marilyn Manson has played with in his live shows.
I can see how someone might want a rock star to plead their cause, I can see how a rock star might think that massive fame could be put to a use. Rest assured, behind those rock stars are people who have worked for these causes for years, whispering lines in their ears to repeat to the media.
Guilty rich bastards? Well, yeah, Bono probably earns a large portion of the Irish GNP personally, but the Prime Minister of my country owns a shipping empire. No one in the mainstream seems to mind that nearly as much, but I find it far more worrisome.
Songwriter for the working class...my ass
Explain yourself, Mr. Springsteen.
Tickets for your upcoming show, where I can go hear you perform your songs about the downtrodden American worker in a gigantic stadium are priced: CA $95.00 - CA $115.00.
So for 95 bucks I can sit in GM Place's nosebleeds and watch the E-Street ant-band play through my binoculars. Tickets go on sale monday. If I get the HOB promotional code, I can buy one today.
I really think you need to explain yourself to your fans. What would Townes VanZandt have to say about all this? What about Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, whose tradition you follow? I guess Woody wrote corporate jingles and Steinbeck is the main tourist attraction of Salinas. Who wasn't forced to become a corporate slut? Phil Ochs seemed to maintain his integrity- and ended up committing suicide. Bruce, I would never wish that upon you.
Poet of the working class, my ass. I'll stay at home and listen to "Greatest Hits","Ghost of Tom Joad" and all the MP3s I've pulled off the internet of your newer stuff. I like the fact you are rediscovering your singer-songwriter roots, I just can't afford you anymore.
Tickets for your upcoming show, where I can go hear you perform your songs about the downtrodden American worker in a gigantic stadium are priced: CA $95.00 - CA $115.00.
So for 95 bucks I can sit in GM Place's nosebleeds and watch the E-Street ant-band play through my binoculars. Tickets go on sale monday. If I get the HOB promotional code, I can buy one today.
I really think you need to explain yourself to your fans. What would Townes VanZandt have to say about all this? What about Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, whose tradition you follow? I guess Woody wrote corporate jingles and Steinbeck is the main tourist attraction of Salinas. Who wasn't forced to become a corporate slut? Phil Ochs seemed to maintain his integrity- and ended up committing suicide. Bruce, I would never wish that upon you.
Poet of the working class, my ass. I'll stay at home and listen to "Greatest Hits","Ghost of Tom Joad" and all the MP3s I've pulled off the internet of your newer stuff. I like the fact you are rediscovering your singer-songwriter roots, I just can't afford you anymore.
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