12/11  |  6 – 8 pm
Art show by Ashle Bailey
See her work here.

12/12  |  9 pm
Drug Wars and Chinamen
Spend your Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Odessa.  It will be miraculous.  Check out Drug Wars, the new band from Cole and Bill (Girls of the Gravitron), and Chinamen.
$5 cover (free beer, tequila, and sightings of the Virgin)

12/16  |  6 pm (dinner) 7 pm (movie)
Movies to Masticate to: Wizard People, Dear Reader
This unauthorized remix of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, written by Brad Neely, a comic book artist from Fort Smith, first appeared at the New York Underground Film Festival in 2004, and has gained a cult following since then.  Hogwarts-inspired snacks will precede the film.
$2 suggested donation

 12/19  |  8 pm
Bryan Hartley with art by Hayley Fladeboe
Bryan was the singer and songwriter for the Memphis-based country/punk band, Halfacre Gunroom.  He’s been singing and writing songs since his early teenage years.  Brian put in some time in Nash Vegas and Music Row, but is once again a Memphis regular. Sample his music here.  Some of Hayley’s work can be seen here.

 12/23 |  8 pm
Soapbox
An open mic night like no other.  Odessa’s monthly event features poetry, comedy, music, magic, and ranting. No matter what your form of expression, Soapbox gives you the floor.
No cover, BYO.

For more information on any of these events, email us at odessamemphis(at)gmail.com.

Okay…I really feel the need to say something about the SNL Tiger Woods sketch, as well as all the others floating about.

As y’all probably know, sometime last week Tiger’s wife chased him down the driveway and assaulted him with a golf club, causing him to crash into his neighbor’s mailbox, causing him to need a hospital visit. At least, this is what I’ve gotten from the media blitz. As with any celebrity scandal, there’s a lot of BS going around right now and it’s not really my place to say what’s going on…and that’s not the important thing.

Here’s the sketch:

What I’m going to say may be quite controversial and could probably be interpreted as misogynistic. Read on if you’re not easily offended.

The musical guest the night of the sketch was Rhianna. I think her incident provides an appropriate contrast. She was pummeled by her then boyfriend Chris Brown, and she also needed to go to the hospital, although I think her injuries were much more dire than the injuries Woods sustained from his wife.

Now…look at the contrast between the Rihanna incident and the Woods incident. When Rihanna was beaten by her boyfriend, the world rightly reacted with horror. They were right to do this because domestic violence is a horrible thing and Brown purposely destroyed the thing which a beautiful woman surely prizes most…he made her ugly. Taking advantage of the less powerful is a horrible thing to do, and to make the person even more helpless by making them emotionally dependent on you…well, that’s just evil. I will never defend Brown’s actions because I view him and any other man who strikes a woman in malice as evil.

But there’s another side of the coin you need to look at, and I think the Woods incident highlights that very well. Take a look at this Yahoo News article:

As soon as this sketch started, I immediately thought, ‘Oh, no! Stop the sketch! Rihanna might see,’” adding, “Had the tables been turned and a man was suspected of beating up his wife, there definitely wouldn’t be a lighthearted sketch like this. But since it’s female-on-male domestic violence, our current culture deems it kind of, sort of okay to make fun of and the scandal had to be addressed before it lost heat.

And to this, I say who the fuck cares if Rihanna sees it? I surely don’t. What happened to her was unfortunate, but there was a good support system in place for her. Women who are beaten have shelters they are encouraged to go to which will (in an ideal situation…I know there are many incidents where this doesn’t work out and my heart goes out to these victims as well) keep them safe from their abusers. Furthermore, battered women have culture on their side to a large extent. Brown was immediately cast as a monster for what he did. Rihanna was lucky that she got out of her situation in time…and I know how hard that can be.

I know how hard this can be because I myself am a victim of domestic abuse.

I’m not going to go into the specifics of my situation…that will have to wait for many years to come because I don’t feel like I’m ready to talk about it. It’s taken me awhile to get to this point, for reasons I will explain shortly. What I will say is that for awhile, I dated someone who tore me down at every opportunity they got and lowered my self-esteem until I felt like I had no reason to be alive. I retreated from the people who could help me the most…my friends and family…and became almost completely reliant on this person for emotional support.

It’s taken me awhile to feel like I could talk with people about this because there is an unspoken culture around domestic abuse. While the standard reaction for women in these situations is one of pity, the best men can ever get is a reaction of apathy…most often scorn instead.

Men are supposed to be stoic, unemotional beings who are unmoved by even the most heartwrenching images. To us, emotions are not supposed to be a part of our identity. Showing any sort of emotional reaction to any situation is often interpreted as a sign of weakness. Showing any sign of either emotional or physical pain is a sign of weakness and this is the reason why domestic abuse suffered by men is something which is so often ignored. There are many men who suffer in silence (just like there are women who similarly suffer in silence) because there is a code which isn’t talked about. We just feel like we are supposed to ‘man the fuck up’ in this situation…and rarely are we equipped to handle this.

It’s not like emotional abuse is something which you can walk off, either. Physical wounds can be covered up and eventually heal. Bruises don’t scar over. However, emotional abuse can have long-lasting effects that persist long after the breakup. I have difficulty putting my trust in people and because of this, my ability to make and maintain long lasting relationships has greatly suffered. I got out of this relationship years ago, and only recently have felt comfortable talking to people who I am unfamiliar with.

This is why I feel that people making light of Tiger’s situation is insensitive. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship that has drastically affected my ability to make and maintain friendships in a negative way. The few relationships I’ve had since then have crashed and burned…mostly because I start to withdraw when I feel like I can depend on someone. I don’t want the same thing to happen to me again, so I pull away and become emotionally unavailable and the relationship simply dies because of this. This leads to depression and self-image issues in addition to my trust issues which creates a vicious cycle that’s very hard to escape.

By far the best job I’ve seen of handling domestic abuse with men as the victim came from the Titus episode, the Last Noelle. It’s story was eerily similar to mine, and the main part of the episode had this poem which accompanied it:

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, except the psycho bitch on the couch.

I looked pleadingly to my girl, her face fury red

While visions of me and the Doublemint twins danced in her head.

With bile in my throat and no help in sight, I puy on a smile and my sphincter got tight.

“This is Rudolph,” I thought, and turned to argue my case,

but I must’ve had a “what’s your problem, bitch” look, ’cause she punched me in the face.

I picked up her $300 Pradas, the left and right shoe,  and into the street, both shoes I threw.

Out the front door she went, in hot pursuit,

Yeah, this girl would chase a designer label like a fat guy after a Valor jogging suit.

In fear for my life, I locked up the place,

I turned my attention to Rudolph and wished I had mace.

When all of the sudden, there arose such a clatter…

I sprang from my couch to see what was the matter.

I grabbed the chord and opened the blinds… and there was Noelle, quite out of her mind.

My heart stopped, frozen with fear

as she tapped on the glass with a vodka bottle… filled just ’bout to here.

I knew the window couldn’t much take it,

and she was screaming “Unlock it, you bastard, or I swear I’ll break it!”

I couldn’t let her do that, it was a rented place,

so I opened the door… and she punched me in the face!

So summoning my manhood, from bottom to top…

I screamed like a little girl, “I’m calling the cops!”

I just finished dialing and she was standing right there

wearing pearls and those pradas, but otherwise bare.

She spoke not a word, but went straight to a work

reeling me in with that “you’re my big daddy” smirk.

I heard her exclaim as she turned out the light…

“You know this is your fault. I love you too much to fight.

Seriously…buy the DVDs and watch this episode and you will know what many men have to go through. I can’t fathom what this would have been like for someone who had kids at the time…

There are much better ways to handle the subject without perpetuating the unemotional man stereotype and without casting the victims of this sort of domestic abuse in a negative light as the SNL sketch did. I don’t want to sound heartless, because I think that domestic abuse is a real problem which should be dealt with regardless of gender and I don’t want to sound misogynistic because I don’t feel that women are evil. However, ultimately the problem is that society tends to focus on women and completely ignore the fact that the situation is often more complex than anyone realizes which leads to people like me who suffer in silence and don’t feel like they have anyone to talk to about their problems.

I’m still recovering. It’s been a long, hard road and I don’t expect it to get any easier no matter how much I want it to. This is something I’ll have to deal with for a long time, but for some I guess this is a joke and doesn’t need to be taken seriously.

Shame on late night comedians. Fuck. You. All.

Our minds are full of tidbits of knowledge, seemingly useless trivia we have accumulated along the way.

Back in junior high, I distinctly remember learning the word antidisestablishmentarianism. I learned it with the same glee I learned the words Mississippi when I was six and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious when I was eight. Although, I must say, spelling the later is still a challenge to this day. I remember showing my new word off to anyone that would listen. I thought it made me sound smart, as if knowledge were so easily acquired by simply learning a difficult word. Those were simpler times.

Something dawned on me as I sat in the car on a recent road trip, my mind aimlessly pondering the state of the universe.

I have become that word. My battle IS delineated by that word.

Originally, it referred to a 19th century political movement which opposed the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state church of England.

Disassembling the root, and in current terminology, it is the state of belonging to the group who is fighting against those who seek to dismantle established traditions of the day.

Yep, that’s me, and thank God, a whole host of freedom fighters, liberty mavens, patriots and stalwart citizens battling right beside me.

There are many of us, and many more each day.

At some point we have all come to realize we are under attack. Our enemies are foreign and domestic; rich, poor and in between; every color, religion and ethnicity. Some who mean well, but many with malintent.

At some point we noticed it was more than just one transgression against the constitution or our civil rights. Now we realize our very way of life is being threatened to the point of extinction. Freedom in America is on the endangered list.

As the saying goes, everything old is new again.

Antidisestablishmentarianism is more than just a cool word, it is a just and rightful cause.

I’ve just finished reading an excellent story by Chris Barton in the NZ Herald, which is a good primer for the Copenhagen conference that John Key is going to? The cricket on TV is on in the background and apparently Key is in Wellington watching New Zealand vs Pakistan, so he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get to the airport.

He quotes Phil Scadden, a geo-scientist from Dunedin, as saying that by 2025 we could cover all our energy needs using wind, hydro, geothermal and other relatively green sources if we were prepared to spend a great deal of money.

I find it hard to believe that NZ will spend the money, especially if we are insistent on Kyoto and other deals which would require us to pay other countries who have less carbon emissions than us. For my money I think that we should invest the same amount of money on cleaning up our own act.

I ask myself if we can afford to be prissy about seeing lots of wind turbines on hilltops. Personally I think they look really good. I was in the Netherlands earlier this year and the site of hundreds of wind turbines was quite inspiring. I don’t have a problem with having them far enough away so they don’t cause noise polution. We have plenty of great spots in the country that are almost always windy, such as Ohakea, which I believe from memory means place where four winds meet. It certainly never disappointed when I used to go down to the Ohakea Air Base to race land yachts, a very green speed sport:)

Something that annoys me when we talk about clean and green in this country is the lack of emission controls for diesel vehicles. If I was given a dollar for each diesel soot sprewing truck, with black soot backs delivering frozen meat, I would be able to retire today.

I’d also like to know why NZ is following other countries, with Feed-in Tarriffs, which I have previously blogged about. The concept was raised a long time ago by the Green Party, where there would be subsidies and incentives for people to put solar panels on their rooves and allowed them to sell surplus power into the grid.

Anyway, this whole situation disturbs me. Instead of fixing our problem at home, we want to pay other countries who are more fortunate than us, in having more trees etc. NZ has the ability to be self sustainable if we put our brilliant scientists and inventers on the job. We could be isolated from a lot of the problems of climate change in other parts of the world. Once we have it licked, then we can give them access to our know how. That might make a great new export for us.

For now, I’ve been for a 9 1/2 km bush walk/jog, finished my blog and am going to go and by an electric lawn mower. It is plastic, doesn’t need oil or petrol, won’t rust and will therefore last much longer.

Today we are honored to have a guest blogger with us at Soldier For Liberty: Justin Brown is a freelance writer whose current profession is an Active Duty Infantryman. He has served three tours to Iraq in the last five years and continues to study the inner workings of politics, looking to further educate himself and others on the truth that lies behind the guise of the misleading main media. 

The Indoctrination of Youth

By: Justin Brown

Skeptics will state that there is no such thing as the implementation of indoctrinating the children of the United States of America; however from the mouths of government officials, agencies, and past Presidents’, this shows to be far from the actual truth. Do not get me wrong; am I by no means talking down upon the teachers in our education system. I am simply stating that many of us in society are willingly being used to implement the work of those behind the scenes that wish to impose power much greater than the average citizen can even begin to fathom. They do this through television, our educational system, sports, the media, etc. I’d like to place before you just one of the means by which such is and has been implemented for quite a long time. It is known as ideological subversion.

Ideological subversion is a four step plan that has been implemented upon the people for so long that even those teaching such doctrine to our kids, for the most part are unaware that they’re willingly brainwashing our youth. This goes along with them having already been indoctrinated themselves. In instances such as criminal court trials, evidence must be presented; please allow me to show you, the reader, exactly why this is to be very much true. This is but a small piece to a very much larger picture.

Ideological Subversion begins with demoralization. Demoralization begins and is approximately a fifteen to twenty year process. That is approximately the allotted time it takes to educate one generation of students. The agenda of this step is to expose your enemy to your ideology; which in this case is a conglomeration of Marxism/Leninism/Socialism/Fascism made into one single ideology. History has shown that one in and of itself hasn’t been sufficient enough to hold true and rule over a society, but there are strong points to each ideology. Take out the weak and implement the strong points; then, and only then, can you subvert a true government that can overcome the masses, or so the thought goes. According to former KGB Agent Yuri Bezmenov who worked in the field of subversion stated to the effect; you need to pound it (the enemy’s ideology) into the soft heads of at least three generations of American students without being challenged; neither by any outside sources nor against the basic ideology that is essentially Americanism or American Patriotism. There are many quotes from prominent sources as to educating and manipulating the youth.

 In 1919, United States Communist Party stated “Give us one generation of small children to train to manhood and womanhood and we will set up the Bolshevist form of the Soviet Government.” (“National Republic,” Volume 32, p. 35) Hitler went even further by stating to Hermann Rauschning in 1933 about his youth, “I’m beginning with the young. We older ones are used up… We are rotten to the marrow. We have no unrestrained instincts left. We are cowardly and sentimental. We are bearing the burden of a humiliating past, and have in our blood the dull recollection of the serfdom and servility. But my magnificent youngsters! Are there finer ones anywhere in the world? Look at these young men and boys! What material! With them I can make a new world.” (Hitler’s Children, The Hitler Youth and the SS,” by Gerhard Rempel, pp. 1-2) Again in 1939 Hitler again boldly declared, “When an opponent declares ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I calmly say, ‘your child belongs to us already. What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, will stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.’ ” (“The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany,” by William Shirer, p. 249)

Our greater implementation of indoctrinating the youth came more in force through the Department of Education, which was created in 1980 to make school systems Federally run and regulated, thus taking the power from the states and the people respectively as our Constitution states. The guise is stating that they are state regulated, but with some research, this will show that if implementations aren’t being met on the Federal level than changes will and do occur.

How do we truly know the true nature by which the government has helped at such a feat and that this truly is what they want for the American people? One such quote of proof comes from former President Nixon when he “declared the first five years of a child’s life to be a period of special and specific federal concern.” (“Nixon, the First Year of His Presidency,” by Congressional Quarterly, p. 108) Even looking back further to the Fall of 1970, we can see how serious our government was about this indoctrinating when six children were removed from their parents and placed in a foster home because the parents refused to send them to public school teaching “sex education” in conflict with their religious beliefs. (“The Unseen Hand,” by Ralph Epperson, p. 391)  In 1985 Yuri Bezmenov again stated that this had already been completed in the United States and had been going on for 35 years already. Imagine how far we really are now. Mr. Bezmenov states, “Most of it is done by Americans to Americans, thanks to lack of moral standards… Exposure to true information does not matter anymore. A person, who is demoralized, is unable to assess true information; truth and facts tell nothing to him…even if I take him by force to the Soviet Union and show him concentration camp, he will refuse to believe it until he, he is going to receive a kick in his fat bottom.”

Another huge step in our indoctrination was through the new found thought (at the time) of global disaster by which human’s were to be made responsible. This implementation is known as Agenda 21; a 40 chapter document delineating the plan for literally taking over the world. It was signed into United States acceptance in 1992 through the United Nations for a Brave New World. One such implementation of this is a principle known as the “Cautionary Principle” by which you’re guilty until proven innocent.  We can now see the full initiative of this through the International Criminal Court Association. This will flow through the Transnational United Nations by which our Federal Government wants very much to be a part of. Sanctions are being opened up once again for this by President Obama after President Bush surprisingly took it off the table, worried that we troops would fall under this while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Another principle through Agenda 21 is Sustainable Development. Some things that aren’t sustainable according to this document include fossil fuels, private property, golf course, ski lodges, consumerism, farmlands, pastures, grazing of livestock, the family unit, etc. In order to initiate such a feat, you must first indoctrinate the young to believe that they are the cause of all of this; once you’ve initiated such than you can work at ridding such thoughts from societies mind into believing it must be done for the better good. Just how involved is our government in wanting this. One such statement from Bush Sn. says it all. At the U.N. Conference for the implementation of Agenda 21 he stated, “It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter to which the American people will henceforth pledge their allegiance.” (“Controlled Chaos,” by Michael London, p. 292) After Bush Sn. Brought this back to America, Bill Clinton; then by Executive Order, without Congressional approval established the Presidents Council for Sustainable Development for exactly this. (“Environmental Policy and Politics: Toward the Twenty-First Century,” by Michael Kraft, p. 192)

Further specifics on how they’ve used this document occur by those who help implement the curriculum in our school systems. Agenda 21 has been studied closely; the government then implements it in our school systems and the slow indoctrination of how they train us up as puppets begins (or began so long ago). Goals within Agenda 21 include the end to National Sovereignty (Copenhagen Agreement), the end of Private Property, the Restructure of the Family Unit (Using Darwinism/Humanism in schools as a stepping stone which takes spirituality out and implements the carnal nature of animal in its place), and increasing restrictions on freedoms and mobility by which there is an opportunity to advance in one’s life.

Humanism is very much in our Educational systems as well; this along with Communism are the planks by which it functions. In fact one of the 34 signers of this Humanist Manifesto was none other than John Dewey who is also known as the “Father of Progressive Education.” In fact Mr. Dewey was polled for the most influential educator over the last 50 years, from 1924 to 1974. One quote about Mr. Dewey and his influence on education states, “No individual has influenced the thinking of American educators more.” The Humanism Manifesto II was then published in 1974 and states the Humanist agenda is “the building of a world community,” predicated upon, “the development of a system of world law and a world order based upon transnational federal government.” (“The Unseen Hand,” by Ralph Epperson, pp. 378-381)

The next step is destabilization. This takes approximately the next two to five years. The essentials that are at stake include economy, foreign relations, and defence systems. The economy must be brought to the verge of crisis; this is the third step by which after crises you then have normalization as the final step. This step could last forever, or so the thought goes. At the brink of these crises, the mass must be promised all kinds of things whether they’ll be fulfilled or not. This is to eliminate the compromise of a free market economy (Bail Outs) and to put a big brother government in Washington D.C. (The Patriot Act).

Looking further into the third step; crises we can see some interesting details from history. Much like our Bail Out, with another one soon to follow; Mussolini did this in 1935. He bailed out Auto Manufacturer Alfa Romero and then supplanted the government to control such, thus taking away much of the free market economy. We’ve done this Fascist feat here in America and have taken it a step further by adding in the banks; while many ignorant (unknowledgeable) American’s applaud at such an Unconstitutional agenda. Big brother is very much in control now too, with the implementation of the Patriot Act so long ago. The only changing aspect to this is that it continues to get more and more pervasive within the confines of our everyday lives. This again happened in Germany with the burning down of the Reichstag Parliamentary Building, by which the Enabling Act of 1933 was enacted just like ours of today over the tragic 9/11. The Enabling Act gave Hitler and the once Democratic government total control over the people much like our Patriot Act already has today; sadly while many applaud at such a thing, believing it’s for the greater good of protecting the people against a war on a military tactic.

Mr. Bezmenov also added in 1985, civil rights movements are instrumental in the destabilization process of a nation; though after complete takeover they’re no longer needed because they know too much. History shows this has also again happened in Germany with the SA (Storm Troops). Before 1933, both the HJ (Hitler’s Youth) and the SS (The Elite Echelon) were involved, creating viable political organizations within the much larger confines of the SA until 1934. During the summer of this year Himmler and the SS were used as assassins to rid the regime of high officials in the SA, these men of course that had worked with Hitler to his grand rising. This was known specifically as the “Blood Purge” and the SA were prevented specifically by the aid of Himmler from every attaining nearly the amount of power as they had before this “Blood Purge.” (“The SS, Alibi of a Nation,” by Gerald Reitlinger, p. 71)

Much like the political organizations that were created back then are used in the same sense today; so as to further subvert the minds of Americans throughout with false Marxist/Leninist/Socialist/Fascist ideology, amalgamated into looking toward this now very apparent One World Government/Ideology. Those in power study such events feverishly in an attempt to resubvert such a thing in America so as to bring upon this One World Government, which they’re now publicly stating we’re about to have. Sadly, with the creation of television this has been made quite easy. Not only can the elite enjoy the comfort at knowing the mass of children are being indoctrinated at school; they can further enjoy the reality that the average child in America now spends an average of five hours a day watching television once they get home.

The final step will soon be upon us unless people begin further awaking to what’s going on; normalization of people. This last phase will ultimately result in the One World Government. The crisis was 9-11 and began there; these other crisis such as unemployment, health care, false flag war on a military tactic, and the global warming hoax, are all serving the respective purposes. Once we’re in normalization, we’ll either become a part of this new Regime or we’ll be exterminated; at least that’s what history tells us along with people that work in high places like John Holdren, David Rockefeller and many others that incorrectly state killing us off is a necessity if we’re to keep this planet alive.  This will further subvert us into the ultimate slavery with the promise of change and hope. Sadly, we’re fast tracking such a feat, at a level that the elites cannot even believe.

today is soapbox day. a song by amel larrieux has been stuck in my head. the title of this blog is the main refrain of the song.

all of these stories keep coming out about men getting caught in the throes of infidelity. tiger woods, shaq and i guess i’m late on gospel artist tye tribbett’s tango to the tune of “a bruh got caught up” (that’s that old new joint!). i’m not here to condemn. i have my own demons and moments of questionable judgment.

celebrities are our cultures common community. tmz, bossip (guilty!), or OK! give us our daily serving of neighborhood gossip where we catch up on the latest marriage or pregnancy, who went to what party, who got fired or who died … most of us don’t know these people personally, but we identify with every bit of information when can get our hands on.

and because we don’t know celebrities personally, its so much easier to project onto them all of our own fears, taboos and unrealistic, phony values, our repression (sex, anger, hatred) and conflicting messages of chastity vs whoredom. i’ll honestly say that i got a little pleasure out of seeing these men eff up. not because i’m sadistic, i feel compassion for them. however, it’s amusing because its a dose of reality. these men are human, they fall. and as a community, we don’t know how to act. the lives of celebrities take our attention away from our own shortcomings and let us focus on someone else’s mess with no real consequence. [a muddy conscience doesn't count. most of us sleep with one of those peacefully every night.]

a moment of failure or loss doesn’t elicit compassion and empathy in our community: just judgment, a myriad of useless opinions and self-righteous sense of entitlement.  “is there nothing sacred anymore?”

Is there nothing sacred anymore?
when celebrities are deified
and we’re still calling some countries third world
and crimes against little ones
are punished with little laws

and girls are taught to hide their curves
as though they’re flaws
and other girls are taught to expose them
but not own them

and boys are taught they can own it all

Is there nothing sacred anymore?
in the 21st century
and I still get followed ’round in stores
and governments are using our money for
reasons other than what they say they’re using it for
and small countries fold as their
big debt keeps on growing and
silent pain is golden under the guise of religion

and boys are taught they can own it all

Is there nothing sacred anymore?
well maybe there never was, at all

“Sacred” by amel larrieux

I realized recently that while I might want to be a producer, at this point in my life I am a consumer (sigh), and one of the things that I consume most voraciously is podcast fiction.

As far as I know, there is no month/week/day set aside to those that give us the fruit of their time and efforts so generously, so I would like to take a moment to say thanks, and maybe encourage others to do the same. I am proclaiming December to be IPAM. Are you with me?

If you have listened to an author’s podcast and enjoyed it, maybe you could see if they have a print version available. I am sure there is nothing that most authors would appreciate more.

If that isn’t possible, perhaps they have an ebook version available. I know Brand Gamblin’s Tumbler is currently available here in multiple e-formats. Phil Rossi is selling autographed copies of Crescent and limited edition soundtracks here.

If any type of purchasing is not feasible, perhaps you could go to podiobooks, iTunes or the authors site a leave a comment. From the podcasters I’ve talked to, this can greatly help others choose to listen.

Of course, if you happen to live near a podcaster, you could always bake them cookies or take them out to dinner. Unfortunately, this probably wouldn’t work for most of us.

Of course in the end it is up to you how, and even if, you do it. I think I’ll take my own advice and start my thank you list now.

Cheers!

update: If you read the comments, you’ll have noticed that Orion commented that he likes to provide feedback in the form of “listener lines” that many podcasters provide for that exact purpose. Also, somehow I forgot to include that you can also provide financial remuneration for that favored author via podiobooks.com.

“Nobody likes paying taxes, particularly in times of economic stress,” Obama said. “But most Americans meet their responsibilities because they understand that it’s an obligation of citizenship, necessary to pay the costs of our common defense and our mutual well-being.”

• Lael Brainard, nominee for Treasury Undersecretary of International Affairs
• Capricia Marshall, Chief of protocol for the State Department
• Kathleen Sebelius, secretary, Health and Human Services
• Ron Kirk, Trade Representative: The former mayor of Dallas, Tex
• Caroline Atkinson, Treasury Undersecretary of International Affairs
• Tom Daschle, nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Nancy Killefer, nominee, Administration’s Chief Performance Officer
• Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor’s husband
• Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, the man who oversees the IRS

1) On people making more than $250,000.

$338 billion – Bush tax cuts expire
$179 billion – eliminate itemized deduction
$118 billion – capital gains tax hike

Total: $636,000,000,000 /10 years

2) On Businesses:

$17 billion – Reinstate Superfund taxes
$24 billion – tax carried-interest as income
$5 billion – codify “economic substance doctrine”
$61 billion – repeal LIFO
$210 billion – international enforcement, reform deferral, other tax reform
$4 billion – information reporting for rental payments
$5.3 billion – excise tax on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
$3.4 billion – repeal expensing of tangible drilling costs
$62 million – repeal deduction for tertiary injectants
$49 million – repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and natural gas properties
$13 billion – repeal manufacturing tax deduction for oil and natural gas companies
$1 billion – increase to 7 years geological and geophysical amortization period for independent producers
$882 million – eliminate advanced earned income tax credit

Total: $353,000,000,000 /10 years

Last week I started thinking about gifts for Sport’s teacher and daycare workers. Our usual MO is to make a charitable donation, and give a card or certificate explaining the donation, and some homemade chocolate or cookies. I’m partial to the online Gifts that Give More store from the hunger site – they have a wide variety of partner charities and you can print off the certificates yourself. (I highly recommend this for teachers’ gifts by the way – we have had an enthusiastic reaction every time, and I guarantee you it will be more welcome than, say, another coffee mug.)

So I surfed over there to pick something out, and clicked on the category “Literacy and Children’s Education” to see what was featured. The second item shown had a picture of a smiling, round-faced child playing with a wooden train. The caption said, “Help Kindergarteners Living in Jail.”

Wait… what? What? I read it again. And clicked, and read about over a thousand children in Bolivia, living indefinitely in jails, because they have nowhere else to go. And you know, I’m not naive.  I am aware of how lucky we are, I have travelled in a number of developing countries, and I have supported the work of a lot of different charities. But every so often one of these “gifts” stops me in my tracks, and today it was this one.

Kindergarteners. Living. In. Jail. What the hell is wrong with this world?

This is a phrase we hear all to often in today’s business environment.  Many individuals feel they are irreplaceable.  Far too often they found out just the opposite.  It’s surprising when you look at teams where a “core” team member leaves and the team does just fine or in some cases better.  Did the team suffer when that person left – maybe.  Maybe not.  You usually can’t realize the full impact of someone leaving a team until they are gone.  Every team has a “bus number”, or number of people hit by a bus that would cause a team or product to come to a stand still if those members were lost.  Each team is different based on the size of the team and the specialization factor within a team.  By specialization factor I mean certain core areas of a product that a select few people truly understand and work on.  There are many reasons this occurs but some that come to mind quickly are (critical area, very complex stuff, and ownership). 

While I don’t believe you should let anyone work on any part of your application (widget effect) I do believe more than one or two people (based on size of team) should know all of the critical components in your product.  You should always have one or two backups.  This leads me to my next point – and the subject of this post.  Is there a such thing as being irreplaceable?  I believe in certain unique circumstances there are – but normally that is not the case.  If management allows the team to evolve into this scenario – then shame on them. 

My favorite saying is this – “Anyone can be replaced, it’s just a matter of how much and long of an inconvenience it is to replace that person”.  This “replacement factor” also includes experience / knowledge with the product / organization that you simply CANNOT buy on the open market.  So the next time you hear one of the following phrases (or think it yourself) then you might want to reconsider your stance on the subject.

“I can’t be replaced – this system is too complex”.

“It would cost them way too much to replace me”.

“I’m the backbone of this team”. 

Back to the salt mines today…although it wasn’t unsuccessful.  I got my big case taken care of and we surpassed our goal, so all in all it was a good day. 

Conversely, though, I’m achy and my stomach hurts.  I think it’s probably finally just categorically rejecting Thanksgiving. 

On an excellent note, I pulled a couple of recipes from The Jew and the Carrot and I’m making a Jewish feast tomorrow night for our friend John!  J&C is such an awesome blog…it has great recipes and very interesting cultural and religious perspectives.  As a Christian, I think it’s a good idea to learn more about a modern culture that directly descended from the cultural atmosphere in which Christ lived and in which the early church developed.  What interests me most about J&C is the similarities in what we face toward our own religion…the questioning beyond old answers, thinking ethically about items not specifically mentioned in scripture (vegetarian/veganism), the move toward a more organic, simple, authentic life.  I love it. 

I love seeing our generation stop taking the crap that we’ve been fed for so long as truth.  More is not better.  Cheaper is not always better.  Conversely, “stuff,” spending on stuff, is not better.  Quantity matters less than Quality.  Time is more important than Money.  Power is useless in the end.  The newest, shiniest technology isn’t always an advantage.  Sometimes pen and paper is better.

I have hope for our generation; hope that we’ll let go of “stuff” and instead will focus on people, relationships, helping, caring, spending time, creating things, and taking care of ourselves.  The American Dream is not power and prosperity, or, at least, it shouldn’t be.  It’s being able to spend the time you want with those you love without having to worry.  And there’s a hell of a lot more that we could be doing to make those things happen.

Hi all, Trent here with a long-overdue update.

As those of you who have been following The Linux Critic blog for a while now probably already know, I was unemployed for a good chunk of 2009, and one of the things I did to keep myself sharp in the world of technology was this blog.

Well, I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is, I found a job! And it’s a good one! My commute is 45 minutes each way, but it’s for a great company, and I have a lot of autonomy to figure out how to do things, which is the way I like it.

However, the bad news is, I haven’t had the time or inclination to keep up with this blog!

My good friends Joe and Patrick have been kind enough to contribute here and there over the past two months, but I have been dreadfully remiss in tackling some of the topics about which I really still want to write!

So, I want to give some assurances to those of you who have been waiting eagerly for another review, rumination, rescue, or rant (and you know who you are out there ).

One, I’m not abandoning this blog. I put a lot of work into Linux Critic over the summer and fall and I love what it has become, and I think it can become a lot more.

Two, while I won’t be posting three or four articles a week anymore like I had been, I still plan to get into a regular cycle of new posts on a variety of topics I still want to tackle.

Here are a few things I have in mind for upcoming topics if you keep an eye out:

• Ubuntu 9.10 and the upgrade process on my old laptop
• Linux Mint and my main desktop rebuild
• My ongoing search for an Amarok replacement in a world without KDE
• Linux offerings disappearing and reappearing from major PC vendors’ product lists

… and much, much more!

So for those of you still paying attention, thanks for sticking around, and keep watching, there’s more to come!

– Trent

Ich habe schonmal in nem Kurzbeitrag auf die Scheibe hingewiesen, aber ich hab sie heut nochmal beim Einkaufen gehen gehört und mir gedacht, hey, die ist so gut, da kannste ruhig nen ganzen Eintrag draus machen.

Ja, wow, was soll ich sagen? Meiner bescheidenen Meinung nach die verdammt beste Rockplatte 2009. Und das nicht nur weil die vier Jungs Odenwälder sind und damit quasi nen Heimvorteil bei dem bescheidenen Blogautor haben (wollte schon immer mal in der dritten Person von mir reden. Hiermit abgehakt.). Wer mich kennt, weiß, dass ich da nicht so viel drauf gebe. Nein, es ist ganz allein die Musik, die überzeugt – und das auf ganzer Linie. So sehr, dass ich mir die Platte übern Teich hab schicken lassen.

Zum Einstieg empfiehlt es sich, auf die Begeisterung in der Presse hinzuweisen, die die Seifenkistler mit ihren früheren Werken (hier die “Lost Gravity” EP) eingeheimst haben. So schreibt die Visions z.B.:

Eine Riesenüberraschung erreicht uns in Form der EP “Lost Gravity” aus dem Hause Soapbox. Diese extrem kompakte Band aus dem Odenwald scheint alles verinnerlicht zu haben, was in diesem Magazin je als fetter, charmanter und handwerklich progressiver Alternative Rock galt.

Tja, die Visions hat nicht unrecht. Nur, dass sie mit der neuen Platte noch einmal Lichtjahre besser geworden sind.

Insgesamt tummeln sich auf “Odenwald Democracy” 10 Songs, teilweise schon bekannt von der besagten “Lost Gravity”, teilweise ältere Stücke, die sich schon auf früheren Platten (allerdings in schlechterer Qualität und etwas anderen Arrangements) befanden und teilweise Stücke, die zumindest ich noch überhaupt nicht kannte. Hier die Playlist:

1. Raindrops On Baghdington
2. Bloody War On Sunday
3. Come Close
4. Sky Taxi
5. My Time
6. The Hill Where I Lay
7. Mesoscope – No Fish!
8. Produit en cote d’ivoire
9. White Window
10. As It Hurts

Ich geh mal die Songs im einzelnen durch.

1. Raindrops On Baghdington

Zitat Visions: “Raindrops On Baghdington” fusioniert Tool mit Harmful”. Full Ack. Der wohl knackigste Rocksong auf der Platte, verspielt hypnotische Strophen wechseln sich mit rockigem Refrain ab, eingerahmt von einer Melodie, die man nicht so schnell aus dem Ohrwurm-Gedächtnis rausbekommt und abgerundet mit einem krachigen Outro in dem die Jungs aufblitzen lassen, welche Gitarrengewitter einem später im Album noch begegnen werden. Nur ein kleines Manko bleibt: auf besagter Lost Gravity EP war eine leicht anders gemixte Version des Songs vorhanden, die meiner Meinung noch ein bisschen dreckiger und in-your-face war und eine bessere Bridge aufwies. Aber das ist Kleinkram. Hier das Video:

2. Bloody War On Sunday

Verschwirbeltes (ok, das Wort gibt’s nicht…) Gitarrenriff rockt erst mal drauf los, steigert sich in – ja was eigentlich? Schwere Gitarren in etwas Refrainartigem. Man glaubt schon den Song durchschaut zu haben, bis er urplötzlich in einen Ozean von gezupften Prog-Gitarren und kleinen Melodien ausufert. Kurz bevor man denkt, die vier hätten vergessen beim Jammen den Record-Off-Button zu drücken, zieht plötzlich die Intensität wieder an, steigert sich, um dann kurz zu einem Flüstern zu verstummen bevor mächtige Gitarrenwände zuschlagen (sowas wurde von mir gut bekannten Musikern einmal der “Klippenfaktor” genannt… ) und den Song in ein episches Finale führen. Hell yeah! Auch hierzu gibt’s ein Video:

3. Come Close

Beginnt mit einem Helmet-Tool-artigen Gitarrenriff, steigert sich kurz danach aber zu dem vllt. melodischsten Song der Platte. Durchweg vor tonnenschweren Gitarren entwickelt sich hier eine überraschend klare Melodie, die in einem interessanten Gegensatz zu dem restlichen Song steht.  Classic. Kein Video hierzu, aber bei MySpace kann man reinhören. Bester Song der Platte? Vielleicht. Warum ich dann nur so wenig schreibe? Weil, ja weil, writing about music is like dancing… you know. Zumindest bei diesem Song.

4. Sky Taxi

Man wähnt sich plötzlich im alten Orient. Seltsam exotische Gitarrenmelodien, unterlegt mit Drums, die erstmal nicht wirklich in das Schema der ersten drei Songs passen mögen. Dann aber zieht das Ganze merklich an, bis plötzlich eine einsame Trompete erklingt. Doch bevor sich das aufkommende Gefühl eines Morricone-Soundtracks festbeißen kann, brechen die Gitarren mal wieder einen derbe schweren Soundteppich los, der den Song schließlich zu seinem großartigen Finale führt. 10/10.

5. My Time

Mit “My Time” ziehen Soapbox konsequent das durch, was in den vorherigen Songs bereits anklang, aber nicht wirklich zu seiner vollen Entfaltung kam:  das Erzählen einer Geschichte mit Hilfe eines Songs. Dabei beziehe ich mich nicht unbedingt auf den Text (den ich nicht wirklich raushören kann). Vielmehr nimmt einen der Song mit auf eine akustische Reise, die sich von laut nach leise, von intensiv zu verspielt von ausufernd zu hypnotisch bewegt, immer mit dem epischen Schlussteil im Blickfeld. Ganz großes Kino. Apropos Kino:

6. The Hill Where I Lay

Die Visions hat es hier in ihrem Lost Gravity Review mal besser zum Ausdruck gebracht, als ich es je könnte und bezeichnet “The Hill Where I Lay” als

verdammt beste[n] Blackmail-Song, den Blackmail nie geschrieben haben

Ist aber noch so viel mehr als nur ein “Blackmail”-Song, denn Blackmail hatten nie die Eier zu einem so verdammt großartig langem Outro. Song gibts in seiner “Lost Gravity”-Version auf der MySpace-Seite. Die Odenwald Democracy Version ist aber um einiges besser.

7. Mesoscope – No Fish!

Hier bin ich zwiegespalten. Der Song rockt so derbe los, wie nur geht. Behält das Tempo schön bei, wechselt in der Intensität aber bleibt knackig. Dann wechselt er gegen Mitte und wird etwas schwerfälliger. Irgenwie weiß ich nicht was davon halten soll – an manchen Tagen find ich’s großartig, an anderen denk ich “den hätte man einfach nach der Mitte ausfaden sollen…”. Formulieren wir es so: Wenn das der schlechteste Song auf der Platte ist, will ich nur noch Platten mit so Songs!

8. Produit en cote d’ivoire

Mehr oder weniger ein “Lückenfüller”, aber das Wort klingt zu hässlich und gibt in keiner Weise wieder, was der Song sein soll. Großartig gespielt, verträumt, lässt einem Zeit zum Atmen. Schön.

9. White Window

Quote eclipsed:

„Welch eine Kraft verbirgt sich in diesem Track! Welch eine Finesse in den Arrangements! Der Odenwälder Formation SOAPBOX gelingt der Spagat aus alternativem New Artrock und überraschenden Soundspielereien, die auf dem hier präsentierten „White Window“ von seltsam verfremdeten Gitarren bis hin zu ganz kurz eingestreuten Ethno-Vocals reichen.

Nicht viel hinzuzufügen. Außer vielleicht das hier:

10. As It Hurts

Unter Musikbanausen würde das hier als “Ballade” durchgehen. Ist es aber nicht. Spätestens wenn die gezupften Gitarren von einer klagend-wütenden Sologitarre übermalt werden, kommen erste Erinnerungen an die großartigen Aereogramme hoch. Bis diese Assoziationen wieder von den tonnenschweren Gitarrenwänden überrollt werden, die den Song zu seinem grandios epischen Höhepunkt führen. Würdiger Abschluss.

So, es sollte klar geworden sein, dass die Platte schlicht und einfach arschtight gespielte, ernsthafte Ärsche rockende, auf CD gepresste Awesomeness ist, die jeder der mit Mogwai, Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, Dredg, Tool, Helmet auch nur entfernt was anfangen kann (und jeder, der das nicht kann, auch) in seinem Regal stehen haben sollte!

Here’s the catch: Die Jungs haben sich zeitgleich mit der Veröffentlichung der Platte aufgelöst! Life’s bittersweet. Bestellen kann man die Scheibe zwar noch, aber ich weiß nicht wie viele Kopien es noch gibt, oder ob weitere geplant sind, also besser beeilen. Instruktionen zum Bestellvorgang finden sich auf der erwähnten MySpace-Seite.

Because hugging from the front is too lascivious…

Thanks, Jon.

I had an argument with my dad on the phone last night. However, this was not the usual drill “You need to stop spending money!” No, this was about newspapers. The future of print media and the perils of the online world and the talk of pay walls by Rupert Murdoch.

My dad trying to get his head around online content

My dad wanted to be a journalist himself and I imagine if he had taken that route he may be one of the journalists today who refuses to get on board with the online world.

He argued that he didn’t think people actually read the news online and that by putting the content on-line in the first place newspapers were damaging themselves. He did not see my argument that newspapers had no choice but to start putting content online because of the rise in citizen journalism and user-generated-content.They had to compete and move online.

Newspapers online content

I found it interesting that I had had this discussion with my dad the night before our lecture by Robert Andrews, the UK Editor of Paid Content. Today he spoke to us about the boom in advertising revenue online and explained it was better than traditional forms of advertising because it is more measurable so there is no wasted expenditure. He also discussed the possibility of pay walls, a route which Rupert Murdoch is trying to push through. He had some interesting insights on whether people would pay for certain content and suggested that perhaps not all newspaper content online would have the same level of difficulty getting people to pay.

The video below is an interesting interview with Rupert Murdoch about pay walls.

Paid Content’s PCUK/Harris Interactive poll on consumers willingness to pay for online news showed some quite worrying results if Murdoch is serious about trying to make readers pay for online content.

74% said they would find another free site if their favourite news site began charging for content.

Just 5% said they would pay and continue reading that news online.

If readers were forced to pay it was found they would pay as little as possible with 72% saying they would pay less than £10 for a yearly subscription.

Compare this abysmally low price to the annual fee charged by The Guardian for a seven-day subscription which is £308.69.

These figures do not appear to support pay walls.

Encouragingly though they also found that 48% would pay for online news if it included a free or discounted newspaper subscription.

The argument Robert Andrews made was that it may be speciality content that people will be more willing to pay for, news that is different and not just what everyone else is churning out.

The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal already have partial pay walls on speciality content people are willing to pay for in the business and financial world and they offer subscription deals such as standard online, premium online, just newspaper or newspaper and online combined.

They can get away with charging people because of the high quality reliable reports they produce which are written by respected journalists who are experts in their field.

What about content that is not quite so specialised, will people ever pay for this content?

Perhaps pay walls will make journalists improve as they realise that in order for people to want to read their articles or even pay for them they have to be of a certain quality that you cannot get elsewhere.

The argument with my dad was not brought to a conclusion. He said he would step off his soapbox but would not agree that people were moving to online news.

Perhaps we will always have newspapers. Going into the industry I would like to think so. But then again as Robert Andrews said, have some savvy editors like Alan Rusbridger already anticipated the death of the newspaper?

When the Guardian moved to the Berliner format and they bought a new printing press, Alan Rusbridger is to have said that this would be the last printing press they would buy.

A reflection on the future of the industry or did he really believe in the longevity of that printing press?

The future of the print industry is an intriguing one. Economic figures so not look promising but for me the future without newspapers does not either. I think I may agree with my dad on this one point. Newspapers will never disappear entirely.

What I will add to his comment is that newspapers will, are and have to adapt to a world which is moving online.

As for pay walls.

Watch this space….

Catch Robert Andrews on Twitter @RobertAndrews

I am sick of companies disrespecting me. I’m done with them.

Many of the chain stores want my Christmas money, but will not acknowledge Christmas. That exploits me and is the ultimate insult to the true meaning of the holiday.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ.

Christmas is not a free for all spending spree for no just cause. Hello?

The AFA was kind enough to post their naughty and nice list to help inform us all which stores not to shop at.

Don’t stop, however, with just not shopping at their store. That won’t do. They will merely chalk it up to the bad economy. You must call or email them using the information provided by the AFA and let them know WHY you will not be shopping at their store.

If they want our Christmas money, they need to participate in Christmas. It’s that simple.

If you really want to have some fun, make sure you cheerfully tell all checkers and cashiers Merry Christmas this year. You’ll be surprised how many will look at you as if you just insulted their Mother.

Start your boycott of these stores with the black friday specials… and unless they change their policy, DO NOT SHOP THERE THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON.

The American Family Association posts the following on their site:

These companies have banned “Christmas” from their retail ads, in-store promotions or television commercials.

Please take time to let them know you are offended by their anti-Christian and anti-Christmas bias. Their contact information is below.

We cannot stress to strongly how important it is for you to be firm, yet very kind in your correspondence with these companies. Please be respectful and choose your words wisely.

In addition, companies marked with an asterisk* have gone so far as to substitute the phrase “Holiday or Dream trees” instead of “Christmas trees” in their promotions.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been following publishing industry news about how romance giant, Harlequin, has branched out to self-publishing and e-publishing.

As a business communicator, I see how the world has adjusted, and still is, adjusting to the various means and trends of communicating (e-print, e-news, INTERNET, hello!). IMHO, it’s a given and bottom-line advantageous for corporations to rethink how they do business and communicate.

And as an aspiring romance author, I believe this holds true for any other company, with stockholders (i.e. publishers).

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the standard publishing tradition of receiving an advance and royalties for one’s hard work and talent.

However, I am not opposed to having my work published by an only-digital publisher such as Samhain, Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave, and Loose ID–to name a few (although Samhain and Ellora’s Cave are doing print). These e-publishers allow authors who may never publish traditionally, the chance to have their work published and their talent displayed.

I’ve been following self-publishing and have friends who have gone that route and have become successful. They did so because they couldn’t find a traditional publisher (or agent) willing to take the chance on their work.

I’m sure we’ve heard plenty of stories how a self-published author, who was scoffed by traditional publishers, goes on to make millions. That’s great and I’m happy for them.

But I’m also happy for the author who, after self-publishing, receives accolades and (guess what?), an agent—after their book sold a few thousand copies. This is a monumental feat for pre-published authors who have developed personal relationships with the big “R”—rejection letters. It shows determination, confidence and resilience.

I’m not sold on publishers that offer to help “self” publish, but charge a large fee and want half the royalties (i.e. Harlequin Horizons, who have subsequently changed their name to DellArte Press). If I’m going to self publish, I’d like to do the work and reap the benefits.

As with anything, you have to weigh the good and bad. With self-publishing and digital publishing, you have to be aware of the pitfalls and disadvantages. Do your homework. Talk to people who have been through the process, just as you would talk to authors who have dealt with certain traditional publishers.

I’m not looking for millions. (But if they come, hey that’s a different story!) I’m looking for a nice bottom line that my business partners (agent, publishers) and I can enjoy. My main goal is to offer romance readers what they want—a story that makes you sigh, cry and beg for more.