Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Hate and the Art of Oppression
I learned hate. When I was a child, my mother always commented on how sweet I was; nothing unique about it, most mothers think their children are sweet- most children are, in my experience. In school, I was poor, geeky, gangly, unpopular, quiet, smart, and generally an outsider. The other children saw to it that I became intimately aware of my differences, my flaws, and my shortcomings. I was given to the wolves, and the wolves taught me rage, injustice, pain, and disgust.
This is not a unique story. Lord of the Flies, and countless other stories, songs, movies, books, and lessons, have taught us all that these are not instructions unknown to previous generations. If nothing else, we share with all other humans our indoctrination in violence and hate at the hands of one another.
Something about us seeks to defeat the different, conquer the unknown, whether it be by naming it, or killing it. There are lectures by Prof. Robert Sapolsky on the neurobiology of primate sexuality, where he talks about Composite faces. It turns out that the more individuals used to make a composite face, the more attractive the face is rated during testing. Sapolsky says we seek out others that are not so similar to us that they might be family, but not so different that they are of a different species. Our most basic instincts- to mate- are wired for "normal", "average", "sameness", why should anyone be surprised most aspects of our culture mimic that compulsive yearning?
Atheists scare people. They are seen as immoral, untrustworthy, degenerate, different, and unknowable. The majority of people in the world profess some religion- even some people that call themselves "Atheists" still speak of spirituality. The scared, mistrustful, masses react with aggression to those they see as fundamentally opposed to their "way of life".
Atheists make up as much as 12, or even 15, percent of the population (depending on how you define it and which surveys {like this or this} you look at). We are a part of this country, and we are not to be feared. Anyone who knows 10 people knows someone who would describe themselves as non-religious- whether they use a term like "Atheist", "Agnostic", "Secular", or something else.
Hate is a dangerous thing. It can be useful, spurring someone to do more than they might otherwise. Unfortunately, that can mean the difference between failure and accomplishment, or arguing and killing. Fear, biology, and tradition tell us to fear the invaders from over the hill- after all, they are who will come in the night to steal our mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, mules, and food. This fear, often without any conscious effort, easily turns into hate; hate we pass on to our children, who pass it on to their peers.
In 1984, the year Dan White was released from prison, there was a documentary about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold an elected position in the United States. That Documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk is current up at HULU. It is a staggering example of what can happen when people come together, despite their differences, and the tragedy one hateful person can inflict upon a community. It is a lesson, and a warning.
For Atheists out there, pay close attention to the speech Harvey Milk is giving after Proposition 6 is voted down (at roughly 47 minutes in).
[For those who couldn't hear it, what Jerry Brown says to President Carter is "Reagan already endorsed it, so I think it's safe."]
"A lot of people joined us and rejected Proposition 6, and now we owe them something. We owe them to continue the education campaign that took place. We must destroy the myths once and for all, shatter them. We must continue to speak out. And, most importantly, most importantly, every gay person MUST come out!
"As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends- if indeed they are your friends. You must tell your neighbors. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in.
"And, once they realize that we are- indeed- their children, that we are- indeed- everywhere; Every Myth, Every Lie, Every Innuendo, will be destroyed once and for all. And once, once, you do, you will feel so much better!"
For Atheists and the non-religious, replace "gay"- in that speech- with the word you use to describe yourself.
Don't let the cycle continue, don't allow the fear and the hate to thrive- like they so readily do, in the darkness of secrecy: stand up and be counted. Singly we are but one or two, here or there; Together we are everyone, United we are everywhere.
I am a brother, an uncle, a son, an aspiring writer, and a person. My Name is Thomas Delaney Hand, I am an Atheist and a Skeptic.
Read More...
This is not a unique story. Lord of the Flies, and countless other stories, songs, movies, books, and lessons, have taught us all that these are not instructions unknown to previous generations. If nothing else, we share with all other humans our indoctrination in violence and hate at the hands of one another.
Something about us seeks to defeat the different, conquer the unknown, whether it be by naming it, or killing it. There are lectures by Prof. Robert Sapolsky on the neurobiology of primate sexuality, where he talks about Composite faces. It turns out that the more individuals used to make a composite face, the more attractive the face is rated during testing. Sapolsky says we seek out others that are not so similar to us that they might be family, but not so different that they are of a different species. Our most basic instincts- to mate- are wired for "normal", "average", "sameness", why should anyone be surprised most aspects of our culture mimic that compulsive yearning?
Atheists scare people. They are seen as immoral, untrustworthy, degenerate, different, and unknowable. The majority of people in the world profess some religion- even some people that call themselves "Atheists" still speak of spirituality. The scared, mistrustful, masses react with aggression to those they see as fundamentally opposed to their "way of life".
Atheists make up as much as 12, or even 15, percent of the population (depending on how you define it and which surveys {like this or this} you look at). We are a part of this country, and we are not to be feared. Anyone who knows 10 people knows someone who would describe themselves as non-religious- whether they use a term like "Atheist", "Agnostic", "Secular", or something else.
Hate is a dangerous thing. It can be useful, spurring someone to do more than they might otherwise. Unfortunately, that can mean the difference between failure and accomplishment, or arguing and killing. Fear, biology, and tradition tell us to fear the invaders from over the hill- after all, they are who will come in the night to steal our mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, mules, and food. This fear, often without any conscious effort, easily turns into hate; hate we pass on to our children, who pass it on to their peers.
In 1984, the year Dan White was released from prison, there was a documentary about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold an elected position in the United States. That Documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk is current up at HULU. It is a staggering example of what can happen when people come together, despite their differences, and the tragedy one hateful person can inflict upon a community. It is a lesson, and a warning.
For Atheists out there, pay close attention to the speech Harvey Milk is giving after Proposition 6 is voted down (at roughly 47 minutes in).
[For those who couldn't hear it, what Jerry Brown says to President Carter is "Reagan already endorsed it, so I think it's safe."]
"A lot of people joined us and rejected Proposition 6, and now we owe them something. We owe them to continue the education campaign that took place. We must destroy the myths once and for all, shatter them. We must continue to speak out. And, most importantly, most importantly, every gay person MUST come out!
"As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends- if indeed they are your friends. You must tell your neighbors. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in.
"And, once they realize that we are- indeed- their children, that we are- indeed- everywhere; Every Myth, Every Lie, Every Innuendo, will be destroyed once and for all. And once, once, you do, you will feel so much better!"
For Atheists and the non-religious, replace "gay"- in that speech- with the word you use to describe yourself.
Don't let the cycle continue, don't allow the fear and the hate to thrive- like they so readily do, in the darkness of secrecy: stand up and be counted. Singly we are but one or two, here or there; Together we are everyone, United we are everywhere.
I am a brother, an uncle, a son, an aspiring writer, and a person. My Name is Thomas Delaney Hand, I am an Atheist and a Skeptic.
Read More...
Do Me A Favor
If you're tired of my rabid pro-Antitheist views (especially if you or someone you know is a creationist) take a look at this:
It's by a christian for christians.
Then go read the article where I first saw it: Bad Astronomy Blog
Read More...
It's by a christian for christians.
Then go read the article where I first saw it: Bad Astronomy Blog
Read More...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Cancelled TV Shows
I watch a bunch of old canceled dramas, cause they're on Hulu, and because you never know- Firefly was canceled, and it was awesome. Currently, I'm watching New Amsterdam. The second episode, I figured out whodunit in about 4 minutes.
The premise is John Amsterdam was ensorcelled in the 1600s to live until he found his true love and his soul joined with hers, at which point he would become mortal again. Obviously, he's only just now found her, and he's a detective in the NYPD. Yeah, seemed like a shitty romantic action movie plot to me, too; especially when his true love turns out to be a down-and-out-on-love separated ER Doc.
I'm on episode 4. They're talking to a rape victim who escaped before she was killed. It's about as convincing as Santa Claus. And the FEMALE DETECTIVE, when the rape victim says "and then he did it" says "He penetrated you." Not a question, a statement. She had to spell it out to the victim at the hospital! So not a minute later the victim says "I kneed him in his... you-know." Does the Female Detective, whom we know to be concerned she understands the victim correctly given the earlier statement, spell out that the "you-know" is a PENIS? Nope.
So glad this show got canceled, I hope whoever wrote that scene died after a long and excruciating bout of dick cancer.
(I told my sister about it, she asked if they were going to use that bit to illustrate something. I said they wouldn't. They didn't.)
Read More...
The premise is John Amsterdam was ensorcelled in the 1600s to live until he found his true love and his soul joined with hers, at which point he would become mortal again. Obviously, he's only just now found her, and he's a detective in the NYPD. Yeah, seemed like a shitty romantic action movie plot to me, too; especially when his true love turns out to be a down-and-out-on-love separated ER Doc.
I'm on episode 4. They're talking to a rape victim who escaped before she was killed. It's about as convincing as Santa Claus. And the FEMALE DETECTIVE, when the rape victim says "and then he did it" says "He penetrated you." Not a question, a statement. She had to spell it out to the victim at the hospital! So not a minute later the victim says "I kneed him in his... you-know." Does the Female Detective, whom we know to be concerned she understands the victim correctly given the earlier statement, spell out that the "you-know" is a PENIS? Nope.
So glad this show got canceled, I hope whoever wrote that scene died after a long and excruciating bout of dick cancer.
(I told my sister about it, she asked if they were going to use that bit to illustrate something. I said they wouldn't. They didn't.)
Read More...
Skepticism, Atheism, and New Keyboards
Giving the new keyboard a whirl- let's hope the old keyboard was the problem, and not the port...
In a recent episode of HOUSE, a patient says "If there's no reason for all the bad things that have happened to me, this isn't a world I want to live in." House calls her an "idiot", which is right and wrong.
The episode deals with the Death Cat phenomenon. The episode does a good-ish job of explaining the "phenomenon"- the explanation being the cat seeking warmth. I'd like to extend this a bit.
DEATH CAT is a common happening, look online and you'll run into a psychic cat who can predict death. The problems with this reasoning are many. One, everyone dies, so anyone the cat lays down next to will die, eventually. Second, it's usually at a nursing home, a leper colony, or somewhere else where the likelihood of dying is vastly greater than normal- meaning the likelihood of randomly "predicting" deaths will be higher, too. Third, confirmation bias rears its ugly head- who remember everyone the cat lays down next to? So, the cat lays down to poor old Mrs Murphy and she dies three days leter, it's spooky. The cat then lays near old Werner Von Bruneiner, and he dies a week later. The cat next lies near Peggy for a night, and Penny for a night, and Gladus for a night, and nothing happens- but Peggy dies three years later, and Penny four and a half years later, and Gladus dies a decade later (because they're fucking old and decrepit enough to be in a Nursing Home!). Those three are non-events, when six months later, the cat lays next to Jonas McGrery and he dies the next day, everyone remembers Werner and Mrs Murphy; but they forget about Peggy and Penny. Or when the cat has a night by Mr. Davidson, and then he dies 3 months later, they remember the night the DEATH CAT slept with him. These aren't "predictions" they're coincidences, and the logical fallacy is confusing chronology (the order of events) with causality (how events influence one another).
Causality and chronology are different, somewhat obviously. The cat lays down next to the Elderly, then (on an ambiguous time line) the Elderly die, and it's less obvious for some people. Just because someone spilled salt (a widely used seasoning, used billions of times a day by people around the world) today, doesn't mean that's what caused them to break a finger the next day. What about the other hundreds of millions who didn't break finger, or the tens of millions that nothing very bad happened to, after they spilled salt? The fact is that bad things happen, and there are a lot of seconds in the day, and a lot of people in the world, for bad things to happen to for no reason. House says, about the cat, it's not really a phenomenon as there are millions of nursing homes, and tens of millions of cats at nursing homes, and it's no wonder that one of them coincidentally sleeps next to a couple of people who die.
Same goes for all superstitions- or other supernatural reasons (i.e. God, Satan, prayer)- for why good/bad things happen. The math is pretty convincing:
More than 6 BILLION (6,000,000,000) people on the planet, at the moment.
86,400 seconds in one 24 hour period (somewhat less than an actual day, astronomically speaking; but still)
That means, there are (# of People TIMES # of possible seconds for something to go bad) 518,400,000,000,000 chances for something to happen to any one person any one second, each day. (518.4 TRILLION)
If there's a 0.000000001 (that's one billionth) chance that something "unimaginably" horrible happens to any one person, any one second. (This would be extremely rarely bad: 1 in 1 billion chance.)
Which would mean, it could happen 518,400 times EVERY DAY.
Half a million horribly unimaginable events Every Day.
That's completely ignoring intelligent motivators- people wearing seatbelts, people using condoms, people generally doing things to consciously avoid horribly bad accidents; and the people actively trying to force unimaginably bad events onto someone else, by shooting them, for example.
Still, the sheer numbers are staggering. Even if it must take a full minute, there are 8.6 trillion chances; an hour makes it 144 billion; a day makes it 6 billion...
In other words, for an event that takes a whole 24 hours, if it's a 1 in 1 billion event, it happens 6 times every day, on average.
Whether that's a lot or a little would seem to be an extension of "the glass half full" debate.
House was wrong on one point, the girl isn't an idiot. She's stupid. Willfully, or perhaps even unintentionally, incapable of understanding- House gives her multiple examples and explanations throughout the show, which she then dismisses with some hokey bullshit.
I believe House is wrong on another point- he gives her shit, provides facts to refute her bullshit, and then makes his point, at which time she essentially says "but I still believe" and he just looks at her mysteriously and leaves. Why not say "So, what you're saying is 'Despite your facts and proof, I refuse to acknowledge reality?' Okay, that's fine, stupid. I refuse to believe you're sick, despite all the evidence to the contrary." Obviously that fucks up the narrative, a little, but he doesn't even begin the rebuttal, he lets her slide, giving her the last word. Which is chicken-shit true-believer pandering by another name, in my view.
Finally, I'd like to address her actual statement...
Uhm, holy fucking cock-smack by the penis of a million foot tall Zeus, Batman!?
It would be astounding if it was just a bit of "poetic" dialog on a TV show I watch. It's fucking unbelievably retarded, and scary, that I've heard people say that before. It's worse that they were proud of saying it!
How narcissistic do you have to be to refuse to live in a word that isn't about you? How selfish to need all of reality to be focused on you!
And don't give me that shit about "I don't think it's about me, I think it's about all of us!" or the more science-fictiony "I think it's about all conscious living beings" or the even more hippy "I think it's about all living things". That's not altruistic sentiment, because by being about a group (life, or conscious living things, or us) the speaker is a part of, it's about the speaker.
I swear these people don't go back and think about things even AFTER they spew them out of their pecker checkers! ("Mmmm, mmm, this one tastes fine!" for anyone lacking the proper mental visual.)
It's bad enough not to THINK BEFORE SPEAKING; how much worse is it to not think even AFTER speaking?
The people who say that kind of shit aren't serene peaceful supplicants, yearning for truth. They're arrogant fucking whores, demanding reality conform to their wishes. They're spoiled brats who never really understood that "Life isn't fair", and they are not princes/ses. These are people who don't fundamentally understand the difference between make-believe and reality. The exact same kind of people who strap bombs to their chests for some arbitrary number of sexually inexperienced children to molest in their fantasy cloud palaces.
I advocate not letting these people get away with feeling good about themselves. I advocate sticking it to them, and forcing people to deal with reality, not their misguided and warped perception of it. I advocate ridicule of anyone who refuses to acknowledge objective evidence and rigorous proof. I advocate scorning those who are too intellectually lazy, and/or dishonest, to try understanding the crap they are spewing.
There's a reason "god is in the gaps" and it ain't 'cause he makes sense...
Read More...
In a recent episode of HOUSE, a patient says "If there's no reason for all the bad things that have happened to me, this isn't a world I want to live in." House calls her an "idiot", which is right and wrong.
The episode deals with the Death Cat phenomenon. The episode does a good-ish job of explaining the "phenomenon"- the explanation being the cat seeking warmth. I'd like to extend this a bit.
DEATH CAT is a common happening, look online and you'll run into a psychic cat who can predict death. The problems with this reasoning are many. One, everyone dies, so anyone the cat lays down next to will die, eventually. Second, it's usually at a nursing home, a leper colony, or somewhere else where the likelihood of dying is vastly greater than normal- meaning the likelihood of randomly "predicting" deaths will be higher, too. Third, confirmation bias rears its ugly head- who remember everyone the cat lays down next to? So, the cat lays down to poor old Mrs Murphy and she dies three days leter, it's spooky. The cat then lays near old Werner Von Bruneiner, and he dies a week later. The cat next lies near Peggy for a night, and Penny for a night, and Gladus for a night, and nothing happens- but Peggy dies three years later, and Penny four and a half years later, and Gladus dies a decade later (because they're fucking old and decrepit enough to be in a Nursing Home!). Those three are non-events, when six months later, the cat lays next to Jonas McGrery and he dies the next day, everyone remembers Werner and Mrs Murphy; but they forget about Peggy and Penny. Or when the cat has a night by Mr. Davidson, and then he dies 3 months later, they remember the night the DEATH CAT slept with him. These aren't "predictions" they're coincidences, and the logical fallacy is confusing chronology (the order of events) with causality (how events influence one another).
Causality and chronology are different, somewhat obviously. The cat lays down next to the Elderly, then (on an ambiguous time line) the Elderly die, and it's less obvious for some people. Just because someone spilled salt (a widely used seasoning, used billions of times a day by people around the world) today, doesn't mean that's what caused them to break a finger the next day. What about the other hundreds of millions who didn't break finger, or the tens of millions that nothing very bad happened to, after they spilled salt? The fact is that bad things happen, and there are a lot of seconds in the day, and a lot of people in the world, for bad things to happen to for no reason. House says, about the cat, it's not really a phenomenon as there are millions of nursing homes, and tens of millions of cats at nursing homes, and it's no wonder that one of them coincidentally sleeps next to a couple of people who die.
Same goes for all superstitions- or other supernatural reasons (i.e. God, Satan, prayer)- for why good/bad things happen. The math is pretty convincing:
More than 6 BILLION (6,000,000,000) people on the planet, at the moment.
86,400 seconds in one 24 hour period (somewhat less than an actual day, astronomically speaking; but still)
That means, there are (# of People TIMES # of possible seconds for something to go bad) 518,400,000,000,000 chances for something to happen to any one person any one second, each day. (518.4 TRILLION)
If there's a 0.000000001 (that's one billionth) chance that something "unimaginably" horrible happens to any one person, any one second. (This would be extremely rarely bad: 1 in 1 billion chance.)
Which would mean, it could happen 518,400 times EVERY DAY.
Half a million horribly unimaginable events Every Day.
That's completely ignoring intelligent motivators- people wearing seatbelts, people using condoms, people generally doing things to consciously avoid horribly bad accidents; and the people actively trying to force unimaginably bad events onto someone else, by shooting them, for example.
Still, the sheer numbers are staggering. Even if it must take a full minute, there are 8.6 trillion chances; an hour makes it 144 billion; a day makes it 6 billion...
In other words, for an event that takes a whole 24 hours, if it's a 1 in 1 billion event, it happens 6 times every day, on average.
Whether that's a lot or a little would seem to be an extension of "the glass half full" debate.
House was wrong on one point, the girl isn't an idiot. She's stupid. Willfully, or perhaps even unintentionally, incapable of understanding- House gives her multiple examples and explanations throughout the show, which she then dismisses with some hokey bullshit.
I believe House is wrong on another point- he gives her shit, provides facts to refute her bullshit, and then makes his point, at which time she essentially says "but I still believe" and he just looks at her mysteriously and leaves. Why not say "So, what you're saying is 'Despite your facts and proof, I refuse to acknowledge reality?' Okay, that's fine, stupid. I refuse to believe you're sick, despite all the evidence to the contrary." Obviously that fucks up the narrative, a little, but he doesn't even begin the rebuttal, he lets her slide, giving her the last word. Which is chicken-shit true-believer pandering by another name, in my view.
Finally, I'd like to address her actual statement...
Uhm, holy fucking cock-smack by the penis of a million foot tall Zeus, Batman!?
It would be astounding if it was just a bit of "poetic" dialog on a TV show I watch. It's fucking unbelievably retarded, and scary, that I've heard people say that before. It's worse that they were proud of saying it!
How narcissistic do you have to be to refuse to live in a word that isn't about you? How selfish to need all of reality to be focused on you!
And don't give me that shit about "I don't think it's about me, I think it's about all of us!" or the more science-fictiony "I think it's about all conscious living beings" or the even more hippy "I think it's about all living things". That's not altruistic sentiment, because by being about a group (life, or conscious living things, or us) the speaker is a part of, it's about the speaker.
I swear these people don't go back and think about things even AFTER they spew them out of their pecker checkers! ("Mmmm, mmm, this one tastes fine!" for anyone lacking the proper mental visual.)
It's bad enough not to THINK BEFORE SPEAKING; how much worse is it to not think even AFTER speaking?
The people who say that kind of shit aren't serene peaceful supplicants, yearning for truth. They're arrogant fucking whores, demanding reality conform to their wishes. They're spoiled brats who never really understood that "Life isn't fair", and they are not princes/ses. These are people who don't fundamentally understand the difference between make-believe and reality. The exact same kind of people who strap bombs to their chests for some arbitrary number of sexually inexperienced children to molest in their fantasy cloud palaces.
I advocate not letting these people get away with feeling good about themselves. I advocate sticking it to them, and forcing people to deal with reality, not their misguided and warped perception of it. I advocate ridicule of anyone who refuses to acknowledge objective evidence and rigorous proof. I advocate scorning those who are too intellectually lazy, and/or dishonest, to try understanding the crap they are spewing.
There's a reason "god is in the gaps" and it ain't 'cause he makes sense...
Read More...
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Culture for the Masstards
On this addition of the attempt to bring us all to the same baseline, Abbot and Costello. (A treat to make up for an all-text CftM earlier this week).
According to the Wiki-goodness:
Abbot (the tall skinny straight man) and Costello (the shorter plumper laugh getter) came out of burlesque*. Each had spent many years in comedy before they met. They first worked together in 1935, when other performers in the show- including Abbott's wife- advised a permanent pairing. In 1938 the appeared on Radio, the next a month their most popular sketch, "Who's on First?", debuted for a national radio audience.
In 1941, their second movie, Buck Privates, made them stars. In 1942, Abbott and Costello were the top box office draw with a reported take of $10 million. They would remain a top ten box office attraction until 1952.
All the classics:
And for those that just wanna see it: (from the above)
* Burlesque was a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. Prior to Burlesque becoming associated with striptease, it was a form of musical and theatrical parody in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqué style very different from that for which it was originally known
Read More...
According to the Wiki-goodness:
Abbot (the tall skinny straight man) and Costello (the shorter plumper laugh getter) came out of burlesque*. Each had spent many years in comedy before they met. They first worked together in 1935, when other performers in the show- including Abbott's wife- advised a permanent pairing. In 1938 the appeared on Radio, the next a month their most popular sketch, "Who's on First?", debuted for a national radio audience.
In 1941, their second movie, Buck Privates, made them stars. In 1942, Abbott and Costello were the top box office draw with a reported take of $10 million. They would remain a top ten box office attraction until 1952.
All the classics:
And for those that just wanna see it: (from the above)
* Burlesque was a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. Prior to Burlesque becoming associated with striptease, it was a form of musical and theatrical parody in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqué style very different from that for which it was originally known
Read More...
Friday, March 20, 2009
Quote
Again, just a quote I want to keep somewhere searchable, not one I agree with per se.
one of my professors once said, "Any God who can be killed ought to be killed." To which I would add, any faith that can be undermined should be undermined. A God or a faith that needs you or me to prop it up has already died long ago. You do not need to defend a living God. Only dead gods seem to require that.
– John Shelby Spong
Read More...
one of my professors once said, "Any God who can be killed ought to be killed." To which I would add, any faith that can be undermined should be undermined. A God or a faith that needs you or me to prop it up has already died long ago. You do not need to defend a living God. Only dead gods seem to require that.
– John Shelby Spong
Read More...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Before the Music Dies
I just finished watching the documentary BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES, on Hulu. It's a look at the state of the "Music Industry" circa 2005/6. As always, there are some points I disagree with; but overall it's an excellent film. Go watch it.
Some points/thoughts I had while watching:
Watch this movie, Before the Music Dies, and watch how people curse. Cursing is normal and natural. Restriction of cursing is understandable, I suppose, but absolute prohibition of it is stupid.
Radio is about percentages: if you retain 51% of the population, you're a winner. As you make a profit, you can lose that percentage. It's the dollars, stupid.
Brendan Marsalis makes the point that Coltrane and others came out and were hated for 5 yrs. Today, you don't have 5 years for your sound to catch on, gain fans, and become something-through the radio markets and "traditional" Record Company Route. "If it's really new, the people won't like it because they won't know what it is."
First half is "Why is it shitty, right now?" Second is, "Why it doesn't have to be, and how it isn't."
Here's the sad fact: Radio, that industry the record execs once loved for getting their content out to the masses, taught us all that music was free. The consumer knows why ads are there; but ads are an annoyance, not a means of funding the radio station. Sure, we all know the deal; but it takes thought to connect from These Annoying Ass Ads to "Oh, that annoyance is okay, because without it, we wouldn't have the radio." In fact, that's not the case, exactly; look at Public Radio, after all. That instruction "Radio is Free (ish)" became music is free, and with the availability of easy copying it became downloading/sharing without guilt.
How is this for a business model? Instead of a million people out there trying to get famous, get rich, and "be somebody" (whatever that means); artists being concerned with being artists. Musicians focused on making music; and when the record company comes and says "Hey, we can do something for you," saying "You can have this album, and distribute it, and do your thing, and leave us the hell alone." Basically, forcing the record company to accept your terms, and not vice versa. It takes a hell of a will to do; and I'm not saying it's the smartest move- but it's the way to remain "pure", "true", "uncorrupted" while still taking every authentic advantage that comes along.
"There are three types of artist. The first is the one who hurts to do what they do. ... The second is the type who tries to be like the first. The third type is one who does whatever they're told." -Erykha Badu
"I don't think that we need to panic; I just think we need to teach our children well." -Dave Mathhews
"It's important to sound like You, to feel like You, to be like You." -Erykha Badu
Read More...
Some points/thoughts I had while watching:
Watch this movie, Before the Music Dies, and watch how people curse. Cursing is normal and natural. Restriction of cursing is understandable, I suppose, but absolute prohibition of it is stupid.
Radio is about percentages: if you retain 51% of the population, you're a winner. As you make a profit, you can lose that percentage. It's the dollars, stupid.
Brendan Marsalis makes the point that Coltrane and others came out and were hated for 5 yrs. Today, you don't have 5 years for your sound to catch on, gain fans, and become something-through the radio markets and "traditional" Record Company Route. "If it's really new, the people won't like it because they won't know what it is."
First half is "Why is it shitty, right now?" Second is, "Why it doesn't have to be, and how it isn't."
Here's the sad fact: Radio, that industry the record execs once loved for getting their content out to the masses, taught us all that music was free. The consumer knows why ads are there; but ads are an annoyance, not a means of funding the radio station. Sure, we all know the deal; but it takes thought to connect from These Annoying Ass Ads to "Oh, that annoyance is okay, because without it, we wouldn't have the radio." In fact, that's not the case, exactly; look at Public Radio, after all. That instruction "Radio is Free (ish)" became music is free, and with the availability of easy copying it became downloading/sharing without guilt.
How is this for a business model? Instead of a million people out there trying to get famous, get rich, and "be somebody" (whatever that means); artists being concerned with being artists. Musicians focused on making music; and when the record company comes and says "Hey, we can do something for you," saying "You can have this album, and distribute it, and do your thing, and leave us the hell alone." Basically, forcing the record company to accept your terms, and not vice versa. It takes a hell of a will to do; and I'm not saying it's the smartest move- but it's the way to remain "pure", "true", "uncorrupted" while still taking every authentic advantage that comes along.
"There are three types of artist. The first is the one who hurts to do what they do. ... The second is the type who tries to be like the first. The third type is one who does whatever they're told." -Erykha Badu
"I don't think that we need to panic; I just think we need to teach our children well." -Dave Mathhews
"It's important to sound like You, to feel like You, to be like You." -Erykha Badu
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Fuck.
Now, I don't think it's some coordinated movement against Climate Change Activists; but local police getting scared by the big smelly hippies? That seems plausible- after all, you never know how many of them have drugs, or gay porn.
(UPDATE/Clarity: I do imagine they may have been scared of some sort of eco-terrorism, and being spurred to ensure it didn't happen by wealthy business people. I still don't think it was a conspiracy; merely stupid.)
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Quotes
I need a place I can put quotes, for quick retrieval. I don't necessarily believe these quotes; but they interest me in some way. In other words, ignore this, it's just a brain dump.
from here.
"The real rulers in Washington are invisible, and exercise power from behind the scenes."
- Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, 1952
"Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the Field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it."
- Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom (1913)
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in banks."
- John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the Government, to whom it properly belongs."
- Thomas Jefferson
"If the people only understood the rank injustice of our Money and Banking system, there would be a revolution before morning."
- Andrew Jackson
"There is an evil which ought to be guarded against in the indefinite accumulation of property from the capacity of holding it in perpetuity by…corporations. The power of all corporations ought to be limited in this respect. The growing wealth acquired by them never fails to be a source of abuses."
- James Madison
"In this point of the case the question is distinctly presented whether the people of the United States are to govern through representatives chosen by their unbiased suffrages or whether the money and power of a great corporation are to be secretly exerted to influence their judgment and control their decisions."
- Andrew Jackson
"I am more than ever convinced of the dangers to which the free and unbiased exercise of political opinion -- the only sure foundation and safeguard of republican government -- would be exposed by any further increase of the already overgrown influence of corporate authorities."
- Martin Van Buren, Eighth President of the United States
"As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters."
- Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"There exists a shadowy Government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself."
- Senator Daniel K. Inouye
"You don’t have a clue of what’s going on in the government, and neither do the American people. If they did, there would be a revolution in this country.”
- Texas governor and quintessential political insider John Connally
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from here.
"The real rulers in Washington are invisible, and exercise power from behind the scenes."
- Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, 1952
"Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the Field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it."
- Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom (1913)
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in banks."
- John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the Government, to whom it properly belongs."
- Thomas Jefferson
"If the people only understood the rank injustice of our Money and Banking system, there would be a revolution before morning."
- Andrew Jackson
"There is an evil which ought to be guarded against in the indefinite accumulation of property from the capacity of holding it in perpetuity by…corporations. The power of all corporations ought to be limited in this respect. The growing wealth acquired by them never fails to be a source of abuses."
- James Madison
"In this point of the case the question is distinctly presented whether the people of the United States are to govern through representatives chosen by their unbiased suffrages or whether the money and power of a great corporation are to be secretly exerted to influence their judgment and control their decisions."
- Andrew Jackson
"I am more than ever convinced of the dangers to which the free and unbiased exercise of political opinion -- the only sure foundation and safeguard of republican government -- would be exposed by any further increase of the already overgrown influence of corporate authorities."
- Martin Van Buren, Eighth President of the United States
"As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters."
- Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"There exists a shadowy Government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself."
- Senator Daniel K. Inouye
"You don’t have a clue of what’s going on in the government, and neither do the American people. If they did, there would be a revolution in this country.”
- Texas governor and quintessential political insider John Connally
Read More...
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