"Little Boy" Poetry

“ ’45 Bald Eagle ”

Silver wings soar in space--
A lonely flight revealed
By a quick shadow overhead.

We're lifted gently up
As if coaxed by the same
Spectral winds that push
Clouds over earth.

Then...

Heavens and ground and water appear
To become one beneath this bird--
Beneath us--
As a city feels a new sun.
1/9/2003

Well I slapped on my galoshes and went wading through some of my old poetry today. Here's another one I wrote on the same day as "Fence" (reproduced below). If you need to, take a close look at the picture.

An old mission statement.

"Fence"

You'll penetrate what I think when I spit out these chinks
In my armor, shedding my sword for words in this war,
Sharp broken stabs of syllables, parables, fables, filthy and able--
Molotov cocktails of justice between us, just us,
I respond to your cash lust with love lust--
Pushed thus by people pushing me down in their hearts
Heathen thoughts of turning my cheek to their thoughts
But I listen to learn while waiting my turn to return
Hatred with respect, having inspected my neck for nooses
Of my mind, maddened malice cinched over time,
Bitter from your crimes in our shared time.
Stuck with you in this age, feeling burning, dire, deadly rage--
Dealing dilemmas of martin or malcolm and guns or gandhi
Of church and state vs. my state of being, just living and seeing
Sights unwanted by those in my city, shut eyes replace pity.
No one knows that brothers exist on the other side of the fence,
Since we make it ourselves--hell, I've bought carpenter's nails,
Spent nights on my knees hammering myself in a jail.
But my cell has grown cold so I sold it for parts
To be a part of worlds outside with the wild,
Worthy truth as my bride and love as my child.

1/9/2003

Chapter One Be Done!

It has been a long time coming, but the first chapter in a three part blog series is complete. A long logical road I have traveled. I submit to you one of the most important works of literature this world has ever seen, the gold fruit of my labor. Take it as a philosophical treatise or a missive sent to you from the gods on how to live your life...I don't care. But I will tell you that TRUTH ITSELF has used me as a vessel, a conduit if you will, to entreat your ears with fact.

Piratical Dominace Chapter I: Nonsensical Ninjas

Expect chapters II (Nuts and Bolts-Robots are Screwed) and III (Clowns - Not Smiling Anymore) to be published soon. They are further musings on the mighty career of the average buccaneer.

Mr. Microencephalous

Greetings fellow hobbits, I'll be your guide on this little trip. Over there and back we'll go, from 12,000 years ago till now. Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself--some call me Mr. Baggins. But I go by many other names, Bilbo, Uncle, and even Homo floresiensis. Well that last one is reserved for those that really know me.

Confused? Scientists were recently poking around (as they always do) in Indonesia. Well, they have been since 2004 when they discovered a very small head of what they believe is a "hobbit-like" species, a possible precursor to mankind and definite humanoids. After they go through the awkward teenage years, all pimply faced (weirdest before/after pics ever), the best they have in store for them is a three foot height and a brain the size of a chimpanzee's. Just recently they are shocking the scientific community with an article on the jawbone of their eleventh subject. What else could you find in a moist cave in a very small isolated island chain? Apparently the answer to that question is dwarf elephants. Honey, I Shrunk the Archipelago!

An island with slightly more people on it, England, was host to one of the most famous scientific frauds in history. It is a story that has always captured my imagination. A laborer happens upon an old bone in a gravel pit...takes it to his local archeologist (every town needs a local archeologist) and the world takes note. Further excavations took place, despite the ominous warnings of the curse of the mummy! (Just kidding about the mummy part). More bones were found...a human like head with an apelike jaw? Must be our ancestor! Or, as discovered 40 years later, it must be a human head with an orangutan's jaw and teeth which had been chemically altered to look authentic and ancient.

This "earliest Englishman", the great hope of proving mankind sprung from its apeish beginnings in the glorious land of England, became the great embarassment of the UK scientific community. Charles Dawson, the local archaeologist, never had quite the same luck with the geek groupies that he did during those four decadent decades. Various people have been named as possible suspects in this whodunit, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself(who incidentally resembles like Prez Teddy!)

Ah youthful scientific vigor! Oh nationalistic hubris! You two are so cute together. If you love yourself some good scientific mysteries, check out more on the Piltdown Man here and here. Cheers to science!! (that last link is a good one!)

SotG and UNCAT

Yaaar!!!! Yes, just another bloodthirsty buccaneer. This one an Eastern European Pirate (EEP), pasting himself all over something called "Veto". Well it appears another bloodthirsty buccaneer is involved in "Veto"...but more on that in a bit.

SotG is short for one of the cornerstones of the Sport-I-Play, ultimate frisbee. Spirit of the Game is a part of the rules, and those unfamiliar with it can read about it here. I've had a long and storied past with some of the worst spirited teams ever assembled. UNCW and ECU were constant opponents for Duke. One particulary exciting game involved about 5 of the UNCW coach's friends atop a scissor lift they moved from endzone to endzone so they could occasionally toss empty beer cans at our team before a pull. At least they had the astuteness to drink all the beer. Blatant cheating, fouling, and trying-everything-they-could-get-away-with was standard practice. They've got a terrible reputation for "Carolina-Style" ultimate and that reputation is deserved.

One acronym down! One to go. UNCAT is the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Sorry I don't have something furrier or cuddlier to talk about. Now, I could go through the various articles, but pretty much UNCAT was where the nations came together and declared that hurting people (physically or mentally) in order to extract ( I hate that euphamism) information is wrong. This is also covered pretty well in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both of these things are solidified realizations of an application of a more basic human understanding: the golden rule.

Back to the bloodthirsty buccaneer's Veto. One of the President's most fantastic powers is that of the veto. The American system of "checks and balances" so wisely put into place by those crazy founding fathers would be severely weakened if the executive branch didn't have it. But now is not the time for arguing about how messed up the checks and balances are becoming.

Now is the time for asking why the President is going to use his veto power for the FIRST time on a defense spending bill that provides funding for troops in Iraq because there is a provision in it to forbid torture by US troops. The measure passed the senate 90-9. A quick look at the Senate shows that this is an overwhelming bi-partisan effort. Remarkable, yet hardly suprising considering the national embarrassment of Abu Ghraib as well as allegations surrounding Guantanamo Bay. Seems only right to correct something that makes us look evil in the eyes of the rest of the world...not to mention something that makes the highlight reel of the latest terrorist training video.
A quick search for Abu Ghraib to hotlink a site to the above mention found pictures much worse (but still censored for decency) than those shown to the vast majority of the American Public.

The veto of the amendment which includes the bit about forbidding cruel and inhumane punishment would mean a veto of the whole $440 billion spending package, leaving troops on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan without enough funding as early as November. Further risking our soldiers' lives so you can keep cruel torture around? *$&^$#@*(# !

I can't even begin to express how ridiculous I think this is...but it's for damn sure that the President and his administration are completely against the SotG of humanity. He seems undeterred about the use of torture and unembarrased about Abu Ghraib. If he "knows the heart" of Harriet Miers and wants to hire her, then he should look at the heart of the world and fire himself. Bloodthirsty buccaneer indeed.

From a post-election press conference, Nov 4, 2004.

Question: Do you feel more free, sir?

The President: Oh, in terms of feeling free, well, I don't think you'll let me be too free. There's accountability and there are constraints on the presidency, as there should be in any system. I feel -- I feel it is necessary to move an agenda that I told the American people I would move. Something refreshing about coming off an election, even more refreshing since we all got some sleep last night, but there's -- you go out and you make your case, and you tell the people this is what I intend to do. And after hundreds of speeches and three debates and interviews and the whole process, where you keep basically saying the same thing over and over again, that when you win, there is a feeling that the people have spoken and embraced your point of view, and that's what I intend to tell the Congress, that I made it clear what I intend to do as the President, now let's work to -- and the people made it clear what they wanted, now let's work together.

And it's one of the wonderful -- it's like earning capital. You asked, do I feel free. Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style.

The Luddite

Well many days have passed since my last entry. Not one comment. Not ONE comment amidst all of the diamonds I've been throwing your way. Absolute gems. Pearls before swine? Ya'll don't oink--who am I kidding?

At any rate, I've got a backlog of topics and stories I'd like to relate to you. Epic epiphanies and ribald reasonings. But this troubadour has been beset by a curse. A dangerous warlock has decended from his ivory tower deep in the rainforest Seatl to best me in mortal combat. A lonely minstrel facing off against the most powerful magicks this land has to offer? I didn't stand a chance against the Wireless Network Setup Wizard.

All morning I'm the Pied Piper. I've been leading my mouse all over the damned place---the swamps of Your Network Places, the steep precipice of Windows Update, the dungeon of TCP/IP, and even the far-off shores of Random Internet Articles. But this Pied Piper is feeling more and more like St. Patrick. Ssssnakess in my sssyssstem! This Wizard is supposed to help me, to make things happy in Hobbiton. Yet vex me he doth. All I want to do is share files amongst computers and be able to print wirelessly. Is that too much to ask?!

As the madness creeps into my mind and thoughts of Gatesassination tickle my fancy, I am reminded of a piece of my name's history. Ned Ludd. He would stand for no such thing! He would fight the forces of evil with tooth and nail! He would find the quickest spatial melding of keyboard and monitor!

In my heart I know the digital revolution is just as powerful as the industrial one. We'll never be able to divorce ourselves of technology...but it sure is cathartic to imagine your computer blowing up every once and a while.

(Edited: Geez, one step ahead of CNN. Here's an article on the frontpage today!)

It's the Pitts

I know of what I speak.

Leonard Pitts has long been one of my favorite writers. My mom nags me that I should "read the paper" to become edumacated. Well, he's actually a reason why I might pick up the AJC instead of reading it online (my other news sources: NPR, GoogleNews, Air America, CNN Online, and the occasional Creative Loafing). He writes for the Miami Herald, but is syndicated in the AJC. I urge you, plead with you, demand that you read his column.

You can find it online (it'll also be linked under my links). There's a short but painless registration process. It's worth it. His observations, subject matter, etc etc...damn good. Think I'm not a good judge of it? He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for commentary.

Ain't Yo Pappy's Pottery

Gorgeous isn't it. Two people in love...two more tender thespians there could not be: Swayze and Moore. What is one of the world's oldest artforms is getting a facelift--denying its romantic roots and forging onwards into the realm of superawesomeness. If our adored romantic dramaticons above were to play with ceramic's newest toys, they'd be a few fingrs short of a hand.

I bring you the ceramic knife. Not much glitz and glamor, but its edge can be sharpened to one micron width. Your hair is 100 microns wide. Pretty much the only thing sharper is a diamond, and they are 4eva! Now Ginsu tackles some things that ceramic knives cannot, so don't be so quick to write off your favorite infomercial.

OK wait, maybe I was wrong about the tenderness of today's ceramics:
How much ceramics info can you get? CeramicsToday might help. A "West Coast Funk" section? Looking to be a ceramicist? You might need a healthy dose of the Ceramics databases. "No thanks Ned, I really just want to spin a mug for my mom for mother's day." Fine. Don't be fascinated about the sharpest cutting tool ever forged by mankind. See if I care.

Simply Gorgeous!

Just now I walked outside to pick up Erin's Previously-But-No-Longer-Lost Jersey (TM) from the UPS guy...and it hit me. Damn it is a gorgeous day right now in Grant Park. I urge any and all in the area to forsake their offices and go outside, just for a minute. It'll refresh and rejuvenate you. Fresh as an Irish Spring! That's it, I'm going back outside for another dose.

Bruce Lee Policy

Some say that the best defense is a good offense. Surely Meisterpugilist and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is amongst those "some."

Different teachers impart knowledge upon their students in different ways. Yoda showed his "motion in the ocean" by raising Luke's X-Wing from the depths of a murky swamp. Paulie made Rocky chase after a chicken. Ducard basically beats the padooky out of Bruce Wayne.

But all of that pales in comparison to the subliminal instruction of Donald Rumsfeld. You and I and anyone that has ever seen him give a speech or answer questions from a special commission literally know thousands of martial arts styles. Focus your chi for a second and see if you feel a special something inside you. What am I talking about? Well, you can check it out at Poe News. They have documented every frame of this secret teaching style. By inserting different "positions" or "stances" in his broadcasted speeches, we have each (subconsciously) become his apprentice over the years.

When asked about the end goal of Sensei Rumsfeld's instruction, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said, "9/11 changed the course of our country's destiny. Ordinary citizens must now be on high alert when it comes to a growing threat to our way of life. Emper....I mean Secretary Rumsfeld has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to teach America self-defense. Using the same techniques that our brave men and women in special operations overseas use will better allow citizens young and old to fight terrorism on our terms." I'm a little skeptical that there might be more going on here. History (and by that I mean film) has been littered with malicious uses of such a system of training. Such famous thespians as Matt Damon, Frank Sinatra, Ben Stiller, and up-and-comer Summer Glau have warned us of a danger that might be all too real. At once, we might all be "activated" by a phrase during a State of the Union address (well, those that watch it...so the threat might not be that bad!). Alls I'm sayin' is watch out Prime Minister of Malaysia!

An old poem.

I wrote this poem while I was still in college. After a bit of polishing, its still a bit rough around the edges, but aren't all diamonds from the rough? It shares a title (and some sentiment) with my novel.

- -

Youth of the Moon

We shall set our souls in line
And mine them with the moonbeams
That stream down to touch us--
And take silver strings of thought,
(From that dark-circled sender)
Leaving homespun silk for human hearts
And love’s crumbling quilt.
We imagine worlds where
Suns act like moons,
Light and soft, but without burning.
Our worlds slowly turn
Towards celestial Heavens
And towards the laden Hearts
Of our celestial brethren.
The moon shades us all,
(Pale mouth of the sky)
Shouting louder than stillness
And stifling the chilled night.
With our souls strong-willed,
We pour our passion together
Like spilt moonbeams--
For poets to touch and weave with.

22 October 2000

SkyNet

Thank you for choosing Cameron Car Rental. We hope you find your Hummer sufficiently armor plated. Please feel free to open up a crate of high-caliber ammunition and use a couple rounds. We don't want to alarm you, but we are required by law to inform you that we are not responsible for any ambushes by "robots-gone-smart". Oh, and unless you fill up the tank, the cost in this post-apocalyptic world might be kinda expensive. There's a few abandoned vehicles around the corner you might be able to siphon some gas from.

Welcome to the world that is the logical extension of historical events set in motion by the Grand Challenge. What happens in Nevada stays in Nevada, excepting the Pentagon-sponsored race across the Mojave desert early this month. Thousands of nerds-who-will-never-have-bachelor-parties-in-Las-Vegas gathered at the 132-mile course to wind up their toy cars and let em go. A Volkswagon...yes...a Volkswagon crossed first. Some humvees finished out the top spots, getting Arnold Shwarzenegger pumped up.

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, which we really know stands for Dastardly Assisted Robot Produced Annihilation) gave $2M dollars to the fastest vehicle to cover the race in less than 10 hours. Taxpayer funded.

According to the AP: The so-called Grand Challenge race is part of the Pentagon's effort to cut the risk of casualties by fulfilling a congressional mandate to have a third of all military ground vehicles unmanned by 2015. If that isn't setting us up for T1-T3, then I promise to do something kinda gross. The vehicles were equipped with the latest sensors, lasers, cameras and radar that feed information to several onboard computers.

So in several years, when we are all huddled amidst the rubble of our burning cities while fending off wave after wave of relentless robot warriors using a dwindling supply of ammunition, look to me with your desparate eyes and I will simply respond with a hungered, dehydrated and equally desparate tone: "I told you so". That's a long sentence.

Bonus fun: Terminator 2 Fact -- Given Arnold Shwatzenegger's $15 million salary and his total of 700 words of dialog, that translates to $21,429 per word. "Hasta la vista, baby" cost $85,716.

Been muklins about the English language?

Linguistic gurus out there look no further. Some illumination for your souls.
There are sooo many good parts of this site. Just look around for a bit. You won't be disappointed. Unless of course you hate words and stuff. I find that obscure words with complex meanings make great fuel for poetry. The Phrontistery is a great online resource, but if you want something you can manhandle with your dirty paws, get this book: They Have a Word For It, by Howard Rheingold.

i3: 1|\|C0|\/|pr3h3n$1b!3 internet idioms

This is more a primer for the older crowd--those that discovered fire from lightning, traveled too and fro in horsedrawn carriage, and looked upon Pong as the second coming. I'm here to get you bionic. You might be talking in 1s and 0s soon--but you'll be hearing them before that.

There's a craze hitting the dextrous fingers of today's youth. Its nickname is "leetspeak", an e.e.cummingsesque butchering of the English language that includes numerical substitutions for letters and abbreviating abbreviations for the sake of brevity. Emoticons beware... !337$p3@k is here to make you :_( .

It flourishes in the online gaming community, of which I have absolutely no experience whatsoever, I promise. Out of all of the phrases, one stands out in my mind and my soul as the most annoying damn one. "pwn". An intentional mispelling of own...its used to say something or someone is better or more skilled than its "pwnd" object. Other exciting ones are w00t and n00b. For the peddlers of leet, nothing shows their happiness more than an exclamation of "w00t"! When they level up, find that special sword that matches their armor, or shoot someone with a Springfield 1903 Model Sniper Rifle. Nothing angers them more when some "n00b" either A) has no idea "how to play the game" or B) kills them repeatedly with rudimentary tactics such as running into a room with guns blazing.

That mom and pop software company has put together a little guide for the uninformed. Wikipedia (one of my favorite new resources), has an expanded entry on other commonly used acronyms. Three of my most often used ones are AFK Bio BRB (away from keyboard, going to take a biological [bathroom] break--be right back), gtg wife debuff (got to go, wife is about to take an axe to the computer in a justified Luddite rage), and BRB DWO POS! (be right back, dogs wildin' out, piece of stuff!). If you want to fully immerse yourself in it, check out Wiki's list of internet slang or list of computing and IT abbreviations.

I wouldn't dare give you this knowledge without the tools to fight against it if you so desired. The sworn enemy of all young leetspeakers is the ESRB. You can rally behind them if so inclined...or find out exactly what little Johnny got for Christmas. GTA: San Andreas doesn't stand for Geological Teaching Assistant: San Andreas. On a more personal level you can translate leetspeak back into normal speech to "protect your kids" using this tool. They've got a list as well.

I think the whole thing is kinda funny. Not that I would know, but I hear that some people get upset when being called "n00b" or being told they have been "pwnd". Don't they realize that once they, the gods of the fast-twitch hand muscles and incredible hand-eye coordination, once started as a lowly neophyte?

Only In America!

One almost had to assume the post would be about Don King. What a wondrous phrase...It embodies the spirit of individual competition, of pulling-oneself-up-by-the-bootstraps, and of beating a man into a senseless pulp while perhaps biting off his ear. But Mr. King would promote the amazingly amazing part of my post in these ways:

• The Jiggle in the Jungle
• The Bombastic Battle of Boobs and Brains
• The Ditsy Dervish vs. the Nepotistic Naysayer
• The Trim Spa Terror vs. the Lower Court Error
  

I'm not exactly sure what to say other than Anna Nicole Smith, famous philosopher, has argued her way to the Supreme Court. Oh yes, the Supreme Court (aforementioned in this blog) has agreed to see her case. It reeks of tawdy details, of near-pedophilia. It also reeks of a women who barely has an ounce of intelligence in her brain. Most excitingly, it reeks of $474 million dollars (Only in America!). She's standing before the highest court in the land? The executives at Court TV must be celebrating...

Pkunk Fury Resurrected!

CHMMR vs. UR-QUAN

Man what memories come back from this little gem of a PC game. No online play, no flashy graphics. Just good, ol'-fashioned Geek Vs. Geek destruction. For those lucky enough to play Star Control II, I salute you. A two-player game where you and your buddy shared the same keyboard (imagine that!) for some fierce bird's-eye-view ship battles. I guess there is some sort of statute of limitations on some games before their code gets released. There are now several fansites dedicated to the game and free downloads. Classicgaming.com also features it.

I just wanted to reminisce on the youthful nights of trash-talking one of my groomsmen, Robert Kingsley...mouths full of Chewy Chips Ahoy and the exotic Clearly Canadian drinking water. R.K. finally landed the perfect job for himself at Pandemic Studios doing A.I. for a serious military action/strategy game. Pretty Sweet.

StarCon II, amongst many others (Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Doom, Halo, Killer Instinct, Call of Duty), formed my love of the world of epic electron competition. I undoubtedly came out on top 98% of the time, but much fun was had by all. While I am sure that this will give many of those that read my blog some good ammunition for their next anti-dork volley, it behooves them to look inward at what they dork out over. Everyone has an inner geek. Everyone...

No Favoritism Here...

Lest I should be accused of infatuation with the handsome, charming, and coy John Roberts...tis time I bring an older woman to this blog. And to further assuage fears of me favoring conversations and thoughts about one supreme court nominee just because he's Chief, I tell you my absolute confusion over the logic of Commander-In-Crazypants is equally applicable in this case. There's a slight chance my Commie is turning Pinko if this keeps going the way its going. Harriet Miers, not a judge, ever.

Metaphorically speaking, Terry McAulay. Unfamiliar name? Metaphorically speaking, Tom Brady. Still unfamiliar? Well Terry was the head ref at the last superbowl. Tom was the QB that won it with a winning and kinda creepy smile. What am I talking about? In the Superbowl, (even the first few where they didn't wear helmets, routinely gouged out the eyes of the competition, and actually played with a small, petrified pig instead of a football) you would never think to switch Terry out for Tom or Tom out for Terry. Even though they are involved in different aspects of the same game. First off, Terry probably throws like a girl and would break several vertebrae if he got sacked. Tom doesn't go anywhere without his linemen--having that many on the field would give an unfair boost to the defense.

While this particular metaphor was used for humor's sake...you wouldn't find the Center and the Running Back switching positions for a whole game...or the linesman and the head ref. So why the junk would you have a non-judge become one of the 9 most important judges in the whole world? Once again, I don't understand why someone who lacks experience gets nominated.

And I'm not the only one. This case seems particularly bad. History tells us that many nominees have never been judges. Why? With no proven track record on constitutional interpretation, is it possible to be a good candidate? And now both sides of the political fence are saying the same thing...that poor Miers' resume is kaput.

New Speechwriter Please.

Excerpt from President Bush's speech on the War in Iraq, given for the National Endowment for Democracy today. My commentary in black.

I want to welcome former Congressman Dick Gephardt, who is a board member of the National Endowment for Democracy.

It's good to see you, Dick.

Classic, and always funny.

And I appreciate Chris Cox, who's the chairman of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission and a board member for the National Endowment for Democracy, for being here as well.

And I want to thank all the other board members.

Here's where the speechwriter should be fired. The main, serious part of the speech hasn't hit yet. They miss on this golden opportunity finish off the setup with "It's good to see you, Cox". Woulda made the speech. Instead he continues on about "war justification" and "staying the course". Oh well.

wie erforderlich

"as occasion requires"

Michelle Wie announced her decision to become a professional yesterday. She's turning 16 in a few days. She's a pretty amazing player. But I'm not a golf fan (most of the time), nor a pedophile, this is about money.

She's got endorsement deals up the wazoo. Probably around $10 million a year from Nike and Sony. The first thing she does as a professional is pledge $500k to the Hurricane Relief fund. I was going to write a long long thing about how every executive lighting their cuban cigars every morning with a burning $100 bill should sack up and follow her lead. I thought about writing a diatribe about the bloated and ridiculous celebrity culture that should give some of their lifeblood back to their fans. But I'll just simply say she deserves more than a golf clap and those that sit amongst their ivory towers with megamillions of dollars deserve more than this.

Youth Entitlement

Millions upon millions of American kids need to mourn the passing of this band, Rage Against the Machine. Its morphed realization, Audioslave, is an equal in terms of musicality...but to have a new generation without a quality political band is a sham. They are entitled to it. They would thrive on it in times such as this. So lets take a moment to say R.I.P. R.A.t.M.

Once again, you all must understand that I'm not some crazed radical. I'm unlikely to be on the tail end of police pepper spray at a WTO protest. I'll probably not handcuff myself to a building about to be knocked down for a Walmart. It's pretty small odds that I'll jump the paparazzi line to spraypaint DEATH on the side of Snoop Dogg's chincilla fur at the next MTV Music Awards.

That having been said, everyone can learn something from RAtM. Not only is it great, cathartic music, but it really has a conscious. Up next: Michelle Wie.

I am enormously proud to be an American. I would say that the things that our corporate-controlled government has done at best are shameful and at worst genocidal-but there's an incredible and a permanent culture of resistance in this country that I'm very proud to be a part of. It's not the tradition of slave-owningfounding fathers, it's the tradition of the Frederick Douglasses, the Underground Railroads, the Chief Josephs, the Joe Hills, and the Huey P. Newtons. There's so much to be proud of when you're American that's hidden from you. The incredible courage and bravery of the union organizers in the late 1800's and early 1900's-that's amazing. People of get tricked into going overseas and fighting Uncle Sam's Wall Street wars, but these are people who knew what they were fighting for here at home. I think that that's so much more courageous and brave. - Tom Morello

DRM: Dumb Recording Managers

Digital Rights Management format for burning released CDs does two things: limit the number of copies of a song you can make and determine the file formats you can use to burn CDs (MP3 is not one of them). I am sure that piracy accounts for money loss for the record labels. That's a cryin shame. I'm sure it also accounts for some loss for the artists. That actually is a shame.

Here are my experiences as a music buyer and a few reasons why I think DRM is idiotic.

• Back in the day, when there was Blockbuster Music, record stores allowed you to listen to CDs in the store before you bought them. While this was undoubtedly a pain in the ass for the tattoo-laden, overtly pierced employees who already looked uncomfortable in their blue collared embroidered polo shirt uniforms....it sure made making the right purchase easy. I'm ok with spending a dollar or two more per CD if I can make sure I listen to it first. I'm not ok with hearing a really great single that the record company puts all its money in to produce and market and then finding out $15 later that the rest of the CD is either EXACTLY the same or COMPLETELY different. I hate to "single" artists out, but there's been a long line of one hit wonders throughout history. Now I use the complex mix of Amazon.com reviews/previews and iTunes before I buy anything. Sometimes artist sites might even have a couple songs free for the listening. This doesn't have much to do with DRM, but the conversation reminded me of it.

• Further back in the day I endeavored to squeeze the marrow out of life by pseudonymic exploitation of the BMG Music Club. 12 for the price of 1? Signing up your friends gives you more free CDs? Meet Edward A Coker, Ned A Coker, and Belle Coker. That's 45 cds for the price of one. Piracy and exploitation have been around forever. Just because the MP3 format is much easier than bootleg taping doesn't mean its newfangled.

• When the skies part and the clouds retreat to their dark corners of the earth...when what was once the darkest night of ignorance is alit with a glorious shaft of light that can pierce even the most sinful soul...when cheetah and antelope embrace in tenderness and the fraternity of beastkind... That is how the world aligned when I entered college and gathered the three mystical pieces of the Holy Trinity of Music Appreciation: Napster, a High Speed Internet Connection, and a CD Burner. 1997-1998, R.I.P. You were fast, free, and wonderful to me. I certainly wouldn't be this into music if it weren't for Napster.

• More on the big N. Napster was wonderful and it really got me hooked to the music scene. Not only was I able to find a bunch of obscure bands that I'd never have found otherwise by cross-searching someone's collection- many of those songs lead me to investigate artists and get into the ones I previously hadn't....leading me to purchase their CDs at the store. I got into Air, Hooverphonic, Blackalicious, and countless others this way. The mix of Napster, burning my dormmates favorite CDs, and scanning the Duke Network really helped to broaden my horizons and force myself outside the Smashing Pumpkins/Weezer bubble I had put myself in. MP3, in my case, lead me to spend more money on CDs than I would without it, especially since record stores were starting to revoke the "free listen" policy

• I believe musicians should get credit for their work. If another band covers their song or remixes it, they need permission and to pay a commission. Putting a limit on the amount of times a person copies the CD that they purchased is just plain stupid though. Might as well make the CD self-destruct after X amount of listens. If I purchased it, why can I not copy it for my own perusal or backup purposes?

• The Darwin Awards: this year's metaphorical winner- DRM. Sony BMG and soon-to-be EMI have painted themselves into an evolutionary corner by only allowing their CDs to be played on Windows Media compatible software and devices. Arise from the gene pool DRM! Read a freakin' electronics magazine! Look around you at the gym. There's one little white plastic and metal imp everywhere, and it isn't WM compatible. It's iRidiculous not to have their CDs work with Apple. Its clearly at the front of the music industry. Hide behind rocks in bland-enviro-blending clothing? No thanks, let's stand in lines and wear easily-targetable red!

• And yes, Sony BMG has offered help to those fans that ask. Those wondering? For iTunes: rip the CD into a Windows Media file, burn the tracks onto a blank CD (without copy protection) and then rip that CD back into iTunes. So basically, they are creating a big pain in the butt for consumers who didn't even know they would encounter this unwarranted problem AND they aren't really protecting artists because they are releasing info on how to bypass the bad security to any that ask.

Sure its easy to think the record companies are greedy greedy mcgreedums. Sure they HAVE been screwing over artists for years just like gallery owners screw over painters and sculptors. But this seems like something just plain silly to me.

ポストの季節

Regionals has come and gone. Rival didn't play up to its full potential (me included), but it was one of the most fun seasons I have had in a long long long time. So thanks to all my teammates! Special thanks to Michael Wood and Gerald Chen, cocapitanos extraordineros. I haven't seen two people put that much thought and effort into a club team. They are to be commended. As for me, the cleats above aren't mine. I'm going to give mine (and their less-spikey brothers) a run for their money. I'm taking the off-season head on.