tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77973722790519786712024-03-05T20:17:09.220-08:00ideADDictedDo I have ideas - or do my ideas have me?metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-74971220188633738032010-08-29T12:23:00.000-07:002010-09-11T03:57:17.915-07:00Meanies have 5 reasons<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPw_ULZy6tQQb9LJOuZjumatix2oSSIN6ThOAufhR0j_QX-JSTA3OWjBwMAtcIMmG_aVT8sk9REoZO5IhFvGz-vtHRKMUZbqUf2DZF5mpy0WlVGwYXa4ty-OaT5l0OWt5ta2VxC91X3UJ5/s1600/reason_rackstitch1_together.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPw_ULZy6tQQb9LJOuZjumatix2oSSIN6ThOAufhR0j_QX-JSTA3OWjBwMAtcIMmG_aVT8sk9REoZO5IhFvGz-vtHRKMUZbqUf2DZF5mpy0WlVGwYXa4ty-OaT5l0OWt5ta2VxC91X3UJ5/s640/reason_rackstitch1_together.jpg" width="155" /></a>Or rather, now that I have Reason 5, I can have too much fun making crazy little tunelets like this,<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jimbeach.net/audio/meanie2.mp3">Meanie</a><br />
<br />
Next-to-someday step: gain the skills to get a clear picture of how and where to go with a riff-and-variations kinda thang. Doesn't need to go anywhere, but it feels great if it can jump off to somewhere super.<br />
<br />
This song in particular is what I picture Snake Plissken hearing in his mind while driving through a disco, in a souped-up abandonded station wagon that has a machine-gun mount and a state-of-the-art 8-track player.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-70622901429597275172010-08-19T03:48:00.001-07:002010-08-19T03:48:19.613-07:00And another wee tuneI call this one "full of whist", although somehow when I first typed that name just now it came out as "full of shite". : )<br />
<br />
<a href=" http://soundcloud.com/mindfu/full-of-whist"><br />
http://soundcloud.com/mindfu/full-of-whist</a>metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-38282599263638906512010-08-11T22:22:00.000-07:002010-08-11T23:28:37.659-07:00Louis CK in the Cafe of BabbleMy friend Cary Woodworth had a guest bit on the great Louis CK's show "Louie", on FX. I how many of the actor got SAG cards for their dialogue.<br />
<br />
Here's the full show:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/2share/Cary_on_TV.avi">https://s3.amazonaws.com/2share/Cary_on_TV.avi</a><br />
<br />
Here's a Youtube edit with Cary's specific scene:<br />
<a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtwrASnSEek"><br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtwrASnSEek</a><br />
<br />
And here's another version of Cary's specific scene, output at a different resolution:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qLE7w8xVYo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qLE7w8xVYo</a>metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-10198194497799573372010-07-26T17:10:00.000-07:002010-07-26T17:10:41.968-07:00Ad clicks pay money, irony is freeSaw this Google ad pop up on a YouTube trailer - and thanked Whatevah for the glory and the beauty of the cosmos.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metasailor/4831530267/" title="drive-angry_lol4 by metasailor, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4831530267_9b4f539486.jpg" width="464" height="283" alt="drive-angry_lol4" /></a><br />
<br />
The film is some sort of a phoned-in paycheck for Nicholas Cage - an unfortunately common occurrence of late.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-3777948005518903082010-07-23T09:09:00.000-07:002010-07-23T09:09:33.981-07:00HunhappyThe way a hun deals with unhappiness, by making others unhappy until he is happy again.<br />
<br />
Then he is hunbothered by his hunderlings hunappreciation of his hunderlying hunches, due to his hunditry for hundesirable hunconscious hungers.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-72615237661559257362010-07-15T17:41:00.000-07:002010-07-19T10:41:55.813-07:00The Road ToddlerLike everyone else on the Internet, I've listened to Mel Gibson's recorded rants. Backwards and forwards. While I feel increasingly grateful for my little life.<br />
<br />
His ex-girl Oksana's clearly egging him on with her calmness, and also saying things specifically for the record. That said, he is so obviously unhinged it's hard to fault her for doing that and more besides.<br />
<br />
The thing that struck me the most, was that Gibson's wasn't really yelling at her. She seems more like a *direction* he was yelling. What he really seemed to be yelling at what was a hole inside himself. A big, empty chasm that's been with him for most of his life, that he is now in despair of ever getting rid of. A broken part of himself, almost certainly helped along by his crazy freak of a father, that he has tried to soothe with art, fame, success, wealth, more success, a wife and a family for 27 years, and when that didn't work, a hot new piece of ass.<br />
<br />
And when that last desperate step still didn't fix the hole inside him, he reached a truly epic despair.<br />
<br />
When Mel Gibson yells at that ex-girlfriend of his, he is really yelling at the abyss. And it's ignoring his pleas as it's tearing into him, because the abyss is him - and what he is trying to ignore.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-14102818097019204192010-06-27T00:08:00.000-07:002010-06-29T11:55:00.905-07:00A Beginning of a Long Response to a Wizbang post.This is in response to an article on Wizbang. It's a long story as to why it's here and not there, but that isn't really relevant right now.<br />
<br />
Original article <a href="http://wizbangblog.com/content/2010/06/26/government-and-employment.php#comments">here</a><br />
<br />
I've broken down every single claim I think is provably wrong, and listed them below. I'll post citations for my claims in the comments to follow this post.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The Democrats in general and President Obama in particular, have discovered all too late a political liability in the continuing unemployment figures. As the possibility of losing control of the House and Senate has crept towards probability, the Democrats have finally begun to consider how to address the problems their own policies made. <br />
</blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
<br />
1. Democrats haven't realized unemployment figures being high would be a problem.<br />
2. Democrats might lose control because of this alone, rather than it being an off-election year, in which the party in the white house typically loses seats<br />
3. The Democrats are responsible for unemployment, as a consequence of *their own policies* (as opposed to Republican policies which have created the recession and the unemployment)<br />
<br />
<blockquote>...recessions happen from time to time, and a review of the past shows that neither Republicans nor Democrats have been able to prevent their occurrence. However, it is possible to reduce the length and severity of a recession sometimes, and to make it worse as well. The best example of this would be the Great Depression, a serious recession made worse by the foolish policies of both President Hoover and President Roosevelt (each chose an extreme solution that led to unintended consequences). The mistakes made by Hoover were built on the assumption that government did not need to do anything, while Roosevelt's mistake was that anything government did would help. </blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
<br />
4. That Hoover's mistakes were based on the assumption that government did not need to do anything - his mistakes were based on the notion that government *shouldn't* do anything, that it was morally wrong for government to interfere.<br />
5. That Roosevelt's policies involved any mistakes that were near the magnitude of Hoover's<br />
6. That Roosevelt's policies made worse OR prolonged the depression, instead of easing and shortening it.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>President Obama inherited a recession, this is true. However, the recession was relatively mild, and most economists (the serious ones, not the ones who chase television stations and go hunting for book deals) say the recession itself actually ended earlier this year. The problem is that the jobs never came back, and we have to ask why. For that, we go back to the Depression era. The Depression is not often examined carefully for cause. Most people assume it was due to the stock market crash of 1929, but if so you would have to ask why....When a whole industry loses stock value, the effect is magnified subjectively even though the company is still level with its competitors; if the public believes the industry is sound it will continue to support it, but if they lose confidence the entire industry will suffer.</blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
<br />
7. that the recession Obama inherited was relatively mild. This is the worst recession since the Great Depression.<br />
8. the cause of the Great Depression was not merely a stock crash. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>The present economic condition was created through three principle causes - the housing market bubble burst, the financial market crisis from CDOs, and stagnant strategy from the U.S. government....If consumers stop buying, the economy slows, and that is too strong a force to ignore or imagine that government can control. It should be noted at this point, that nothing done by the Obama Administration has been directed at improving consumer confidence. What improvement has occurred, has happened in spite of his policies.</blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
9. Stimulus spending and unemployment extensions are each a "stagnant strategy", when in fact it is exactly the same strategy pursued by FDR which helped get us out of the Great Depession - because it enables consumers to continue buying what they need, rather than being forced to stop.<br />
10. That Obama could somehow speed up the recovery by increasing "consumer confidence". <br />
<br />
<blockquote>The problem in restoring jobs, is that this needs corporate confidence, ...When government actions threaten higher taxes, obstruction of business opportunity, penalties for apparent political orientation or simply being a target for a politician's campaign strategy, businesses will choose to avoid the risk and control costs.</blockquote><br />
Incorrect implications:<br />
11. The implication that Obama's economic policies at all, EVER, include penalties purely for political orientation<br />
12. That higher taxes ALWAYS threaten job growth more than stimulus spending can increase job growth - as increased spending shows businesses **actual money** - as opposed to "increasing their confidence" that if they start hiring now, they'll make more money someday.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>There are three driving forces at work in the present situation regarding unemployment. The first is the obvious fact that President Obama's actions have ignored unemployment, or made conditions worse by attacking major potential employers. The second is that Republicans, sensing significant opportunity in the fall midterm elections and bitter about the contemptible treatment they have received from the most partisan President since Nixon, have for the most part decided to let Obama and the Democrats receive the due consequences of their decision. And the third force is the nature of the economy itself. The American economy in general has been shifting from manufacturing to service for decades, and we are now seeing the effects of that transition in the lack of ability of many workers to transition to the new demand.</blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
13. That Obama's actions have "attacked" major potential employers AT ALL. I'd love to see some specific companies that have been attacked by Obama's economic policies.<br />
14. That Obama's actions have ignored unemployment, rather than being focused on repairing it<br />
15. That there is some "new demand" for services that workers are showing a "lack of ability" to transition too. (This last one is especially weird).<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The most recent bill of debate has been the option to extend the amount of unemployment benefits. Those in favor of the bill argue for it on compassionate grounds...such a bill increases costs for employers and therefore further reduces the opportunity for companies to hire new employees. The bill then is largely superficial in effect, and may be said to do more harm than good to the nation as a whole.</blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
16. That those who argue in favor of extending unemployment due so solely on "compassionate grounds". <br />
17. That because such a bill may increase costs for employers, which can't be outweighed by the increase in consumer spending that unemployment benefits make possible.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>...Money has to come from someplace, and so benefits paid by government agencies must come from public revenues....holistically the government action is parasitic and does more harm than good by definition. </blockquote><br />
Incorrect Claims:<br />
18. that "money has to come from some place" means it can't come from credit.<br />
19. that government money coming from taxes somehow means that it can ONLY be parasitical - i.e. that government money can't be spent in a way that **increases** value<br />
20. that, again, there is not also a **pragmatic** reason to continue unemployment spending - that it keeps the economy afloat in times of trouble so that it can fully recover.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Neither liberals or conservatives, Republicans nor Democrats, enjoy perfect knowledge of how government should operate in all cases and situations. It is therefore vital for a discussion, even debate, to continue on specific actions the government may take or consider, in ever aspect of the public welfare. We should be able to agree that as situations change, perspectives on all the major issues develop from former positions to more considered or sometimes evolved opinions. Accordingly, for all the strong emotion present in our debates, it is important to listen to the other side and consider what they offer. Even if rejected, the dialogue and respectful consideration of alternatives is a quality much in need and short in supply.</blockquote><br />
A statement which I agree with wholeheartedly.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-47379471127609724382010-05-29T18:44:00.000-07:002010-05-29T18:44:10.040-07:00Can it be a timesuck if it's time that doesn't suck??I say possiblidetrimententatively no.<br />
<br />
Just got the APC40. Still less than a novice. But a grand freaking time so far!!! Set it up with the Oxygen8 keyboard; no more room left to plug in hard drives until I route 'em all in via firewire 800 (the firewire 400) is going to the sound card. So, for the eventual playing live, going to have it well set up for samples.<br />
<br />
But you don't care about that. I'm just blatherin'. Here's another quick tune I cranked out:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jimbeach.net/audio/new_roo.mp3">new_roo.mp3</a><br />
<br />
Next steps - take the 16-odd (and I do mean odd) songsnippets I've posted up here so far, put them in some kind of order, and start working with them - and then I have an entire set of odd original beginnings for fun, fun music to fuck around with.<br />
<br />
Thank you Great Whatevah for giving us the beauty and power of music, among many other things. And so constructing us that we appreciate it, because it matters to us. That's the double-edged sword isn't it? To appreciate how great something is, we also may have to have a space for it inside; a space that, when we don't have this great something or aren't generating it, is empty and in loss.<br />
<br />
Thankfully with music, among many other things, this lack is easily rectified.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-55987756928876628542010-05-29T01:06:00.000-07:002010-05-29T01:08:17.636-07:00HypsteriaThe kind of name a clothing company would have, if it existed to create new faux-kitsch t-shirts for the teeming hipster masses with slogans on the front like Patton Oswalt's classic mindblower: a unicorn on skateboard that says "powered by puppy kisses!"<br />
<br />
Or maybe a guy with a leafblower, only he's standing on a giant's head and blowing leaves out of his brain dude! Like literally blowing his MIND whoah ha hah!<br />
<br />
That kind of clothing store.<br />
<br />
Only run by Kevin Bacon and five other people. Maybe Ethan Hawke, Samuel Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Queen Elizabeth.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-26357907344342183542010-05-29T00:01:00.000-07:002010-05-29T00:09:55.652-07:00And Another Tune Down, Another Tune Down, Another One Out the BusThe Firewire Bus, that is, to completely jam together references for those who know Queen by way of Al Yankovic and those who know computers...come to think of it, probably a pretty overlapping crowd...<br />
<br />
So anyway, just had fun jamming this tune out as a way to learn more of Ableton, as I eagerly await my APC40. The purchasing of which I hope isn't a mistake, as I really should be writing fiction. But I've just been missing some simple fun too much.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jimbeach.net/audio/step_sequencer2.mp3">step_sequencer2.mp3</a>metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-41236880543586628642010-05-28T10:43:00.000-07:002010-05-28T10:45:07.054-07:00Patton Oswalt declares war on the music geeksPatton Oswalt starts razzing a guy in the audience, and then finds out he's a musician - at which point, it's all over.<br />
<br />
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IQZjJGHtGx0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IQZjJGHtGx0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-86463883556699485042010-05-27T10:30:00.000-07:002010-05-27T23:49:57.639-07:00And now battling it out for the front burner - music again!!I just ordered an Akai APC40 from Amazon. It means being boringly smart with my budget otherwise for the next few weeks, but I'm psyched. After watching videos on YouTube, it seems like just the tool to do what I've had to do with one mouse for years.<br />
<a href=" http://www.amazon.com/Akai-APC40-Abelton-Performance-Controller/dp/B001T9O60Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1274981045&sr=8-1"><br />
Your new God</a><br />
<br />
Writing is great and I'm good at it, but it can be rather solitary. To (I think) quote Robert Heinlein once said, "There's nothing shameful about writing, but you should do it in private and wash your hands afterwards." Music is that direct communication that surpases words. Also, it maketh the booty move. I'm looking forward to practicing and getting set up to play out live at least a couple of times, just for the thrill of directly subjecting people to my ideas and hoping that they get something good out of it.<br />
<br />
A new tune I just made, while warming up the learning curve Ableton and the APC40 have in store...<br />
<br />
<A href="http://www.jimbeach.net/audio/space_groove_instruments1.mp3">space_groove_instruments1</a>metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-24496727482454422742010-05-27T10:27:00.000-07:002010-05-27T10:31:05.337-07:00Boiling off the Back Burner - photography againJust had an absolutely GRAND time taking photographs of Kiyomi, a Long Beach yoga instructor.<br />
<br />
We went to a location in Malibu that I'd previously been hipped to by my friend Cary's wedding, around this time last year.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metasailor/sets/72157623998892943/">Kiyomi</a><br />
<br />
Photography is pretty damn awesome. I had some dirt on the sensor too - it's amazing what a simple computer program can do. I used Adobe Lightroom 2 - a fantastic program.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-21409593509504338802010-05-26T13:35:00.000-07:002010-05-27T10:32:33.878-07:00Lord of the BlingsThree Blings for Paramus Princesses under the sky,<br />
Seven for Goths and Metalheads in FYE stoned,<br />
Nine for Jersey Shore fashions doomed to die,<br />
One for the Dork Lords in their parent's basement thrones<br />
In the Land of Jersey where the Turnpikes lie.<br />
<br />
One Bling to rule the Mall, One Bling to find them,<br />
One Bling to bling the Mall and in the darkness bind them<br />
In the land of Jersey where the Turnpikes lie.<br />
<br />
...ok, all I really had was "One Ring to Rule the Mall". : )metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-65264775991242713392010-05-26T13:04:00.000-07:002010-05-26T13:27:20.374-07:00SplurgatoryWhere we can buy the shiny crap we've all our lives, so we can then let go of it and move on...to the next ethereal mall.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-79640910448546509442010-05-25T13:15:00.000-07:002010-05-25T13:15:32.342-07:00'Lost' - more like 'Betrayed'.<div class="deck md">Just watched Lost's final finale. Emotionally cathartic - but without revealing a single goddamn thing. Which makes it some of the laziest, cheapest, borderline deceitful bait-and-switch writing I think I have ever seen.<br />
<br />
I really thought they were going to pull it all together. As this last season continued without any resolution, I really thought it was going to end in a final masterstroke - because that's what it would have taken. I believed they CARED enough to do that. Naive, I know.<br />
<br />
Now it's wreckage is scattered on the desert island of modern television; the sad remains of something that once seemed it would take flight.<br />
<br />
And I'm diagnosing the scene of the accident. The culprits seem clear in method and motivation. In this interview, they present their <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/exclusive-interview-Lost-producers-damon-lindelof-and-carlton-cuse-talk-across-the-sea%20:">account of the events</a>:<br />
<blockquote>...we made a very conscious choice to ask, "What are the big questions? And most importantly, what are the paths of these characters? Where do they lead?" And we followed those paths and tried not to trip ourselves up getting too diverted from that. We felt that that's the thing that's ultimately going to make the finale work or not work....That's the best we could do.</blockquote>Translation: When our stories weren't interesting we threw in new mysteries and promised a pay off, and when it came time to pay off on them we just didn't care.<br />
<br />
"That's the best we could do," is a sad excuse to make for this kind of utter laziness.<br />
<br />
But with that kind of laziness present from the beginning, how could the first two seasons have been so good? Well, is it just coincidence, that this writer left at the end of the second season?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/lost-former-writer/%20">http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/lost-former-writer/ </a><br />
<br />
Those first two seasons were so good, that I hung on for hope as the writing degraded for the next four years. And some of the most interesting ideas appear to be his - the Dharma Initiative, for instance. He very politely doesn't specify why he left. I think it was because he was trying to bring the ideas into some kind of resolution, and the rest of the writers, and especially the producers, just didn't care.<br />
<br />
I know a series can end well, without chickening out on the ending. The Shield did it. Six Feet Under did it. But not Lost. "Emotional closure" doesn't cut it. You don't end a story with "and it all was a dream!" Let alone "and it all was a dream, except not, because it's somewhere beyond space and time, except it isn't, because...well a bunch of stuff happened but Kate told Jack she loved him. Here, buy the box set!"<br />
<br />
Bastards.<br />
<br />
We may just need a government agency to make sure this never happens again. the Television Intelligence Agency. They can pursue the quality control for shows that bill themselves as intelligent. They won't have a lot to investigate, that's for sure. <br />
<br />
In the mean time, at least there's this:<br />
<br />
<object width="512" height="328" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" id="ordie_player_0b61ee18a6"><param name="movie" value="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="key=0b61ee18a6" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed width="512" height="328" flashvars="key=0b61ee18a6" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high" src="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf" name="ordie_player_0b61ee18a6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><div style="text-align:left;font-size:x-small;margin-top:0;width:512px;"><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0b61ee18a6/dana-carvey-s-lost-spin-off" title="from JohnnyHoliday and Dana Carvey">Dana Carvey's LOST Spin-off</a> from <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/dana_carvey">Dana Carvey</a></div><br />
</div>metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-63019310155353792342010-05-25T06:46:00.000-07:002010-05-25T13:03:38.054-07:00OS X-communicatedThou hast offended the divine Jobs, the creator and destroyer of platforms.<br />
<br />
God tested an earlier version of Steve Jobs, named Job. Jobs' revenge was to grant the angel Satan a gig at Microsoft. Jobs has continued to contract with him via marketing. <br />
<br />
For your wantcrimes of daring to want features Jobs has decided you don't really need, he will OS X-communicate you by taking away your Apple products. So you'd better Think Different than question his divine wisdom about:<br />
<br />
- wanting a button to eject a disc<br />
- wanting to use Flash<br />
- wanting to use a phone network that actually, you know, connects phones <br />
- want to use an iPhone to see breasts <br />
- wanting to use any browser besides Safarimetasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-78154878601996511542010-05-21T10:59:00.001-07:002010-05-21T10:59:54.984-07:00PreincarnationWhere you decide where you want to be born in your previous life.<br />
<br />
Why must time only run in one direction?metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-47798192168114633992010-05-20T16:22:00.000-07:002010-05-21T10:59:22.221-07:00NostradumbassA prophet whose predictions are so wildly, obviously wrong that he is listened to for entertainment value - and doesn't realize. <br />
<br />
A phrase I created a number of years ago, referring actually to Nostradamus. Because if you actually read his prophecies, they are about as meaningful as predicting a ham sandwich could have mayo.<br />
<br />
...But now listed here, because I just saw someone else use the phrase in a comment at the brilliant <a href="http://www.sadlyno.com/">Sadly No</a>. And I figured I should at least put my stake in the ground here. As much as it's weakened by the honesty of admitting at least one other human came up with it too.<br />
<br />
I couldn't have predicted that. I'm no Nostradumbass.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-27229840452365786222010-05-17T11:06:00.000-07:002010-05-17T11:06:04.633-07:00PretirementWhen you're ready to do what you actually want to do in life, a bit earlier than usual.<br />
<br />
For some people, this may even involve working. Which is SICK!!metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-57542873618913068272010-05-15T21:04:00.000-07:002010-05-17T11:04:42.181-07:00RoommanceThe kind of relationship that continues much longer than it should, because the apartment is just too good to leave.<br />
<br />
This is sometimes resolved by going back to the pay-rents.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-11890776726245665092010-05-12T10:23:00.000-07:002010-05-12T10:23:29.567-07:00Douchebaggage (n)The carryon luggage in the lives of those who believe they soar above our lives, but instead crash among us and disturb us in their wake.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-30081891766586018212010-05-05T10:33:00.000-07:002010-05-05T11:17:50.194-07:00Homemade coffee for the win.<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Cold, filtered water<br />
Organic fair trade coffee beans<br />
<br />
<b>Tools:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-IDS75-Electric-Cleaning/dp/B0001O2WYM">Coffee grinder</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bodum-1928-16US6-Chambord-Coffee-Press/dp/B00005LM0S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1273080676&sr=1-1">Coffee press</a><br />
<br />
<b>Steps:</b><br />
- grind the beans.<br />
- heat the water.<br />
- put them in the press.<br />
- filter the coffee.<br />
<br />
<b>Results:</b> <br />
Joy.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-431583500808783662010-05-04T11:35:00.000-07:002010-05-04T21:10:47.485-07:00Conservatism and mental illnessSpecifically, the legacy of the sainted Ronald Reagan.<br />
<br />
Let there be no mistaking my position: I think he was a charming man who was good to his friends, gave the American public a soothing image of leadership, and committed great harm first to California, and then the US and the world.<br />
<br />
This harm was due to his following of basic real-world conservative ideology. In surface terms it's "small government and personal responsibility". In real-world action, its "Winners call the shots, and losers can go fuck themselves". Where "Loser" is defined as anyone who is not powerful to begin with. <br />
<br />
To provide cover for this core ideology takes a lot of work. The many smokescreens involve "State's rights", "Big government is always bad", "activist judges are a travesty". But you can tell they're smokescreens because such issues are never problems when they can result in something conservatives like. The outcome of Bush v. Gore in 2000, for instance. The huge expansion of Federal government power and removal of constitutional restrictions on executive power under Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes. The many activist judgements of Scalia, Roberts, Alito and Thomas.<br />
<br />
With inconsistencies like this, to follow conservative "philosophy" thus becomes an emotional matter. Following any one of the many items that make up the current conservative movement to a logical conclusion results in unacceptable cognitive dissonance. So any logical thought is cut off immediately once it reaches a certain point. This is literally mental illness by choice. It explains how Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have any listeners, let alone Sarah Palin. It also explains how the GOP is paralyzed in terms of providing actual solutions - trying to solve any single problem will alienate most of their constituency.<br />
<br />
This is not something new. It dates back to conservative intellectual William F. Buckley and before. For good fun, look up the debates of Noam Chomsky vs Buckley. The match was the logical equivalent of Bruce Lee vs. an angry fat kid.<br />
<br />
And this is because holding the tenets that Buckley did, logic was *impossible*. Don't get me wrong, Buckley was a very smart man. His skill was in wording conservatism so that it actually *sounded* reasonable. Instead of a bunch of emotionally-based crap meant to support the status quo of keeping WASP's in power. (And I say this as a WASP.)<br />
<br />
What is particularly interesting to me, then, is the result of this actual chosen mental illness in action: an increase of *unchosen*, untreated and potentially dangerous mental illness in the streets.<br />
<br />
This is on my mind because yesterday a woman lost her mind, cut loose and stabbed 4 people in a Target. A target that a friend of mine almost went to that same day. Here in Los Angeles - which has more than its share of truly crazy people with nowhere to live but on the streets. <br />
<br />
One of the main reasons for this is California's legacy of conservative policy in action: the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act which Ronald Reagan as governor passed in 1972. It made involuntary commitment much more difficult - so the truly crazy who don't think they're crazy can roam the streets *until* they do something defined as criminally insane.<br />
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This same act also pushed the mentally ill onto community centers, i.e. off of state budgets - and also without increasing any of the local or community budgets. Thus also allowing Reagan to cut the state budget. <br />
<br />
Which is what really matters - lower taxes. Because who cares about some people who are so crazy they might hurt themselves or others? They should have chosen to be born healthy, or at least rich. <br />
<br />
Does that sound like a prescription for a society that works well - for anybody, including the rich?<br />
<br />
If you said no, congratulations. You have chosen a sane outlook on social policy.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797372279051978671.post-10110733785657483022010-04-28T13:44:00.000-07:002010-05-03T17:23:52.896-07:00Eating Crowehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/28/russell-crowe-gladiator<br />
<br />
During the filming of "Gladiator", Crowe allegedly threatened to kill a 77-year old producer, for not giving Crowe's assistants the salary Crowe demanded for them.<br />
<br />
If that is true - which it may well not be - then in my dreams the producer would respond to Crowe with something like "Say that again, so I can sue your bitch ass out of existence." <br />
<br />
Maybe Crowe had a bad moment. And the alleged argument was over salaries for Crowe's assistants, so he is at least in theory trying to benefit someone else. It just seems like a typical grown man's tantrum - when you can't get your way, scream and yell until you do. <br />
<br />
And this macho posturing is never directed at those of equal or greater power. Just those in some way weaker. As primate psychology, it makes perfect sense. As a human being, I think it fucking stinks.<br />
<br />
It can work for a lot of people a fair amount of the time - in the short term. In the long term, people who act like this live increasingly crappy lives. People do less for them, work less with them, and can actively work against them. So is the real-life implementation of karma - for most people.<br />
<br />
But stars are a little different. The consequences can be very long delayed. Their money fame and power cause others to tolerate their tantrums. Unlike businessmen, they don't even have to show a logical pretense for their tantrums. <br />
<br />
So while this destructive behavior would put a common man into a legal situation of Check Yourself v. Wreck Yourself, Crowe's insulated from the worst effects - at least, as long as his name continues to put butts in the seats. <br />
<br />
In a common man, this behavior would also be a sign of someone about to lose it. But Crowe probably isn't crazy - at least not yet. You do have to be in basic control of yourself in order to be excellent at a craft. Which, to give the man his due, he is.<br />
<br />
What this sounds like instead, is a fake flex of crazy. Which is far more common in LA than elsewhere. People can *pretend* to be crazy to get what they want, because a) there really are so many literally insane people here, that LA's economically middle-class and upper-class people would rather back away than take the risk, b) people drive everywhere and work inside, so they just aren't used to unwanted interactions, and c) even if they are crazy, they can still affect your career with their money or connections. So many people's immediate response is to back off for various reasons.<br />
<br />
But this guy Crowe allegedly threatened is, once again, 77 and a producer. How much further up the ladder do you have left to climb? Wouldn't you rather not take shit instead? I ask you. Let alone that he's also a holocaust survivor. Wtf. (If this story is true, Crowe should be kidnapped at night and beaten senseless by Israeli commandos.)<br />
<br />
But I digress. The elderly producer guy was probably not worried by any alpha-male shaved-chest chest-beating. He was probably far more scared of Crowe leaving the film halfway through, and leaving behind a multi-million-dollar miscarriage. So those with fame and power who know how to flex crazy get what they want out of sheer bullying, and are so rarely called on it that they actually don't seem to understand its happening when it happens.<br />
<br />
And that right there makes LA a far worse place to live. Which, call me crazy, is a goddamn shame.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, Joachim Phoenix who also starred in "Gladiator" is also a *great* actor - who may actually be going crazy. A key indicator: his erratic behavior isn't somehow increasing his status.<br />
<br />
Then again, he may be pulling another kind of fake crazy - an Andy Kaufman. Which at least is a crazy I can tolerate.metasailorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06959996911131675869noreply@blogger.com0