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Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Change of Plans: Help Fix My Car and Donate To American Red Cross

Before the hurricane disaster hit New Orleans and Biloxi, I was prepared to donate 10% of the $750.00 in contributions I'm raising to fix my car to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In light of the current situation, I can't help but want to change that -- the people of New Orleans and Biloxi need our help. I am going to be able to get part of the damage to my car repaired as soon as I hear back from my friend (enough so I can get her driving again), but I am still in need of substantial help with that effort.

Rather than focus on the Susan G. Komen foundation, I would prefer to change my goal and pledge whatever money is left over from my fundraising (which at this point will be substantial) to the American Red Cross to aid in disaster relief efforts in New Orleans.

I am contacting Fundable right now to make sure that this is workable. Please leave any comments you may have or simply click here to make a $7.50 contribution using PayPal or any credit card to complete this action.

To my friends stuck down in New Orleans, Biloxi, and Jackson, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Please write or call when you can, I know communication has been difficult & by the time you read this you'll probably have already called.

If you don't want to contribute to either my Fundable action or American Red Cross, that's ok -- here is a great list of other legitimate places you can make donations that will aid disaster relief efforts. Whatever you can do right now to help these people, that's what really matters.

As for me, sure I need a car. But these people need much more than that right now. Many have lost everything they own, are regrouping, trying to figure out where they can migrate for six months or more, and many of the apartments in and around the outskirts of New Orleans & Biloxi have already been taken over by F.E.M.A. people.

Now is a time when we can all come together, even in a small way, to help out the people who are really in need right here at home.

Click here for the latest reports from Google News.

Places I'd Better See You Tonight

Monday, August 29, 2005

Bands To Watch: Katrina and the Waves



Nobody's "Walking on Sunshine" today around here, and nobody's laughing either. Homes are flooded in New Orleans, Jackson, MS is on track for the storm, and many friends have arrived in Memphis. After helping Dr. Abby and Aaron pack up their apartment on three hours of sleep, I spent the day trying to get eBay items ready to ship out. The bad news that Hurricane Katrina would definitely hit New Orleans had not reached me at that point, but as the internets do, I came to realize what would be coming. To the best of my knowledge, all of my friends and family are safe, and to anyone stuck in the mess down there, you're in my thoughts and prayers.

Memphis is not out of catching a piece of this mess, we'll be getting some rain and thunderstorms today as well. Watch for weather advisories, we will see them as the day progresses.

To the people overcharging those racing from the storm for gas & other services, all I can say is that I wish nothing but pain on each and every one of you. I hope someone comes after you and shuts you down for good, you know who you are and you are a great example of what happens when ignorant people don't use birth control correctly.

Legitimate concerns over the jump in the price of gas as a result of the hurricane's impact on oil production (25% of domestic oil production occurs in the region being hit) are everywhere in the news today. A barrel of oil surged in price. Already battered by economic troubles, these are difficult times in which to fix our bicycles and learn to ride them once again. Public transportation seems like an excellent alternative to unnecessary use of automobiles (except for long trips).

I'm sure I will update more later on, but the horrible punchline of this post came to me in my sleep last night. Stay dry and safe.

Friday, August 26, 2005

I Didn't Sleep At All Last Night.

Well, I didn't sleep at all last night, but after taking a nap I see things in a much brighter perspective. Sometimes, 3 or 4 hours of sleep is all it takes. Sleep is good, and I shouldn't worry about things out of my control -- like how other people see me. When it comes to business, I work my ass off and everyone I've worked with knows it.

I interviewed for an awesome job today, and I hope I get it. Mind you, I interviewed with about 2 hours of sleep, but I think things went well. Time will tell.

Imma go get me some BBQ with a couple of friends and take on the weekend. You'll be at The Glass show tonight and Augustine tomorrow night won't you? YOU BETTAH!

Hey lemme take a second to thank my 15 contributors to the Fix My Car Fund with proceeds going to fix my car and a charitable contribution to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. If you have $7.50 to spare, please put some money in the kitty - just 85 more contributions and we're good to go! Thanks everyone!!

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Sharon Thinks Bruce Is A "Prick"? More Iron Maiden/Osbourne Family Madness

One of my favoritest blogs of the moment, Brooklyn Vegan, comes through with the goods again. A follow-up to the blitz about Iron Maiden's egg pelting, go hear the crowd going wild and Sharon Osbourne calling Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden a prick. You need Windows Media Player. (Courtesy of Pitriff)

Hoo boy. Sharon, Sharon, Sharon. *frowny face*

Poker Trend Watch: Strip Poker Invitational



I hate worse than anything when I get roped into something expecting a big payoff and, at the end, walking away totally amazed at how some people in the world are still allowed to make money for absolutely no reason whatsoever. The popularity of No Limit Texas Hold'Em Poker has exploded in the last three years, and everyone wants a chunk of the quarter-billion dollar prize pool from cashing in on the trend.

The tagline for it reads, "Have you ever wanted to watch six beautiful women play strip poker for $50,000? Well, now you can!" I read this and thought to myself, "Yes, yes actually you're right! I've always wanted to watch six beautiful women play strip poker for $50,000." To those of you who know me, it should be obvious -- clearly, the creators of The Strip Poker Invitational were reading my emails (and my mind).

Who doesn't love a good game of strip poker? Strip poker is sexy, exciting, and a great way to get to know everyone at the table much better. You've had about five or six too many, everyone's flirting, next thing you know you're all in and you're all out. It's either innocent fun, or it's too hot for TV, but either way you know what you're getting into when you start.

The scenario is pretty basic here, almost too basic. Just imagine if the girlfriends all got together, pooled their money, were only allowed to wear five pieces of clothing, were given $5000 in chips, and allowed to play No-Limit Texas Hold'em with the winner of each hand being allowed to choose one other player at the table to lose a piece of clothing. At the end of the game, everyone is naked, broke, and someone has all the chips. If you lose all your chips, you end up in the "Lingerie Lounge". With me so far?

For starters, the whole idea is shamelessly lifted from the usually entertaining Bravo show Celebrity Poker Showdown (where Carmen Electra's hubby Dave Navarro competed and came in second place for Season 3), but it lacks any of the B-list celebrity hubris, humor or joy. It's a lifeless piece of slow strip tease nonsense congealed and packaged for guys with a strip poker fetish. Obviously, the action of this isn't about the poker at all. It's just like regular strip poker: It's about who can lose the most hands and get naked first.

If you love the game of poker, this video is probably not for you, and I'm truly sorry that I ever got rooked into watching it. The slow stripteases aren't even good, the women (though undoubtedly beautiful) are so dolled up, you just want to skip to the part where they're naked and get it over with (which is only about half the video, mind you). At the end of it all none of them really care about the game, you're too pissed off that you sat through this garbage for the lame payoff, and you have to ask yourself why someone really needed to make this video.

I love a good game of strip poker, but I prefer my strip poker to be mutually involving, with people I dig, and not look like yet another reason to accuse Hollywood of running out of ideas.

Advice: buy this if you're just that hard up. Otherwise, call up some friends and make your own game. Life is a contact sport. Now get off the internet, and don't draw out on me with your stupid Jack-Deuce offsuit, I'm not taking off my thong.

GoogleTalk Has Launched, AOL's "Instant Messenger Guy" Suffers A Mild Panic Attack.



In the days and weeks to come, you will be able to use GoogleTalk to communicate with your friends over Instant Messenger, have live audio chat, and surely other cool features -- all with that cozy Google trademark to make you feel warm and fuzzy. The application has just launched, and I can tell you that after reviewing it for a few hours I've been able to notice a great deal about it.

For starters, it's surprisingly just like every other IM application on the market. The launch expectations have run very high for this new instant messaging client, but it's really not like you needed another application to install and make your computer even slower than it is right now, did you?

Like Yahoo! Messenger, it's tied to your Gmail account. Like Yahoo! Messenger, it offers voice chat. Honestly, I have yet to find out why to get goofy about it. Maybe you should download and install it for yourself and you can add me as a friend. Please don't send me a bunch of bullshit IM's though because I'll just close it forever and forget it was ever installed. Otherwise, I'll give it a 14-day trial to see what I think.

Mind you, the time is ripe for people to come up with creative hacks for the new application and this first one appears to allow broadcasts, MP3's, and podcasts over GoogleTalk. This is the internet equivalent of being able to call one of your friends and play them a song over the phone.

Woo hoo. Yay. Thrill me, people, don't give me leftover Won Ton soup and tell me you made Chinese food for dinner, mmkay?

As for the "AOL Instant Messenger Guy", he was last seen sobbing, pacing nervously, talking to himself and stuffing his face full of hot dogs at Pink's Hot Dogs on La Brea. His publicist could not be reached for comment, but in a press release has assured everyone that her client is "fine" and "is not worried about competing with a company whose logo looks like a gay pride necklace gone wrong."

Closing Stock Prices for Wednesday:

AOL Time Warner (UYE, NYSE): 26.36
Google (GOOG, Nasdaq): 282.57

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Iron Maiden Catch Unfriendly Fire At Ozzfest: Drive-By Eggings Plaguing L.A.



With thanks to my sweet Piper Dandy for notifying me regarding this horrific account of bad blood gone haywire at Ozzfest this weekend when legendary Iron Maiden were the victim of an all-out assault from people within the Osbourne camp.

Read on, fair reader...

The manager of a well-known heavy metal band (*NOT* IRON MAIDEN) who attended this past weekend's Ozzfest show at the Hyundai Pavillion in Devore, California has submitted the following first-hand account of the evening that will surely go down as one of the most shameful moments in recent rock history (NOTE: at his request, the author's identity is being protected by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

"Saturday night's Ozzfest at the Hyundai Pavillion near Los Angeles was a debacle on so many levels, I am still in shock as I write this. As a fan of many of the bands [Saturday] night, one can only hope this was an isolated incident, but sadly, it most likely wasn't. As many of you have heard already, co-headliners and metal legends IRON MAIDEN were pelted with eggs, bottle caps, beer cups, spit on, had people from the Ozzfest camp talking over the PA during their set, had 'Eddie' delayed from his onstage entrance, had members of the [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] entourage rush the stage with American flags, and had the PA intentionally turned off over six times, all by the OSBOURNE CAMP.

"While it's still unclear as to the exact reasons why the terrorizing started (rumors abounded as to why, with everything from Bruce calling out Ozzy in the U.K. rock magazine Kerrang! on the widely known fact that Ozzy uses a teleprompter, to various vague references said on stage about a 'reality show' at an Ozzfest stop in Detroit), one thing was very clear: The whole thing stunk, and left me, and nearly all of the 40,000+ heavy metal fans in attendance angered and disappointed. Not that behind the scenes bickering or magazine trash-talking is anything new to rock fans, but the shocking lack of professionalism at one of the largest stops in North America in front of 40,000+ spectators, at the hand of the Osbournes was nothing short of disgusting.

"It all began early in the afternoon, when many side stage bands were openly approached in clear view of everyone backstage by Sharon and Kelly Osbourne to 'join them in throwing eggs at IRON MAIDEN this evening.' All the bands were encouraged to rally the other side-stage bands to do so. Members and/or friends of the hardcore band BURY YOUR DEAD were seen actively trying to encourage other side-stage bands to 'join in the fun.' Thankfully, many side stage bands angrily declined.

"Later that evening, as IRON MAIDEN came on stage, their intro was interrupted by [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] hanger-on and biker wannabe Big Dave, who was at the soundboard loudly chanting 'Ozzy, Ozzy' over the PA. MAIDEN opened their set and the entire band was pelted from the front row with eggs, beer, beer cups, spit, and various other objects by an Ozzfest-credentialed, bandana-wearing, Osbourne entourage. IRON MAIDEN, ever the professionals, continued through their set, and by the time they launched into their second song, 'The Trooper', Bruce changed into a civil war-era, red coat and began waving a Union Jack British flag. Then, someone in, or associated with, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY tried to rush the stage waving and American Flag with the words 'Don't fuck with Ozzy' scrawled across his bare chest. He was tackled and beaten by MAIDEN crew and promptly thrown off stage.

"As 'The Trooper' ended, frontman Bruce Dickinson, with characteristic spunk, launched into a scathing attack on the people terrorizing his band, calling them 'a sorry excuse for an Ozzy Osbourne fan,' and wondering aloud how, 'three dozen eggs could get snuck into the front row of Ozzfest by people with Ozzfest laminates?' Though he never named names, all in attendance could understand who he was referring to. Nicko McBrain ran up to the front asking Bruce to hold on while he cleaned egg off his drums. He then stated the the next song wouldn't be heard on 'Your local cocksucking corporate radio station, wouldn't be seen on MTV anymore, and sure as hell wouldn't be played on a fucking reality TV show,' met by a huge roar from the crowd.

"During the song 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', Bruce, after only the first two lines, stopped singing and ran to the front row, firing back at his terrorizers, saying 'That asswipe right there, with the curly hair, the fucking glasses, and Ozzfest laminate throw his fucking ass out of here right now. It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, and if it wasn't for a lawsuit, I'd rip your fucking head off right now, you piece of shit!!!!' He had the various attackers ejected and continued with a blistering version of the song until right before the big sing long at the end, the PA was INTENTIONALLY cut off. When it came back, Bruce launched into another scathing attack saying that they were supposed to play a shorter set than normal today, and only play 55 minutes, but IRON MAIDEN can't drive 55, or play 55, and were going to play our whole fucking set tonight.

"The band endured six more 'PA cuts,' including having the power to their amps turned off at one point. When the PA would come back on, they would simply launch into the next IRON MAIDEN classic, never missing a beat. Frankly, with every PA cut, the band just got meaner and meaner, playing each new song with an anger and a fire that was at times, simply astonishing to watch. Bruce began the introduction to IRON MAIDEN with a speech about 'Your constitution has something about 'We The People.' Well let me tell you, the only reason we are up here tolerating this bullshit, is because of you people. You have been amazing Glen Helen, and there are A LOT of IRON MAIDEN fans here tonight,' eliciting a huge roar from the crowd. He continued, 'It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, NOTHING is going to come between us and our fans, and it will be death before dishonor, this is 'Iron fucking Maiden',' which was greeted by a thunderous applause. During 'Iron Maiden', longtime MAIDEN mascot Eddie was purposely delayed from making his entrance, making a brief appearance at the end, and one could only wonder as to how. As the band closed there set with a furious version of 'Sanctuary', the PA was again cut only to have Big Dave repeatedly chant 'Ozzy' over the PA, while the band tried to say goodbye to their fans. The now-furious crowd angrily drowned him out with chants of 'MAIDEN, MAIDEN.'

"Then, not 10 seconds after MAIDEN left the stage, Sharon Osbourne walked on stage and predictably, tried to give MAIDEN some fake, half-hearted praise about how they'd like to 'thank IRON MAIDEN,' and what a wonderful band IRON MAIDEN are, and how their crew were 'fantastic,' then sneering, 'But Bruce Dickinson is a prick.' The entire crowd, now fed up with the entire affair, began loudly booing her, pelting her with beer cups, and yelling 'bitch.' She tried to carry on, adding that 'Bruce had disrespected Ozzfest,' only to be drowned out by an ocean of boos, and soaked with beer. She slammed the microphone down and stormed off stage. Many in the crowd, fed up with what they had just witnessed, especially considering that many had come solely for MAIDEN, and paid upwards of $150 to do so, left in droves. SABBATH played to maybe half the audience that was there prior, and seemed stagnate compared to the band preceding them. As a huge fan of SABBATH, I honestly couldn't stand to watch them.

"I've seen IRON MAIDEN probably 10 times in my life, and frankly this was the very best IRON MAIDEN show I've had the pleasure of witnessing. You DON'T want to fuck with IRON MAIDEN. The more the Osbournes tried to fuck with them, the better they got! IRON MAIDEN was on fucking overdrive! Considering the amount of terrorizing and intimidation that IRON MAIDEN had to deal with at the hands of the Osbournes and the other side stage and main stage bands participating, they were the consummate professionals. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands, and IRON MAIDEN and Bruce Dickinson proved beyond a shadow of a doubt why they are the greatest metal band on earth right now, and quite possibly, the classiest, too.

"The Osbournes are drunk with power. Shame on them, and shame on ANY of the bands that participated in the terrorizing and intimidation. It was disgusting display, that NO BAND should have had to endure, but especially a legend like IRON MAIDEN. That fact that it happened in front of 40,000+ people, at a Clear Channel-sponsored event, while Hyundai Pavilion Security turned a blind eye and let the Osbourne camp pelt one of the main headlining bands with eggs, beer, and spit, was simply inexcusable.

"I will proudly be attending next year's MAIDEN fest, and as much as I hate to say it, I can't bring myself to spend another dime on the Osbournes.

"Ozzfest, hang your head in shame."
The story was also covered over at CNN. Can't we all juss get along?

Monday, August 22, 2005

Last Blogger Of The Day To Weigh In on the "Six Feet Under" Final Episode. -- NO SPOILERS.



First off, there are no spoilers here so you can read safely.

I cry about things. It's okay to tell you that I think, because if you tell me you don't cry at things that you see or hear, then I can't talk to you about what it means to be alive. I can't talk to you about what it means to stare breathless at the edge of the Grand Canyon, what it feels like to climb the rocks in Joshua Tree, to dive from three stories high into a rock quarry in Stowe, Vermont.

I can't talk to you about getting mugged at gunpoint on the streets of New York, walking home barefoot and without my backpack. I can't talk to you about hugging my mother and father before I get on the plane to go back to New York, what it feels like to advertise a show for weeks and end up playing to four people. I can't talk to you about how it felt the first time I heard and understood Bruce Springsteen's words as he sang "There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away/They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets", what it's like to lose someone you love, the moment you first knew you were truly in love.

If you tell me you can't cry, then I can't talk to you about any of these things, and I can't really explain to you the feeling that I had when I watched what would be the very last episode of HBO's multiple-Emmy-winning series Six Feet Under last night, one of three television shows I followed religiously over the past several years. I don't own a television, but I always found a way to be near one in order to catch up with what I missed.

Occasionally, there are bright moments in the fog of television's advertising-driven frostbitten leftovers that maybe only tears can really explain.

When something makes you feel a way you've never felt before that you can ever recall, it's a bit like being a child I think. When we are kids, we don't have the words to explain how we feel, we don't know how to express ourselves or what is happening to us, and so we cry. As we get older, learn more about the world, become more exposed to harsh realities and embittered by them, the less we cry. We're old pros at being able to keep a stiff upper lip, and God forbid you're a man who cries. That will never do. Men who cry are still fags in one-and-two-syllable America.

Watching the last ten minutes of the show last night, I cried a mixed set of tears. Partially tears of joy, partially tears of happiness. It was as if I had rediscovered some part of myself that I no longer wanted to admit existed and was forced into dealing with some very difficult issues regarding my relationships with my family and close friends. At first, there was an emptiness and a sadness that rushed over me, but as the moments continued through the ending, I came face to face with, inevitably, the fine line between the destiny we choose and the destiny that chooses us.

If it's all the same, I'd rather not give away any spoilers (I've given out none so far). Maybe it's all the time I've invested in watching the show's characters develop and grow, a sense of longing to have that time back now as if I've been cheated once again by the idiot box. But more likely, it's the sense of knowing that it doesn't matter what it takes to make me cry anymore.

For me, it is in knowing that I was able to cry about something at all. Like the characters on the show, these tears were a combination of sadness and joy for the fact that it's all over now.

There is no turning back on anything. I am just like you, you see, if for no other reason than the fact that I am where I am at this moment. If it's not enough, I'd beter be prepared to do more than simply cry about it, or else crying about it is all I'll ever be able to do.

Robert Moog, Revolutionary Inventor of the Portable Synthesizer the Minimoog, R.I.P.

You can almost feel the pulse of SLSK as it burns white hot today, scorched from the thousands of people who will type in the word "Moog" in the search engine scrambling to hear what has passed. For today, Robert Moog, inventor of the revolutionary Minimoog synthesizer, regarded by the world of music as the father of the portable synthesizer and of electronic music, has died of a brain tumor. He was 71 years old. Moog was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in March of this year and had been receiving radiation & chemotherapy to fight the disease.

Moog was born in New York City in 1934 where, as a teenager, he became obsessed with building Theremins (those high-pitched squealy sounds heard in things like the theme from Star Trek for example). In 1954, Moog founded The R.A. Moog Company, making electronic instruments as part-time work. In 1964, the company became his full time business and began producing a full line of music synthesizers.

In 1969, the album Switched On Bach was released by musician Wendy Carlos, an album created entirely with a Moog synthesizer. The album sold over 500,000 units in the United States, earning a Gold Record award and moving Moog from working in relative obscurity to an overwhelming demand for his synthesizers. His line of instruments are regarded as the turning point in the creation of electronic music, and Moog's inventions continue to inspire, fascinate, and stimulate imaginations of countless thousands of electronic music creators even today.

Moog's contributions to the world of modern music are beyond explanation, and his legacy will continue forward so long as instruments bearing the name Moog continue to appear around the globe.

If you're curious about whether you've heard any of Moog's hits, check out this track called "Popcorn" by Hot Butter and this Moog classic "E.V.A." by Jean Jacques Perrey, then head over and pick up this incredible compilation, Best Of Moog.

A little bonus, did you ever watch the TV show "The Joker's Wild" in the 70's? I sure did.

Bob's family has created a website where you can share your thoughts about Bob with them and the rest of the world. Rest in Peace, Bob, and thank you for all the groovy music.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

At Abby's Suggestion, I'm Trying A Fundable Project

I felt terribly awkward about doing this, but at Dr. Abby's suggestion, here it goes. If 100 of my friends, family members, and visitors can get behind this,it would be pretty cool. Fundable allows you to make an in-kind contribution to my group action by donating a certain amount of money (in this case $7.50) either via PayPal or credit card to my project (in this case fixing my car).

Your contribution to my project is only held until the project deadline arrives. If the full amount of the project isn't raised by the time the deadline comes, the money is refunded to you. If it is collected, then the money is collected and given to me for the project (which, as you know by now, is to fix my poor, poor car).

The possibilities for this type of group action are amazing and limitless. If this proves to work out, I'll pledge to create a fundable project to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for breast cancer research and donate 10 percent of whatever is raised from this car fixing project to them as well.

I just want to say thank you to the people who have been most supportive of me the last couple of weeks -- you know who you are and I thank you for everything.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Jude Law's Danged Dingle Dangles Dingly, Dangit.

Yes, it's true. Some freakazoid with a camera snapped a picture of super-celeb Jude Law taking off his swimsuit, and yesterday the gossip columns had a field day with it. Er, him. Yes. Anyways, there appears to be a picture online here if you're wondering just how far to the left or right it curves, but I warn you now: this link is NSFW, folks.

Jason Flom Out At Atlantic Records, Kallman Expected To Be Named Successor

In a shake up that is guaranteed to rattle the industry, Jason Flom, the impassioned record executive whose string of hits reads like a who's who of music's last 15 years, has resigned as chairman and C.E.O. of Atlantic Records. For months now, Flom has been consistently at odds with Warner Music's domestic chief Lyor Cohen, two men whose styles of leadership have been described as "total opposites" by industry insiders.

Flom, whose enormous success at the label in the 1990's led to his own imprint, Lava Records, was named as part of the management team during a restructuring of Warner in the $2.6 Billion buyout of the label by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and Thomas H. Lee partners. Atlantic records, which has been forced into a series of cutbacks and mergers after years of declining revenue, has been hopeful for a re-emergence of sorts.

Possible new restructuring could cause problems. In the face of a label shakeup, there are always questions surrounding current artist rosters. Generally, when shakeouts occur, priorities in the previous label regime are shifted. Take the example of Fiona Apple who, after years of struggle with a new regime at Sony, is slated to release her long-awaited Extraordinary Machine on October 4th. At Atlantic, artists will be looking for some assurances. Death Cab For Cutie, who left their indie stronghold at Barsuk after years of being courted by major labels and refusing deals, agreed to join the Atlantic Records Family just last year. DCFC's new album Plans hits stores on August 30th. The resulting impact for any number of bands in DCFC's position can only be viewed as cautiously optimistic.

Craig Kallman, who has been acting as co-president of the label for some time now, is expected to be named to succeed Flom.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

My Carrot Top Can Kick Your Carrot Top's Ass

Ultragrrl just clued me into a photograph of Carrot Top that will haunt me until my last breath. Steroid much?

Go To Ebay And Buy Some Of My Stuff.


August has been the cruelest month of 2005, and it just keeps getting crueler. I don't want to get into all the specifics, but things could only be worse if I were struck with an incurable disease (God forbid!). Well, when life gives you lemons, oh you know the rest. Anyways, I've got some stuff up for sale on eBay that probably four or five of you would be interested in. Bid high, early, and often.

In a minor turnaround for this otherwise craptacular month, I just got hired for a PA gig working on the American Idol auditions here in Memphis, submitted for another upcoming project, and I'm supposed to speak on two different panels at this year's CMJ Marathon in New York City. Trips cost money, money is tight, so I'm working it out trying to get there. Generous offers of frequent flyer mile donations are accepted, or you can click the PayPal donation link there on the right if you'd like to and are able to help. If not, don't feel bad -- it's pretty hellish for almost everyone I know right now.

Speaking of CMJ, two of my favorite local bands will be appearing at CMJ this year. It's no surprise to locals that Lucero will be making an appearance, but how thrilled was I to get the email about the rock and roll geniuses of the 21st century Living Better Electrically? Jackson, Mississippi's finest will be appearing at CMJ this year to blow your doors off the hinges, and if you miss out you'll be hearing about them after it's been cool to know about them for two years.

Details:
Friday September 16th
8 pm
Alphabet Lounge
104 Avenue C @ 7th Street

If you haven't already heard them, click here to download "Aye, Me" from the SXSW website.

I'm going to go to sleep now and try to get up at a normal time like normal people for a change. Tomorrow has got to be a better day.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine Finally On The Move



According to all known reliable sources and facts, Fiona's long-awaited "Extraordinary Machine", re-recorded and fluffed up by Mike Elizondo (best known for his work with Dr. Dre and Eminem) and Brian Kehew, will see proper release in the United States on October 4th. Already, as of this writing, one track from the album, "O' Sailor" is available on Fiona's MySpace page and has been played nearly 37,000 times. Expectations are running high for this release as evidenced by the long-fought campaign for the original version to see release. That version, as you already probably know, has been available for stream from this site for months and will continue to be made available as a stream only.

I think you should be able to compare versions, personally & although the jury will remain out on this until I've heard the whole thing, I can already tell you -- I'm sorely disappointed with the remade version of "O' Sailor". There are vocal performances of such magnitude on the Jon Brion-produced version of this album, it's hard to imagine it any other way.

The original version is still over there on the right in "Radio EJ". Something to tide you over until the next wave happens October 4th.

But hey, I love Fiona Apple & I'm very happy she was able to work things out with Epic to get this three-year odyssey completed.

UPDATE: You can now purchase the single "O' Sailor" / "Parting Gift" from iTunes by clicking here for only 99 cents.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

The Memphis Flyer's Best of Memphis 2005 Poll is Online

Every year, our free weekly The Memphis Flyer does a Best of Memphis 2005. Click right here to take the poll to vote for the Best of Memphis 2005. As I'm reminded, they cover everything from Best Department Store to Best Video Store (Black Lodge Video of course), Best Vietnamese (Pho Hoa Binh of course) right down to Best Blogs (yes, I voted for myself) and Best Deli (Young Avenue Deli, duh). If you've lived in Memphis in 2005, your vote counts, so take a few minutes and stop by the Best of Memphis 2005 Poll!

Friday, August 12, 2005

New Mac OSx Tiger Hack "OSx86" Will Run on PC's -- FASTER Than On A G4 or G5.

According to Wired News, a hacked generation of Mac OSx Tiger, called "OSx86" by many, has leaked into the wild of the internet. It is the first known version which can natively and easily be installed on any regular PC. Already, a number of torrent sites and hacker groups have begun offering the tweaked version, and the level of genuine curiosity for what was previously impossible is explosive.

Even more exciting than the software's availability is that the PC's seem to be running the new version of OSx much faster than any G4 or G5 machine. Machines for which the version of OSx have been found to work well are Dell laptops and a number of other PC's running both Intel microprocessors and AMD. The sweeping implications of this technology for PC users means one can build and run a machine using OSx for considerably less money than it would take to purchase a Macintosh computer.

The new OSx86 is able to run on a PC because it bypasses a chip that is found in Macintosh computers called the Trusted Platform Technology chip. This is what prevents previous versions of OSx from being able to run on PC's.

For more information on this important developing technology story, visit the story at Wired News or have a look at the OSx86 Project Official Homepage. Please note that my website and the pages linked in this post do not contain links to downloading the software.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

FLYING PIG ALERT: Jerry Falwell Supports Gay Civil Rights

How this story has managed to miss the mainstream is beyond me. Jerry Falwell, the unflappable mouthpiece of the conservative Christian right has come out in favor and support of gay civil rights -- and for that matter, rights for all regardless of race, creed, color, religion, or sexual orientation.

In this excerpt from his August 5th appearance on "The Situation with Tucker Carlson", Reverend Falwell was asked several pointed questions regarding his beliefs, and I have nothing to say except please watch out for porkchops taking off and landing from the icy airstrip in hell:

CARLSON: Show a little self-restraint.

All right, the SCOTUS situation may not be as black and white as it first appeared. John Roberts nominated for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, once argued against such appointments for federal judges. Earlier this week, we found out that Roberts once did pro bono work helping gay activists win a landmark case before the Supreme Court. That was in 1996, when the court struck down a Colorado law allowing employers and landlords to exclude gays from jobs and housing.

Now supporters and opponents of the nominee are wondering what it all means. Well, we don‘t know exactly what it means. We do know this wasn‘t a case he was paid to take. This is something he did for free, voluntarily. It‘s impossible believe—believe—to believe he would have done it if it violated his conscience. So, he had to, in some way, agree with it.

It makes me think that the people who have commented on this so far have no clue what they‘re talking about.

MADDOW: Hmm.

CARLSON: Conservatives, spurred on by the White House, have said, he‘s great; he‘s one of us.

They don‘t know that, right? And the left has gone completely bananas. The head of the Human Rights Campaign wrote a piece, the headline, “Anti-Gay Extremists Trying to Gain A Stranglehold on Government,” implying this guy is an anti-gay extremist. Neither side knows what it‘s doing.

Jerry Falwell, I notice you wrote a piece supporting Mr. Roberts. Are you rethinking that?

FALWELL: Oh, not at all.

You know, I—if I were an attorney, I‘d certainly fight for the right of gays or anyone else to be employed or be housed wherever they wished to be housed. I may not agree with the lifestyle. And I don‘t. But that has nothing do with the civil rights of that member of our—that part of our constituency.

John Roberts would probably have been not a very good lawyer if he had not been willing, when asked by his partners in the law firm to assist in guaranteeing the civil rights of employment and housing to any and all Americans.

CARLSON: But wait a second. I thought conservatives are always arguing against special rights for gays. And the idea is that...

FALWELL: Well, housing and employment are not special rights. I think—I think the right to live somewhere and to live where you please or to work where you please, as long as you‘re not bothering anybody else, is a basic right, not a—not a special right.

MADDOW: I think—I‘m happy to agree with you on this.

I mean, I think that if you look at Romer v. Evans, it‘s pretty hard to say that you‘re against the decision in Romer v. Evans that was originally arrived at. I mean, Scalia and Thomas were definitely against it. But the fact is, this—this—this case was about...

CARLSON: And Rehnquist.

MADDOW: And Rehnquist. I think you‘re right there—was—this case was about whether or not you can put an ad in the paper that says, I want to rent this apartment, but no gays need apply, or, I want to put up a for-hire sign that says, no lesbians will be hired for this job. If you think that‘s an American value and that we ought to be supporting that, then you‘re with the minority in Romer v. Evans. If you‘re not, then you‘re on the side of John Roberts.

CARLSON: I‘m—of course, I‘m not even arguing that.

MADDOW: Right.

CARLSON: I‘m merely saying, this gives us a window into Judge Roberts‘ thinking and it suggests that he‘s not nearly as conservative as his critics and his supporters have suggested. And I think that, if he winds up being a Tony Kennedy clone on the Supreme Court, we shouldn‘t be surprised. I won‘t be.

FALWELL: Well, Tony—Tucker, I‘m very conservative. I think I‘m to the right of most people you know, but...

CARLSON: Not to the right of me, but yes.

FALWELL: But civil—civil rights for all Americans, black, white, red, yellow, the rich, poor, young, old, gay, straight, et cetera, is not a liberal or a conservative value. It‘s an American value that I would think that we pretty much all agree on.

CARLSON: All right.
More on this developing story as soon as I let these ribs out of their cages.

Courtney Love Fails Drug Test, World Stares On In Shocked Disbelief.

My favorite "Cocaine Cowgirl" (or "Heroin Hannah" depending on what year it is) has reportedly failed a court-ordered drug test in conjunction with the terms of her probation in the assault case on her former boyfriend and manager, Jim Barber. Ms. Love, who was brilliantly typecast in The People vs. Larry Flynt (filmed here in Memphis) has gone from A-List celebrity, both as a musician and as the target of numerous whore and drug jokes, to a much-needed stint in this thing called "rehab".

A bench warrant was issued for Love's arrest but the judge has held it until she appears at an already-scheduled August 19th hearing. A date will be set for another hearing at that time to determine if Love did violate the terms of her probation.

Love was recently spotted at the taping of Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson (airing August 14th, 10p/9p Memphis Time) going down on comedian Jeff Ross. You can see great highlights, including some more candid full-sized pictures of the new full-sized Courtney, by clicking here to visit just jared dot com.

News Of The Weird: TV Show Host Robbed At Gunpoint Live On Air

One would think that a criminal would realize when they see a camera pointing at their intended victim, they would have the good sense to pick a better target. Not so in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Thursday night where Gary Spirito, host of the show Shopping Mania Auction Show was held up at gunpoint while being broadcast live to hundreds of viewers on all-access cable.
"There's a guy robbing us, somebody call the police, he came in with a gun. Somebody call police, there's a guy in here trying to rob us," Spirito said.

That's when Spirito addressed the alleged robber directly.

"Then I looked up at him and said, 'We're doing a live show here and there's probably hundreds of people out there right now calling the police to come down on this building, just so you know,'" he said.

The robbers escaped with nothing, and were later apprehended thanks to phone calls placed to 911 by viewers of the show. There has been no word from Spirito on what type of car he owns. (Link via Boing Boing)

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Give Him The Tinky-Winky Doll For Christmas.

The community over at Metafilter is having a ball with this topic today, and it costs money to be a posting member there. So why don't you nice people have a crack at it here for free? The topic: Is My Child Becoming Homosexual? A helpful guide from the kind people at Focus on the Family. "Don’t wait until your daughter’s masculinized behavior or your son’s effeminate preferences get any worse!"

Hoo boy.

UPDATE UPDATE HOLD THE PRESSES: Learning about your child's pre-homosexual tendencies is also available.

There is a plan for your pre-homosexual child that will ensure him or her a normal life. Studies have been conducted that prove you can turn your child from "acting gayer" into "being a straight-up player". Simply play this song for your child a lot. Click below to download it, it helps. The following part of the song is known to reverse homosexual tendencies and urges, particular in pre-homosexual tendecy-based children, when played repeatedly at high volume:

"The Moet and Alize keep me pissy
Girls used to diss me
Now they write letters 'cause they miss me
I never thought it could happen, this rappin' stuff
I was too used to packin' gats and stuff
Now honies play me close like butter played toast
From the Mississippi down to the east coast"

How Current Is Al Gore's New Network Current? Some People Think It's Behind The Times.

I have yet to witness the post-millenium Al Gore's mind in full swing, puzzling over how quickly the mouse is running on the wheel to keep up with time. Though it has been said time and again, it is not nearly enough to once again remind everyone that Al Gore invented the internet (at least according to that trustworthy genius who currently lives in the White House), after all. Alex over at Blagg Blogg is among the lucky thousands who have been able to witness the glory of Gore's latest venture, the television network known as Current. Read this entry on his blog to find out why he thinks it was over before it ever began. One of the most scathingly beautiful reads I've had all year, I laughed so hard I spit milk through my nose!

Funnier still when you consider I don't drink milk.

Thanks To Everyone Who Came To Murphy's Tonite

I'm really sorry I missed beer bust, but my car needs a new alternator belt and fan belt & without wheels, the best I could get was a ride home. Brad Postlethwaite was amazing. He is one of the most talented songwriters I know & it was wonderful to get to really listen to him on a solid sound system. The new gear at Murphy's is incredible. If you want to see a clip of what you missed, click here to visit Abby's blog and download a 3 minute video clip she shot during "These City Walls". Hope we can do it again sometime soon.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Audioscrobbler is now Last.Fm

Audioscrobbler, probably the greatest tool music nerds around the globe have ever been given for forming communities based on what they're actually listening to rather than what Real Rhapsody tells them to download, has officially re-launched their website. Traffic is moving at a slow pace handling the millions of requests their server is getting on this first day back online. The catch? Audioscrobbler is now a cog in the machinery of Last.Fm, a streaming service that will stream songs based on your own playlists and those of similar musical taste to yours. Determined by? The Audioscrobbler plugin, of course.

You can sign up and download the plugin for Winamp, iTunes, Real Player, and a host of others over at http://last.fm -- you'll need to sign up to get the plugin and begin using the service.

New Big Star Up For Download At Stereogum

Head over to Stereogum and check out a track from Big Star's soon-to-be-released album In Space. You will not be disappointed. Click click clickity CLICK!

Reversal of Fortune: DCFC Officially Loses Touch With Their Core Audience



Since the record apparently leaked some time last week, Death Cab For Cutie's new CD Plans has been making the rounds in the blogosphere. Usually as quickly as tracks have appeared for download (as opposed to streaming), swiftly the pens of the attorneys-of-record have signed off on what are known as "Cease & Desist" orders -- orders by the record label or management sent to broadcast outlets demanding they stop the offering of tracks from the unreleased material. In a year filled with highly-anticipated releases, fewer have been more anticipated than DCFC's major label debut, primarily because of the immense independently-fostered following the band has managed over the last few years.

Since forming in Bellingham sometime around 1997, DCFC has steadily gone from regional Barsuk-label indie darlings to appearances in films and television, most notably an episode of Six Feet Under in which Ben Gibbard's etherial beckon call "I need you so much closer" is repeated over and over again by Claire Fischer and her art school friends in an ecstasy-induced haze. Gibbard himself has spent a great deal of time in Los Angeles, collaborating with Jimmy Tamborello on the enormously popular project The Postal Service. The band was repeatedly and frequently courted by major labels over the years, turning down a number of lucrative and potentially life-altering offers in lieu of having complete creative control over their music.

Easy enough, then, to see how DCFC has filtered into popular culture and into the unwitting hearts of fans cross continent. But how does a band whose popularity was built on the foundation of its fierce independence maintain its posture in the role of major label antics? No less crucial than the quality of their major-label debut itself would be the way in which that music is marketed and promoted.

Thus far, the band's handlers and representatives have openly and ferociously gone after MP3 blogs who have offered sneak peeks in advance of the record's release. It's a sign of immense self-importance and puffery by the industry's biggest bullies who, seemingly to prove their dedication to their wunderkinds, have taken off the gloves to protect their investment. Unlike other major labels, Atlantic Records, one of the grand old dames of the fledgling major label system, willfully demonstrates that they are behind the times. In an age where MP3 blogs are among the greatest promotional tools artists have at their disposal, culture geeks and fans whose rabid affection for music are being shut out of the equation in the name of money.

If bloggers and fan sites drive the cultural pulse and set the tone for purchasing patterns, it seems counterproductive for bands in Death Cab For Cutie's precarious position to allow themselves to disconnect from the very fan base that they worked so vehemently to create.

The effect of this alienation has yet to be seen. DCFC's latest CD will be released August 30th by Atlantic Records with a fall tour to follow. In the process, the band seems prepared for the coffin to close on the ghosts of their indie beginnings and meanderings. But the message being sent is quite clear: Atlantic Records is banking on the formidability of Death Cab's Gin Blossoms-esque appeal and smooth-selling back catalog to create a crowning jewel. Atlantic expects DCFC to make them a great deal of money, and they are out to get every dollar they can at whatever cost to the band's credibility or loyal fan base.

Those culture geeks and fans are left to fight amongst themselves about whether DCFC's sound has mutated into modern-day "elevator music" (as many bloggers have put it) or matured to connect with the audience for whom their music was always intended.

Here are links to a couple of excellent blog postings regarding the new album, and I will update them as necessary.

Delia True over at The New Goo reviews
Matthew Perpetua at Fluxblog has a few choice words about Ben Gibbard

Witness "Clash of the Hipsters" in the comments at Stereogum

Pre-Beer Bust Acoustic Show With Me & Brad Postlethwaite @ Murphy's

I'm thrilled to be joined tonight by Brad Postlethwaite for an impromptu acoustic show at Murphy's before Tuesday Beer Bust @ The Hi-Tone. Join me and Brad for a little acoustic music at Murphy's at 9pm, then head over to the Hi-Tone and join Midtown's Finest for beer, '80s music, and dancing.

People often tell me I don't promote my own music enough, and I'm tempted to agree. Here's a scratch demo of a track I've been working on for a while entitled "These City Walls". Click, download, share, enjoy, and come tonight if you'd like to hear more.

Monday, August 08, 2005

You May Tire Of Me As Our December Sun Is Setting 'Cos I'm Not Who I Used To Be

I sit here in front of this computer a shell of myself typing like I don't think anyone is reading or, for that matter, anyone cares. So this will serve as my only LiveJournal-esque post of the year: filled with self-deprecation and stories that I should save for a book that may or may not get written.

I exchanged messages with some old friends in Seattle the last couple of days, had a visit from one last weekend, and I've been listening to a new CD by my sworn enemies puzzling as to how their work has become so glorious.

I thought of that first week when I lived at the YMCA and I met Michael Parker and Chris Monlux. They took care of me when I didn't know anyone else. I would have never come to life in Seattle if not for these two people, and I owe them so much, particularly Chris.

I was reminded of an Endfest almost ten years ago where I was so drunk, I peed on Gavin Rossdale's shoes. The following Endfest year, I had a party in my hotel room attended by half the known musical universe of the time. It was so insane, the hotel manager came upstairs and knocked on the door threatening to pitch us out. Marco Collins walked into the hallway with him, came back a few minutes later and said, "That guy is the coolest guy on earth. I explained to him that once a year, we pay an extraordinary sum of money to stay in his hotel and that I hope he appreciates that we choose to do so here instead of elsewhere." The manager opened up the gameroom and the swimming pool downstairs and my party grew even larger in the basement of the hotel.

I was reminded of watching the leaves as they changed colors over Capitol Hill and the long walk up Broadway to Vivace or over to Pike Street to get a coffee at Cafe Paradiso.

I was drawn into the nights spent listening to DJ Riz spin music at Re-Bar, bumping into the same 300 people at the Crocodile Cafe every night or at Moe's. One night in particular, I went to Moe's to meet up with Jerry or Donnell and have a beer, I ran into Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl having a bite to eat with Michael Azerrad and we talked for a while about Artists for a Hate-Free America (which I was cursorily involved in at the time). Dave was talking about his new project, something called Food Fighters (so I thought). A few days later, I ran into him and he gave me a C-60 Cassette to listen to.

I thought of washing my clothes at Sit 'n Spin while eating a mock chicken salad sandwich and playing Trivial Pursuit. The dozen or more Metro stops between my home and my destination filled with people whom I grew to love dearly and left in a hurry.

I remembered the sense of confusion I experienced when Gus Van Sant and I were at a party during the Seattle International Film Festival and in front of me stood Todd Haynes, Gregg Araki, and some hotshot new kid named Bryan Singer. When Gus wanted to go home early, I got whisked into a limousine with Bryan Singer and Bryant Mulligan and proceeded into a weekend that only Hollywood itself could have designed. They took me to a brunch at the Space Needle where I met John Schlesinger. I watched with pride as Bryan's film The Usual Suspects won best picture at the festival.

I remembered having Coca-Cola's at Linda's Tavern waiting for some song to come on the jukebox, then walking down the street to get a burrito from Bimbo's Bitchin Burrito Kitchen from Sam Jayne.

I thought fondly of plugging into that amp out in Maple Valley with Joe, Jamie, Eric, and whoever else happened to be hanging around, then cruising up to Gulliver's Hamburgers in Issaquah to drop them off for work, and when I met Isaac how he wouldn't talk to anyone.

I remembered seeing The Gacy Brothers (which later became Mad Season) perform their first show at The Crocodile, standing next to Claudia and Mike Johnson, cracking jokes about whether Stone Gossard was a faygeleh. I shot whiskey with Mike McCready that night until I passed out at the back bar and had to be carried into a cab. Running into Mike McCready years later in Los Angeles, we laughed at what we had ultimately become -- grown ups.

Seeing Mike then, I had a similar experience of melancholy come over me as I did just now to write this. I was reminded that I lived in Seattle during a magical time.

Unlike a lot of the people that I mention here, I am not wealthy, I am not well-known, I have not sold millions of records. Most people have no idea who I am or what I'm about other than what I write. They have only my words to go on, and sometimes I worry that the perception they get of who I am becomes manifested in only a small part of the wonderful life I've had. I'm afraid to tell anyone because then I think people will only like me for that part of me, the part I keep locked inside myself.

I never get to share it with anyone. I feel as if nobody will ever understand or care, someone may just think I'm namedropping or schmoozing. Sometimes, I am. Most of the time, I'm just scared.

So I'm past it right now.

There are times where I dream of being able to float on the weight of the wonderful memories I have of Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, the wonderful friends I made, the people whom I've grown apart from, and the people for whom our growing apart was intended before we ever met. I worry that I've become a footnote in the lives of people who were never a footnote in my own, that through time and circumstances we've each grown hard and frightened of the outside world.

If any of you are reading this, I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. I never left you, and you never left me. No matter what I was to you then, my memory of each of you stays dear to me. I think of you from time to time and wish we could hang out like we once did, back when we were simple. Thank you for the good times and the bad.

In my heart, you have never left me.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Ibrahim Ferrer RIP

Singer Ibrahim Ferrer, an influential voice among Cuban performers of the 20th century and member of the popular and widely-acclaimed Buena Vista Social Club, passed away on Saturday at age 78. Though the cause of death is unconfirmed, he was reported to have been suffering from emphysema for quite some time. The legacy of his work can be seen in the film Buena Vista Social Club and his music heard most prominently on the 2000 Grammy-award winning Buena Vista Social Club and companion Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer. If the mastery of Ibrahim Ferrer passed you by during his lifetime, I cannot urge you enough to seek out his music in the time of his passing. The world has lost an extraordinary voice.

Peter Jennings R.I.P.

One of the great television news anchors of the past five decades, Peter Jennings, has died from lung cancer. His warmth, depth, charisma, and fortitude were rare qualities that few network broadcasters ever possess. For more information, check out Google News links regarding his passing.

Hey Mom, I Added The New Death Cab For Cutie Record For You To Listen To.

I think you'll like it. It's really beautiful, but you'll have to sit at your computer to listen to it. If your computer is working better than it was when I talked to you the other day, click on the album cover there on the right and it will magically pop open so you can hear it. I love you.

Oh, and to the boys in DCFC: not half bad for a bunch of old "sweater fags". Good work, boys.

Click here to help Death Cab For Cutie pay for some more stuff so they can record more stuff. Pre-Ordering is only $10.99 (man that's cheap).

OH BUT WAIT VINYL JUNKIES! You can pre-order it on 180 Gram HQ vinyl by clicking right here on this here thing here.

If you just have an iPod, well no worries. You can click here to order the single "Soul Meets Body" from iTunes for only 99 cents.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Come Down And Kick It With Us At Murphy's Tonight!

Tonights Special Guests: Taylor and EJ (*that's me)

COME GET YOUR GROOVE ON AT 10PM!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

If You're Still Dribbling, It Might Be Time To Pass The Ball, Playa.

I sat here and didn't say one word this entire weekend about the demonstrations last Friday, the silent vigil on Saturday, weekend events or anything else. I couldn't germinate the words necessary to describe how I, and probably everyone else who demonstrated again Love In Action/Refuge has felt over the last few days.

There was Larry who walked down from Love In Action during the afternoon demonstration who came up and introduced himself. "We don't hate you folks, we care about you because that's what we're taught to believe. It's our understanding of Jesus Christ that brought us here," Larry told me. I told him that we don't hate him either, and I listened as he said the words, "The Bible says homosexuality is wrong, and we can't follow in Jesus' path if we behave that way." I quickly reminded him that, "The Bible also says 'Love the sinner and not the sin', or did you conveniently forget that part on your way down the driveway?" I walked off disgusted, trying not to let my feelings cause me to act in a way that would be inexcusable.

There was the guy in the truck with a lawnmower trailer on the back who, in the middle of the afternoon rush hour, took the time to make a u-turn in the middle of the intersection, drive very slowly past demonstrators, rev his motor spewing pollution and exhaust all over them. If he had done it once, it might have been easy to laugh about. But when the same truck drove back and made a u-turn a second time, we thought he was going to drive up on the curb and run someone over. The second time around it was not funny -- it was an act of cowardice by the two men inside that truck, begging us to do something about it. Well, someone did -- they wrote down his license plate number, called the police, and showed the police video footage of the two men's journey into the depths of homophobic behaviour.

With Zach's return, it all started to seem like a wash for many people on the internet, all of whom have been bandying about secret double meanings to his blog entries, trying to figure out what he's about, get inside his head, or whatever people on the internet do when they read stuff. Message boards and forums about the issue, as well as blogs, have been picking apart the minutiae of his writing for weeks, and they treated his first words as if it was a call to arms by their fearless leader.

Several of those people have really lost their fucking minds. They forgot that he is a 16 year old boy, that all he really wanted was for someone to speak out about the program and what they would inevitably be doing inside based on the rules. The ex-gay watch movement existed long before Zach ever appeared on the internet, it's just that people in the massive of world culture were not as aware of its existence -- so he asked some of the people on his friends list to bring it to light. We did. We spoke out, coalitions were formed, media was contacted, people were furious and aggravated as to what was happening.

But even at the beginning, we were all worried that when the media attention to Zach's blog and his story expired, what would become of the movement? Would people abandon it? Hey, what if Zach came out and he was actually ex-gay? What were people going to do?

The movement that exists right now should do so based on the issues, not on the person, as it always has. People have tried repeatedly to make Zach the poster boy for gay civil rights, for the ex-ex-gay movement, for youth rights -- pick something here, everyone glommed onto Zach because he represents the good in all of us being oppressed by something out of his own control.

Because of Zach's few words, in the last two months this story has gone from a small number of blogs to major gay publications, all the way up the journalism chain. To date, a number of major news media have become directly involved in this story. The New YorkTimes, Good Morning America, CNN, Oprah Winfrey requested an interview, TV Globo in Brazil --- we are talking about worldwide coverage. Activism has been awakened in thousands of people who had long since given up the fight. Margaret Cho blogs about it. People around the world are patently aware of what goes on in places like Love In Action now, and it scares, concerns, and outrages them.

But Zach did not sign up to be the poster boy of the movement.

He's not an activist. He's not a martyr or a rebel. He may seem like a symbol to some people, but there's one other thing he is that everyone seems to conveniently forget: he's a 16 year old kid who went through this program so that he could have his childhood.

Instead, without meaning to, everyone involved in pushing his story has outed him to the whole fucking world in the same amount of time it took him to go through this program.

In two days time, people reading his words have gone from supportive and understanding to lividity that their comment was deleted from his blog because, probably, he was VERY overwhelmed by all of this and, at the end of it all, he does not want this to be his life.

Now that we all understand that Zach is not the focus of this any longer, are people all planning to abandon ship on the real issues at hand? I sure hope not -- that's exactly what Love In Action and programs like it want you to do. If you jump ship on it, then they don't have to deal with all the fussing and fighting as they field requests for information from thousands of potential new applicants. They want this to die down so that they can keep operating outside the law, unlicensed, performing reparative therapy which is known to be dangerous, and receiving untold thousands of dollars for it every year. You're totally naive if you don't think people will step up and ask these used car salesmen to help them fix their gay -- they do it all the time, and nobody is doing anything about it.

If you're still thinking about why you're mad at Zach for coming out and not wanting to jump right in and play ball with you, then any attempt at forcing these places to be in compliance with medical standard disappears.

If you're still angry at Zach for deleting the comments that you left on his blog, then your machinations are transparent.

If you're going to sit around and mope because Zach has asked for his privacy, then it's true, after all.

You never cared about what happened to him at all, did you?

Leave Zach alone, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Monday, August 01, 2005

Quick Update: Zach's Back, Blog Updated

From Zach's Blog:

"This isn't going to become my life. I won't let it. There's more to me than this. I've erased the original blogs. I know they're still out there somewhere, but the originals aren't. I haven't been able to see all of the news, newspaper, magazine, etc. articles and such, so I don't know exactly what to say. Currently I feel annoyed towards a lot of things. Love In Action has been misrepresented and what I have posted in my blogs has been taken out of perspective and context. I don't take back the things I've said, nor am I going to pretend like it never happened. It did. I refuse to deal with people who are only focused on their one-sided (biased) agendas. It isn't fair to anyone. I'm very frustrated with the things going on in my life now, but everyone has their issues. Homosexuality is still a factor in my life--- it's not who I am, it never has been. Those of you who really know me, know that homosexuality was always there but it didn't run my life, and it will not now.

Obviously, many many people have sent friend requests to me because of the recent events that've place Love In Action, my parents, and I in the center of controversial events. I don't want my blog to become that. Like I said - there is more to me than this. Out of respect for me, I ask, if you cannot keep yourself from posting all over my blogs and commenting all over my profile about the past situation, then please remove me from your friends list. HOWEVER. I know everyone has questions, and I'm not one to be biased. Even though me simply saying that doesn't exactly clear the air... If you have a question, as long as this blog is up and running, you can message me on MySpace.

The emails sent before this date are going to be deleted-- when I get around to it. I'm sorry, it's just overwhelming. I ask that if you aren't a close friend, or good acquaintance, to please keep it short and to the point. I don't need things to be sugar-coated, nor do I need them to be thoroughly explained. I just want to do what I can for the wrongs to be corrected. The media, in my opinion, has made a bit of a mess of things. But, I suppose they did what they could with what they had.

I understand the concern, and I sooo appreciate everyone caring as much as they seemed to have. I REALLY do. But, I'm still alive. I don't believe I've been brainwashed. It's almost insulting, thinking about it, to be brainwashed. I think that I'm going to be ok. I could write forever on how content I felt when I signed on, because of all of the messages, comments, etc.

I'm not going to allow myself to be pressured into a response of any kind - im trying my best.

Thanks. I'll keep adding as it's needed."

Everyone reading, it's best to give him some space to let him process all of this. He needs time, and you would, too, if you were him.

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