March 31, 2008
March 28, 2008
FROM THE DEPTHS ONE FIST RAISED HIGH
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which
is the exact opposite. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician,
author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)
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March 25, 2008
SICK BOY
...um, nurse?...
had to stay home with a bad cold today...some eye candy until I'm able to return this space to a more sober aspect...but no rush...
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March 21, 2008
I'M NAILED RIGHT IN
...from Mike Huckabee's favorite book growing up...
as I was trudging up the hill to the train station this morning, I was fairly well blasted in the face by a strong and very cold headwind. and I thought gee, if this really was the actual day that a guy named Jesus was nailed naked to a cross, then the harrowing slow death that is said to be caused by this method of execution might have been assuaged considerably by the cold climate. I'm just saying--if you put Easter in March, Jesus dies of hypothermia.
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I am the spring, the holy ground,
the endless seed of mystery,
the thorn, the veil, the face of grace,
the brazen image, the thief of sleep,
the ambassador of dreams, the prince of peace.
I am the sword, the wound, the stain.
Scorned transfigured child of Cain.
I rend, I end, I return.
Again I am the salt, the bitter laugh.
I am the gas in a womb of light, the evening star,
the ball of sight that leads that sheds the tears of Christ
dying and drying as I rise tonight.
--"Easter" by Patti Smith
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When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.
-Abraham Lincoln
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March 20, 2008
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
''Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's.''
--Richard Burton
Paul Scofield
1922 - 2008
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YOU CAN NEVER HOLD BACK SPRING
by Tom Waits
You can never hold back spring
You can be sure that I will never
Stop believing
The blushing rose it will climb
Spring ahead or fall behind
Winter dreams the same dream
Every time
You can never hold back spring
Even though you've lost your way
The world keeps dreaming of spring
So close your eyes
Open your heart
To one who's dreaming of you
You can never hold back spring
Remember everything that spring
Can bring
You can never hold back spring
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March 19, 2008
FIVE YEARS
There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare. -Sun
Tzu, general (6th century BCE)
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March 18, 2008
ED BICKERT 1932-2008
...jazz on a telecaster...
when a great jazz musician passes away, the knowledge is lost too. and we are left to our own ears in appreciating what it was that they contributed. Ed Bickert was mainly a local name up in Canada, but anyone in serious jazz guitar circles was aware of the man from up north with the swingin' tele...as you can tell from the above clip (and this is before he added a neck humbucker!), he definitely had the touch and the TONE...
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March 17, 2008
THE LAST WORD ON SPITZER
"Madam Speaker, it has been said that 'he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.' And in the case of Eliot Spitzer, this couldn't be more true. In his case it's the political sword, as his enemies rejoice in his downfall. Most people, it seems, believe he got exactly what he deserved.
"The illegal tools of the state brought Spitzer down, but think of all the harm done by Spitzer in using the same tools against so many other innocent people. He practiced what could be termed 'economic McCarthyism,' using illegitimate government power to build his political career on the ruined lives of others.
"No matter how morally justified his comeuppance may be, his downfall demonstrates the worst of our society. The possibility of uncovering personal moral wrongdoing is never a justification for the government to spy on our every move and to participate in sting operations.
"For government to entice a citizen to break a law with a sting operation — that is, engaging in activities that a private citizen is prohibited by law from doing — is unconscionable and should clearly be illegal.
"Though Spitzer used the same tools to destroy individuals charged with economic crimes that ended up being used against him, gloating over his downfall should not divert our attention from the fact that the government spying on American citizens is unworthy of a country claiming respect for liberty and the Fourth Amendment.
"Two wrongs do not make a right. Two wrongs make it doubly wrong.
"Sacrifice of our personal privacy has been ongoing for decades but has rapidly accelerated since 9/11. Before 9/11, the unstated goal of collecting revenue was the real reason for the erosion of our financial privacy. When 19 suicidal maniacs attacked us on 9/11, our country became convinced that further sacrifice of personal and financial privacy was required for our security.
"The driving force behind this ongoing sacrifice of our privacy has been fear and the emotional effect of war rhetoric — war on drugs, war against terrorism and the war against Third World nations in the Middle East who are claimed to be the equivalent to Hitler and Nazi Germany.
"But the real reason for all this surveillance is to build the power of the state. It arises from a virulent dislike of free people running their own lives and spending their own money. Statists always demand control of the people and their money.
"Recently we've been told that this increase in the already intolerable invasion of our privacy was justified because the purpose was to apprehend terrorists. We were told that the massive amounts of information being collected on Americans would only be used to root out terrorists. But as we can see today, this monitoring of private activities can also be used for political reasons. We should always be concerned when the government accumulates information on innocent citizens.
"Spitzer was brought down because he legally withdrew cash from a bank — not because he committed a crime. This should prompt us to reassess and hopefully reverse this trend of pervasive government intrusion in our private lives.
"We need no more Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act! No more Violent Radicalization & Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Acts! No more torture! No more Military Commissions Act! No more secret prisons and extraordinary rendition! No more abuse of habeas corpus! No more Patriot Acts!
"What we need is more government transparency and more privacy for the individual!"
--Ron Paul
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March 14, 2008
GOOD VIBRATIONS
"The animated GIF movies below show the [second and fifth] modes of vibration for the Epiphone Coronet electric guitar." (vibrations are exaggerated for demonstration purposes)
"Mode #2
The second mode of vibration occurs at 160.1 Hz, and looks like the second free-free bending mode. Again there is a close similarity to the second mode of a free-free beam. "
" Mode #5
The fifth mode of vibration occurs at 369.74 Hz Hz, and is a torsional mode. This is most clearly seen in the vibration of the body - opposite corners move together in phase as if the body were twisting. Nodal lines roughly split the body into four equal parts. The neck exhibits both bending and twisting motions."
click the link at the top for source..."modal analysis of an electric guitar"...
Happy Friday. Good vibes to all...
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March 12, 2008
GEORGE W MCCAIN
...have you met Scooter?...
I just want to throw this out there, since I have yet to hear it mentioned by any pundit, or written about by any editorialist. Aside from the continuing race on the democractic side, between an increasingly hysterical, race-baiting, identity-politicking, vacuous and cynical Hillary Clinton and the still-going-strong Barack Obama, there is the prospect of John McCain. McCain, whose manner seems to strike the right note with many (not with me though--why is six years of systemized torture a job qualification?), will have the power to do something which would break the hearts of the many of us who hope that some justice will be meted out for the crimes of these past eight years: he will be in a position to pardon George W. Bush.
A full pardon. And the same for Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the rest of the bloody syndicate. And make no mistake, if there are any calls for independent investigations, or anything involving war crimes, he absolutely will do this...
Think on it.
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March 11, 2008
ON WHORES
...a group shot of the only people on the planet with a genuine beef against the gov...
This post is a first—a regular reader (and old friend) writes in to ask why I haven’t chimed in on the Spitzer scandal. So here I go, kicking and screaming, with a decisive yawn and perhaps one or two wrinkles of breathless annoyance: I don’t care. I didn’t care about Monica and I don’t care about this. I’m not in the business of electing a faithful husband—I want a competent governor. Or president. Where they put their tallywhackers is not my business, unless the vaginal target belongs to, say, the leader of Germany. or a terrorist. For example, JFK schtupping the girlfriend of Sam Giancana was probably not a good decision. But a New York attorney gets caught with a prostitute and the whole world comes tumbling down? Does anyone have the slightest clue about how ordinary this actually is? This New York attorney happens to be the governor. Some others might work on Wall Street, or in the mayor’s office, or in the courts, or in the media. I know some lawyers who throw an annual party, invite all their clients, and then proceed to hand each other awards and make speeches, testifying to their own goodness. This is because they know that everyone thinks they’re scumbags. Fair enough. But the pertinent question is: are they competent scumbags? Do their clients get what they paid for? And were we getting what we voted for in Mr. Spitzer? So far, I’d have to say the answer is a qualified “yes.” Is he a hypocrite? Absolutely. Should this surprise anyone? You tell me. The only thing that surprises me is that a former D.A. would expose himself to prosecution so carelessly. The result: thus far this morning, the headlines suggest that he is contemplating resignation. Which means that he probably is going to go. And we’ll be left with his lieutenant, some political flunky who no voter gave much, if any, thought to. Nor voted for. And why? Because this country was settled by Puritans, whose tradition and way of thinking lives on in those who still think that prostitution ought to be illegal. Prostitution has been part of the human DNA ever since the dawn of civilization. An exchange of trinkets, of money, of gifts or other largesse has been a part of most marital customs (or any other form of courtship) for as far as one can look back….the dowry, the arranged marriage between two dynastic clans, the trophy wife. Need I go on? We celebrate the “sanctity” of marriage and even go so far as to threaten to soil our beloved constitution with small-minded laws about who can participate in said custom (gay prostitutes, it would seem, still remain de facto unmarried, by and large, yet straight prostitutes are welcome to walk down the aisle). The society's national political discourse is all gooey about family values yet never mentions that these values are based on an exchange of treasure. Yet when a grown man decides to exchange a little treasure of his own, privately, for the pleasure of a sexual interlude with a person of his fancy, we say this is against the law. There ought not to be any such law. Then the governor could go back to work, perhaps with some embarrassment (deservedly), and maybe even after getting served with divorce papers, but without the stain of crime, for which he is not guilty.
And how nice that mother church chimed in this week with another needless announcement—new sins for a new society! How nice. Let’s see—thou shalt not pollute (good luck with that one), and thou shalt not conduct certain types of scientific experiments (thought crime!) or practices, especially ones involving genetics and stem cells...here's the complete list of additions to Pope Gregory's original list of the seven deadly sins: polluting, genetic engineering, obscene riches, taking drugs, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice. Not to point any fingers (but hey why not) but it would appear that the church is guilty of at least five of these. still, it's nice to know that they're dead set against aborting a manbearpig...
When asked about the state of sinfulness within the church, alluding to its recently revealed history of systemized child rape, the vatican spokesman said something about the "objective gravity" of the situation, but that the media must be "denounced" because its heavy coverage of this issue "discredits" the church. So, it's not OK to criticize the church (except for, you know, witches...). the church is admittedly imperfect (first I've heard) and doesn't condone the rape and abuse of small children, but since it's been revealed that this has taken place on a global scale, we should all turn away from the burning car crash and preoccupy ourselves with less horrifying stuff. just move on. ok. right. we'll just sate ourselves with the salacious business regarding the governor and eventually another blonde college girl will go missing. sorry cardinal...
And besides all this the vatican spokesman expressed concern that huge droves of Catholics are apparently staying away from the confessionals. I have to say—confession was confusing. and slightly terrifying. Even the church didn't seem to know what it was about, or how to do it. When I was introduced to the sacrament, back in the 70s, they had just changed the practice so that you could sit in a room across from the priest, out of the darkened booth. We were freaked out enough that we had to “confess” to anybody, especially some stern celibate in the black garments sitting in a darkened box, than to make it more panic-inducing by performing the ritual under the harsh lights of open court. I was instantly put off, and I believe I went back exactly twice, probably just to appease my mother. And I certainly opted for the darkened booth, and copped to swearing and went back to my baseball and my fishing. But I do wonder: who was the one who got the directive from God? Whose magical vatican antennae picked up on the message about the environment? Or stem cell research. I like to think of it as the voice of god in Monty Python’s “the meaning of life”….in the voice of “it was the salmon mousse” we hear the voice behind the clouds: “leave my sheep alone. You whores.”
or was it: "leave my whores alone. you sheep...." ?
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March 07, 2008
WELCOME TO THE MACHINE
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."
--Carl Sagan
March 06, 2008
AN EXPLANATION OF THE BLUES
"And, of course, that is what all of this is - all of this: the one song, ever changing, ever reincarnated, that speaks somehow from and to and for that which is ineffable within us and without us, that is both prayer and deliverance, folly and wisdom, that inspires us to dance or smile or simply to go on, senselessly, incomprehensibly, beatifically, in the face of mortality and the truth that our lives are more ill-writ, ill-rhymed and fleeting than any song, except perhaps those songs - that song, endlesly reincarnated - born of that truth, be it the moon and June of that truth, or the wordless blue moan, or the rotgut or the elegant poetry of it. That nameless black-hulled ship of Ulysses, that long black train, that Terraplane, that mystery train, that Rocket '88', that Buick 6 - same journey, same miracle, same end and endlessness."
-- Nick Tosches, Where Dead Voices Gather
this guy extracted the quote...I'm just acting as the dead copycat...
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March 05, 2008
I LIKE IT I LIKE IT I LIKE IT i like it i like it i.....
...the sparkle green paint is pretty slick...
I recently made an impulse purchase. first time I've ever seen an ad in Guitar Player magazine and bought the item that day...that morning, actually. I've been trying to solve this minor lack-of-a-good-delay problem for years now. in fact, if I'd known how many so-so units I'd ended up buying, I might have just thrown all those dollars at one good high-end unit, but anything over 300 smackers for a guitar pedal does seem a little much to me...
so here's the value proposition: small box, analog circuitry, clean cosmetics, and the fact that the old mxr delays from the 70s-80s are very sweet-sounding units which are now collectors items, convinced me that this would be worth a try. the product I'd been thinking about investing in is an electro-harmonix deluxe memory man. I'm a fan of the DMM mainly because I love the sound of the echo with chorus on it. it creates this ghostly sheen to the repeats that is lovely, almost like a psychedelic pink reverb effect...jiggle the whammy bar a bit and all of a sudden the warm desert breezes waft across the room and you're enveloped in sound...and that's just the long delay settings...but the thing is ji-goon-da, and cost three bills, so I was holding off on that one.
so last week I see this advertised, I check the price and order one up. for the main pedalboard. seems like it would fit right in. here's the nice surprise--I hadn't realized that it also has a "mod" button. which means that just like my coveted DMM, I can get that chorus/delay thing from this tiny little box! eureka! me happy.
but what of the sound? surely for less than two bills, with the mfg being one jim dunlop, the tone suckage must be rather significant. I cannot deny that I hear/feel a slight lessening of crispness in the high end, but that is also the case with most any analog delay unit I've ever played through (I did recently acquire a stereo memory man, with similar tonal artifacts)...I'm planning on installing a work-around, by including a bypass switch for all, or part, of the pedalboard itself. this will allow for straight-to-amp tone, or the effected side. keeley has a unit called the "japanese apartment" which looks like it would do the trick. we'll see. for now, it certainly has that thing I was looking for--great for slapback effects, bathroom tile tone, and it has a nice 600ms long setting which is good for the long "wash" of sound one likes to perpetrate from time to time...
as always, I reserve the right to say that it totally sucks, once I've taken the shine off the new ball...(but I don't expect that I will)...
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March 03, 2008
LET'S ALL CUT THROUGH SOME BULLSHIT TOGETHER SHALL WE?
wanna know why I dig this cat so much? peep the speech in the window...sound like common sense? it is. needs repeating? yes: until we're able to recite it from memory....in particular, I dig the bit about having books around...so true...
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a stark contrast: walking back from my lunch hour I passed Rudy Giuliani getting out of a car and walking down 6th Avenue...no visible security--sunny day, all decked out in a sleek blue suit, he seemed to be just waiting for folks to recognize him, to shout out or pat him on the back or the like (I resisted the urge to heckle)...I watched him walk for a block and a half (until he passed from view) and not a single soul said a word to him. hardly surprising. he's a duplicitous scoundrel, and a crashing bore to boot. but here in the bosom of his power--midtown manhattan, half a block from the fox news building and half a block from the wall street journal's midtown office, no one even looks twice.
then again, why would we?
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EYESIGHT TO THE BLIND
...jeff healey always had my respect, if not my comprehension...
another death to report in the blues family...this time it's the great Jeff Healey, the Canadian blues guitarist, whose rise to fame in the 1980s was even more impressive due to the fact that he was totally blind. his playing style, though unorthodox (as pictured above, he played the neck overhanded), seems perfecty logical to someone who was deprived of the ability to look down and see frets and hand positions visually.
I think he had one MTV-level hit, but in recent years the interviews I'd read indicated that he was happier at a lower intensity career-wise, with the ability to further explore his musicianship on other instruments (apparently he was quite a serious horn player too--trumpet/trombone, perhaps others...) as well as the freedom to explore his other musical passions, including early 20th century jazz music (I believe he and I might have gotten along just fine--scratchy jazz records and loud stratocasters being two of my main passions as well). but cancer, the disease that claimed his sight at an early age, had come back...dead at age 41, with two kids left behind...with a new album coming out this spring...his first in years...
carpe diem...
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