Here are my thoughts on the Amero...
I believe our government is absolutely planning to create a global government, a global economy, a global currency, a global military, and a global police state. 9/11 was carried out by our own government and not middle eastern terrorists. There is no real "war on terror". We're in Iraq just to get the oil. All of these things are just steps in their plan to unify and control the world, and they're using the mass media to do it. They use the mass media to control the public's emotions, and to manipulate the public's will in their favor. Our government is planning to implement a mandatory global identification card. As if that's not bad enough they eventually plan to implant microchips inside people's bodies in order to track citizens in this global totalitarian society. Here is a quote from the bible that foretells this evil plot. "No one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast, or the number of the beast".
The Euro, the Amero, 9/11 and the patriot act are all just stepping stones in bringing about the new world order. The patriot act is only one of many new laws being put into place by our government which are designed to take away our rights and transform our society into a global totalitarian state. The sad part is that they fooled the public into believing that they are fighting the war on terror, and that these things must be done for the sake of our national security. That's complete bullshit!! Some people say the free masons are behind our government, some people say it's the bilderberg group, others say it's the illuminati. Whoever it is, what they're doing speaks much louder than who they are. The public needs to realize what they're doing, and take immediate action!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Order_%28conspiracy_theory%29
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Millennial Tension (Generation Next)
I just watched the 60 minutes video about Millenials. I consider myself a Millennial because I fit many of the criteria. I was born in 1980. I only take "yes" for an answer, and I'm tech savvy, despite the fact that I'm still unable to get links to work in my blogs.
It seems like my generation has the most negative attributes associated with it, compared to any other generation. They call us immature, narcissistic, dependant on our parents, bossy, rude. Although, I guess every new generation is looked upon that way to some extent by the previous generations. Either way, I'm proud of these stereotypes and characteristics. Why? Because we have the power, and that's what matters. They need us more than we need them, and if not, screw them anyway. We will find other ways of making money using the Internet, our computers, our cell phones, our PDAs, and yes, even our iPods.
There is always tension between generations, but in the end we all learn to adapt and live with each other. Right now they have to adapt to us, but remember that life comes full circle. One day, we're going to have to adapt to the next generation as well, and we'll probably say similar things about them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y
It seems like my generation has the most negative attributes associated with it, compared to any other generation. They call us immature, narcissistic, dependant on our parents, bossy, rude. Although, I guess every new generation is looked upon that way to some extent by the previous generations. Either way, I'm proud of these stereotypes and characteristics. Why? Because we have the power, and that's what matters. They need us more than we need them, and if not, screw them anyway. We will find other ways of making money using the Internet, our computers, our cell phones, our PDAs, and yes, even our iPods.
There is always tension between generations, but in the end we all learn to adapt and live with each other. Right now they have to adapt to us, but remember that life comes full circle. One day, we're going to have to adapt to the next generation as well, and we'll probably say similar things about them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y
Friday, July 4, 2008
So My Daughter Married A Witch Doctor
This week we watched Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. The film's theme remains controversial to this day. I can imagine how controversial it must have been in 1967. In the process of researching Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, I found out that interracial marriage had been against the law in many states in our nation up until fairly modern times. I was surprised to learn that. I hadn't realized just how prejudiced and closed minded our legislation could be in a time so recent to our own. I have to admit that I'm not as open minded as I like to think I am, but unlike gay marriage, I believe interracial marriage should not be outlawed. People are people and no one race is any better than another. Though everyone likes to think that their race is the best, at the end of the day when everything is said and done, we're all people and we're all in the same boat.
The premise of the film is to show that there's really nothing wrong with interracial marriage so long as the involved parties are willing to deal with the consequences. In order to show this, they made Dr. Prentice's character almost unrealistically perfect and appealing in every way except for the fact that he's black. Which is fine, but there's one thing I don't understand. Why the rush? If they intended to make Dr. Prentice the ideal fiance, then why have them getting married within days of meeting each other? That aspect really takes away from the integrity of his character and diminishes the value of his quality as a fiance. In fact, it makes him rather questionable and suspicious if you take into account the added racial tension. I think if they would have left out the time limitations, it would have been far more effective in portraying Dr. Prentice's character in the intended way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who's_Coming_to_Dinner
The premise of the film is to show that there's really nothing wrong with interracial marriage so long as the involved parties are willing to deal with the consequences. In order to show this, they made Dr. Prentice's character almost unrealistically perfect and appealing in every way except for the fact that he's black. Which is fine, but there's one thing I don't understand. Why the rush? If they intended to make Dr. Prentice the ideal fiance, then why have them getting married within days of meeting each other? That aspect really takes away from the integrity of his character and diminishes the value of his quality as a fiance. In fact, it makes him rather questionable and suspicious if you take into account the added racial tension. I think if they would have left out the time limitations, it would have been far more effective in portraying Dr. Prentice's character in the intended way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who's_Coming_to_Dinner
Shiver Me Timbres!!
Should people be allowed to pirate music? As a musician and a music consumer, I'm faced with a difficult dilemma. As a musician, part of me says no because I want fans to purchase my recordings. Another part of me says yes because allowing your music to be pirated is an extremely effective way of distributing your music to a global audience and getting your name out there. As a consumer, I say absolutely music should be pirated because it saves me hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year, which I would have otherwise spent at the music store. Another positive aspect of peer to peer networks is that they provide a market for musicians which just doesn't exist in a traditional music store. http://limewire.com/
Most of the bands and artists out there can't be found in most music stores, and they even can't be found in so called "independent" or "underground" music stores. I'm not talking about your neighbor's son's high school punk band. I'm referring to professional, world famous artists. The reason is because achieving distribution in the physical world is extremely expensive and time consuming. A lot of musicians simply can't afford it. But in cyber space, all it takes is a few mouse clicks and your recordings are instantly available to the entire world. It's free distribution on a truly global scale.
It really depends on who you are. There are many artists out there that want their music to be pirated and use it as a means of promotion and distribution. Obviously if you're Metallica, you're going to be against pirating music because you're already world famous and it would take away from your album sales. But if you're an unknown struggling musician or even a somewhat famous musician, allowing your music to be pirated can be quite a beneficial tool that will actually build your career rather than destroy it.
Most of the bands and artists out there can't be found in most music stores, and they even can't be found in so called "independent" or "underground" music stores. I'm not talking about your neighbor's son's high school punk band. I'm referring to professional, world famous artists. The reason is because achieving distribution in the physical world is extremely expensive and time consuming. A lot of musicians simply can't afford it. But in cyber space, all it takes is a few mouse clicks and your recordings are instantly available to the entire world. It's free distribution on a truly global scale.
It really depends on who you are. There are many artists out there that want their music to be pirated and use it as a means of promotion and distribution. Obviously if you're Metallica, you're going to be against pirating music because you're already world famous and it would take away from your album sales. But if you're an unknown struggling musician or even a somewhat famous musician, allowing your music to be pirated can be quite a beneficial tool that will actually build your career rather than destroy it.
Friday, June 27, 2008
A Siriusly Sound Subscription
In my opinion, satellite radio is absolutely worth paying for. The main reasons are because satellite radio plays the music I want to hear, and terrestrial radio doesn't. And because satellite radio is commercial free. Terrestrial radio is free but it doesn't play the music I want to hear, and it's littered with annoying commercial advertising. So it's a trade off, but one that's well worth it for me. Satellite radio should charge people because it's providing a service that terrestrial radio doesn't provide. Plus you can listen to satellite radio for free on the Internet so it's really not that bad, nor is it that expensive if you do pay for it.
I like the current radioscape and I hope it remains the way it is. I don't see very much change occurring in the next ten years, and that's a good thing because I like things the way they are. I'm a musician and if music is my bread and butter, then satellite radio is the oven and the churn. You might have to pay for satellite radio, but look at the bright side. Thanks to the Internet and the advent of peer to peer file sharing programs and bit torrents, we don't have to buy music anymore. We can just download songs and even entire albums for free. However, whether we should or shouldn't pirate music is another matter, and another blog post.
http://www.xmradio.com/
I like the current radioscape and I hope it remains the way it is. I don't see very much change occurring in the next ten years, and that's a good thing because I like things the way they are. I'm a musician and if music is my bread and butter, then satellite radio is the oven and the churn. You might have to pay for satellite radio, but look at the bright side. Thanks to the Internet and the advent of peer to peer file sharing programs and bit torrents, we don't have to buy music anymore. We can just download songs and even entire albums for free. However, whether we should or shouldn't pirate music is another matter, and another blog post.
http://www.xmradio.com/
One Small Step For Man... One Giant Leap For Freedom Of Speech!!
I couldn't be more thrilled about the fact that satellite radio is not governed by the FCC. In my vocabulary, FCC stands for the Failure to Communicate Commission. The FCC filters out so much cool stuff that terrestrial radio has become extremely boring, tasteless, and watered down. That's exactly why I don't listen to terrestrial radio. Terrestrial radio only plays pop music from MTV, or stuffy old classical music. Other than the occasional good jazz composition, terrestrial radio has nothing to offer me. If I want to hear the music that I really listen to, I have to listen to satellite radio because only satellite radio will play it. So if it wasn't for satellite radio and the fact that it's not governed by the FCC, I wouldn't be able to hear my favorite bands on the radio.
I pray the FCC never gains control of satellite radio, that would be a truly sad day for people who enjoy real music, and real radio content. Being a musician myself, I strongly believe that music needs to have an uncensored medium because the majority of music that has been produced in the world, doesn't conform to FCC regulations. Underground music needs to have a medium where it can be broadcast in a mass media format because there is a large market out there for it. Not in the sense that there is money to be made, although there is. But in the sense that people who produce underground music, and the people who listen to underground music need to have a mass media outlet for it so they can enjoy it, and promote it.
http://www.sirius.com/
I pray the FCC never gains control of satellite radio, that would be a truly sad day for people who enjoy real music, and real radio content. Being a musician myself, I strongly believe that music needs to have an uncensored medium because the majority of music that has been produced in the world, doesn't conform to FCC regulations. Underground music needs to have a medium where it can be broadcast in a mass media format because there is a large market out there for it. Not in the sense that there is money to be made, although there is. But in the sense that people who produce underground music, and the people who listen to underground music need to have a mass media outlet for it so they can enjoy it, and promote it.
http://www.sirius.com/
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Water for Elephants Essay
Jacob Jankowski, the novel's protagonist, comes from an upper class background and in an ironic twist of fate, is repositioned to lower class status due to an unfortunate accident. The novel is told in flashback by Jacob. He reminisces on the exciting and uncertain period he spent with the Benzini Brothers circus, which he joined during the Great Depression. The memories start when Jacob is twenty three years old and studying for his finals as a veterinary student. Jacob’s father was a veterinarian also and Jacob planned to join his practice. Unfortunately, Jacob learns that his parents have been killed in a car accident, leaving him penniless.
He finds out that his father was greatly in debt because he had been treating animals without pay as well as mortgaging the family home to provide Jacob with an Ivy League education. Jacob goes through a breakdown and is forced to drop out of Cornell University just shy of graduation. He jumps on a train only to learn that it is a circus train. When the owner of the circus, Uncle Al, learns of his training as a vet, Jacob is hired to care for a menagerie of exotic circus animals. The novel chronicles Jacob’s experiences with the circus as he learns the hierarchy of circus workers and performers, and gains an understanding of the injustices of circus life while fighting to maintain his own moral identity. He falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers. This romance is complicated by Marlena's husband, August, the abusive animal trainer who beats both his wife and the animals Jacob takes care of. August is suspicious of their relationship and beats Marlena and Jacob. Soon after, Marlena leaves August. This is the pivotal event which leads to the ultimate downfall of the circus. Toward the end, several workers who had been thrown off the train previously, come back and release the animals causing a stampede during the performance. Amidst the panic and chaos, August is murdered. As a result of all of this taking place during a circus performance, the circus goes out of business. Marlena and Jacob, along with several circus animals, leave and begin their new life together. The story resolves itself with a violent but happy and optimistic ending.
The entire circus is a metaphor that describes the uneasy and often violent relationship between the ruling class and the poor lower class within society. The circus is a microcosm and represents the larger society's economic hardship and class war, portraying it on a personal level. The stampede of animals in the prologue paints a powerful picture of rebellion and revolution as the under class overthrows the sadistic and oppressive ruling class within the hierarchy of the circus. Jacob represents John Q Public, the blue collar working man in the throes of economic oppression. Uncle Al and August represent the upper class which abuses and exploits the working class. Locked within this circus's strict class system was a deep anger and resentment at injustice. The turmoil gathered steam until a backlash was unleashed and it manifested itself as pandemonium and violence. We don't have to go back to the time of the great depression to witness tension between the rich and the poor. In recent times, we have seen many riots in lower class and inner city neighborhoods. Rioting, robbing, looting, and violence are common methods of rebelling against the upper class and continue to plague our society in modern times.
The animals and the lowest class workers were pushed beyond the point of tolerance and resorted to murder and mayhem to bring down the hierarchy and the well-defined class structure of the circus. The whole circus system paralleled the division between the privileged and the destitute during the great depression and helps explain much of the unrest of the thirties as well as how movements like socialism and communism gained much more appeal during the 1930's than at any other time in our nation's history. I thought the novel portrayed these elements of the era in a very original and satirical fashion. The circus was structured in terms of economics, who got paid and when and how much. It functioned like a government, certain people made decisions, others couldn't. Certain people had a voice in those decisions, others didn't. One side had the power, the other side was expendable. In the end, morality and virtue prevail over greed and power, and that is the true message behind this story.
He finds out that his father was greatly in debt because he had been treating animals without pay as well as mortgaging the family home to provide Jacob with an Ivy League education. Jacob goes through a breakdown and is forced to drop out of Cornell University just shy of graduation. He jumps on a train only to learn that it is a circus train. When the owner of the circus, Uncle Al, learns of his training as a vet, Jacob is hired to care for a menagerie of exotic circus animals. The novel chronicles Jacob’s experiences with the circus as he learns the hierarchy of circus workers and performers, and gains an understanding of the injustices of circus life while fighting to maintain his own moral identity. He falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers. This romance is complicated by Marlena's husband, August, the abusive animal trainer who beats both his wife and the animals Jacob takes care of. August is suspicious of their relationship and beats Marlena and Jacob. Soon after, Marlena leaves August. This is the pivotal event which leads to the ultimate downfall of the circus. Toward the end, several workers who had been thrown off the train previously, come back and release the animals causing a stampede during the performance. Amidst the panic and chaos, August is murdered. As a result of all of this taking place during a circus performance, the circus goes out of business. Marlena and Jacob, along with several circus animals, leave and begin their new life together. The story resolves itself with a violent but happy and optimistic ending.
The entire circus is a metaphor that describes the uneasy and often violent relationship between the ruling class and the poor lower class within society. The circus is a microcosm and represents the larger society's economic hardship and class war, portraying it on a personal level. The stampede of animals in the prologue paints a powerful picture of rebellion and revolution as the under class overthrows the sadistic and oppressive ruling class within the hierarchy of the circus. Jacob represents John Q Public, the blue collar working man in the throes of economic oppression. Uncle Al and August represent the upper class which abuses and exploits the working class. Locked within this circus's strict class system was a deep anger and resentment at injustice. The turmoil gathered steam until a backlash was unleashed and it manifested itself as pandemonium and violence. We don't have to go back to the time of the great depression to witness tension between the rich and the poor. In recent times, we have seen many riots in lower class and inner city neighborhoods. Rioting, robbing, looting, and violence are common methods of rebelling against the upper class and continue to plague our society in modern times.
The animals and the lowest class workers were pushed beyond the point of tolerance and resorted to murder and mayhem to bring down the hierarchy and the well-defined class structure of the circus. The whole circus system paralleled the division between the privileged and the destitute during the great depression and helps explain much of the unrest of the thirties as well as how movements like socialism and communism gained much more appeal during the 1930's than at any other time in our nation's history. I thought the novel portrayed these elements of the era in a very original and satirical fashion. The circus was structured in terms of economics, who got paid and when and how much. It functioned like a government, certain people made decisions, others couldn't. Certain people had a voice in those decisions, others didn't. One side had the power, the other side was expendable. In the end, morality and virtue prevail over greed and power, and that is the true message behind this story.
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