Ozymandias

One of my favorite sonnets, always worth a read:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

- Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818

Star Trek Fridays: Happy Halloween!

For Halloween, we're gonna celebrate Star Trek stylee. While there have been a handful of "horror" themed episodes throughout the Trek franchise, season 2 of The Original Series featured a very obvious "Halloween episode." It's not one of the classics, but it's somewhat charming in its own way and features something unique for Star Trek - some very non-human looking aliens (tip: gotta wait until the end for that payoff). This episode can be so ludicrous it's fun, and not a bad way to get prepped for a night of Halloween fun:

The Original Series - 2x7 - Catspaw

Star Trek: The Original Series

(note: the lamers at CBS seem to have turned embedding off. Weak.)

Enjoy the episode and have a Happy Halloween!

R.I.P. Chuck Biscuits [EDIT: Glad You're Alive!]

[EDIT: Turns out Chuck Biscuits is alive after all. Excellent news.]

One of of the most important figures in American Punk (and music in general) passed away last week. Chuck Biscuits was only 44. Some of his most important work was with bands like DOA, Black Flag, the Circle Jerks and Danzig. He also performed with such groups as Social Distortion and Run-D.M.C. To honor his memory, here's a video:

 R.I.P. Chuck Biscuits...

and a bootleg of his studio recordings with Black Flag (to me, despite the fidelity issues, these are the greatest recordings Flag ever did). I only have them in 128kbps mp3s. If anyone has an upgrade, I'd be happy to replace them:

Download

Star Trek Fridays: Halloween Trek - The Pregame

While I was hunting for, well, something else on YouTube I came across a couple videos tagged as Halloween Star Trek videos. They are, uh, Voyager montages set to a couple of popular songs (one a Halloween classic and one just an all around rock n roll classic). Now, admittedly, Voyager isn't what we would call "good," but I was nonetheless entertained by these videos. So, to get us warmed up for next week I present you with two Star Trek: Voyager Halloween music video montages:

Have a good weekend, all!

Saw Bob Dylan Last Night...

...and thought I'd do a little write-up. This was originally written for a webforum I frequent, and I've tried to weed out anything too referential to that particular community, but apologies if I miss something. Without further ado:

-Appetizer-

To set the scene, it's vaguely worth noting that Denver had a snow storm coming through which added a bit of atmosphere as folks were arriving but also seemed to have made a lot of folks late. The show was pushed back a short while to let folks get filtered in (the place was still half empty when the show started but when the lights came on after the encore the arena was totally packed. It had been a sellout show, iirc). The short wait just got the energy flowing a bit more, as happens at concerts sometimes.

So, much to the shame of my punk rock roots I didn't get the general admission floor SRO tickets but, instead, managed to snag a set of seats to the right of the stage and, well, they may have been the best seats I've ever had at a concert. As it happens, Dylan's keyboard was directly facing me so Bob and I were looking directly at each other the entire night (barring when he hopped up front, in which case I was still getting an awesome views of the proceedings. With the stage layout I got to see every member of the band clearly too). So, anyways, that probably helped make the concert even more awesome.

So, as has been circulated from other concert goers on this tour, the band configuration this time around was excellent. I've honestly enjoyed pretty much every backing band I've seen Dylan with, but having Charlie Sexton on guitar helped out a lot - and the rest of the band is no joke either. Here's the full backing lineup for those curious:

Bob Dylan - guitar, keyboard, harp
Tony Garnier - bass
George Recile - drums
Stu Kimball - rhythm guitar
Charlie Sexton - lead guitar
Donnie Herron - banjo, pedal steel, lap steel, Trumpet

Overall, as I mentioned last night, Bob Dylan seemed really on target throughout the show. I know from firsthand experience that sometimes his interest seems to waver on songs on any given night. But he seemed really dialed in last night, belting out songs and dancing around on his scrawny chicken legs (Dylan's really short and kinda scraggly). When he was out from behind the keyboards he was pointing and gesturing all over the place and just seemed really into it.

-Main Course-

Okay, onto the set:

Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again - This was a great arrangement of the song and maybe opening with a really strong version of the classic helped set the tone for Dylan. I had to help some folks around me identify all of these earlier songs since they sound so damned different now.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on pedal steel, Charlie on telecaster)

It Ain't Me Babe - In terms of the "classics," I never had a major hard-on for this song. I like it well enough, and this was (as per usual) an eminently enjoyable arrangement, but it just doesn't turn my crank as much as some other songs from that period. Still, good energy from Bob and the band, and notable since it's the only time Dylan picked up the guitar for the show. Side note: it's been interesting to see Dylan's instrument usage change over the near-decade I've been catching him live. When I first saw him he played electric guitar the whole show, with a few acoustic songs thrown into the mix. The next few times he was closer to 50/50 on guitar and keyboards. The last time I saw him I don't recall him actually playing guitar at all, tho I bet he did a few times (I could look it up, but whatever). In all those previous shows I don't remember him playing harp nearly as much as he did last night, and with Charlie Sexton on guitar, I'm just as happy with Bob focusing on keyboard and harp anyways.
(Bob on guitar, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie on white Gretsch)

Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - One of the best tracks on the new album. Since it was just released this year, it doesn't sound too dissimilar from the recorded version, except maybe a little more ragged, which is a quality I like.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on trumpet, Stu and Charlie on stratocasters)

Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) - Now here's one I really, really love and the rendition last night was rockin' and rollin'. He had the crowd boppin' on this song.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie on stratocaster)

Cold Irons Bound - This was the performance of the night for me (although the next song is a close second). Bob's at the front playing harp and singing and the song just captures the essence of all the turmoil and emotion of today, which is actually a theme that ran throughout the evening (for anyone familiar with the songs, ya'll know what I mean). This song has aged well since it was first released.
(Bob center stage on harp, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on telecaster, Charlie on black Epiphone)

Workingman's Blues #2 - This follow up song to "Cold Irons Bound" struck as much of a chord as that song, and carried a lot of the same themes, emotionally. Even more potent than when it was released a few years ago, Bob's take on the song was equal parts defiance and eulogy. One of my favorite recent Dylan songs, with a tremenous live performance last night.
(Bob center stage on harp, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie on stratocaster)

High Water (For Charley Patton) - Bob's back on the keyboards and things get a little more rockin' again. Still, the lyrics are pretty intense when you stop to listen to them. This must be one of Bob's favorite songs to play as it seems to appear in the vast majority of sets he's played since the song was released. That's fine since it's such a good number. I'd go so far as to say one of his all time best.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on banjo, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie on telecaster, Tony on standup bass)

Spirit on the Water - Another great song from Modern Times. Played a little faster with more rock & roll in the mix than the album version. I like both but this arrangement was more appropriate for the evening. A nice showcase for the versatility of the backing band, too.
(Bob on keyboard then center stage on harp, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on telecaster, Charlie on stratocaster, Tony on standup bass)

Honest With Me - Another really solid track from Love and Theft. This was never one of my go-to songs on that album, but the rendition from Bob was beautiful and it's a darn well constructed piece of songery.
(Bob center stage on harp, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on stratocaster, Charlie on telecaster)

Man in the Long Black Coat - Ahhh, the "unusual" Dylan song choice which seems to crop up every show. In the past I've been treated to him playing cuts like "Song to Woody," "Under the Red Sky," and "In the Summertime" (the last one was, I believe, the first time he'd played it live. Or first tour anyways). I'm embarrassed to say it actually took me until the song was about 3/4 of the way through to remember which album it's from (Oh Mercy, one of his best efforts in the 80s). Another song which played into the rather somber theme (lyrically, anyways) of the evening. Also of note is the double whammy of Bob on keyboards and then playing some magnificent harp for this song.
(Bob on keyboard and harp, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie on telecaster)

Highway 61 Revisited - A fantastic rendition of this classic, people all around me were audibly commenting on how good this version was. I was worried this was going to be the beginning of Bob starting to fade and just perfunctorily going through the "classics" to finish out the show, but he stayed lively throughout. Fun stuff.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on stratocaster, Charlie on telecaster)

When The Deal Goes Down - Another excellent choice from Modern Times. I'll use this opportunity to say that, overall, this crowd more than any other Bob show I've been to was really keyed into his new material. His new stuff was getting just as big applause as any of his old songs, and maybe even bigger in a few cases. That said, due to the heavy amount of new material, their was a rather small but irritatingly vocal minority of folks bitching about him "playing all these songs we've never heard before." Luckily, most of the complaints I heard were shot down by fellow concert goers, although some of the ill will seemed to take the form of shouting out requests for classic songs, which seems inappropriate to me. It's Bob fucking Dylan after all, not some shitty bar band. It'd be like going to see Jerry Lee Lewis or something and shouting requests at him because you weren't satisfied with the song selections. The dude's a goddamned legend, he can play what he wants.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie on white Gretsch, Tony on standup bass with bow)

Thunder On The Mountain - Holy crap, another Modern Times song! He must luuuuurve that album (I do too). A rollicking rendition, even more rockin' than the album take. Since their had been some particularly annoying bitching behind me about song selection right before and during this cut, I made sure I was on my feet whoopin' and hollerin' throughout (as were almost all the crowd)! This is also, apparently, the first song in a preconfigured end to the show and encore, so all these songs were playing like a well oiled machine.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on lap steel, Charlie on silver telecaaster)

Ballad Of A Thin Man - Oh hell yeah. One of my favorite tracks from 60s Dylan and it hasn't lost any of its nastiness or contempt. I've heard comments that Bob can be a bit out to lunch for this song, but he seemed full of piss and vinegar last night. I never get tired of this song. I wonder if people who were complaining about the lack of familiar material realize the irony of them then getting excited about hearing this song. Maybe they should go back and listen to some of those '66 bootlegs. Marvelous track to end the main set on, too.
(Bob center stage on harp, Donnie on lap steel, Stu and Charlie on telecasters)

(Encore)

Like A Rolling Stone - If (if!) there was one flat song of the night, this was it. Don't get me wrong, it was still fun as hell, but I'm afraid that even with the "new" sound, there's a problem of over-familiarity with this tune. Bob didn't seem to throw himself quite as much into this one as the previous songs, and I honestly wasn't quite as interested either. It was still good times, but not quite as excellent as all the other songs had been. Still, it's not even a "blemish" on the show so much as just a slight tick down in radness for a moment. In retrospect, he should have played something off Knocked Out Loaded just to really piss off the folks who wanted to hear a greatest hits show.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on Les Paul, Charlie on silver telecaster)

Jolene - Ha, the only other song from Together Through Life. A great one too. A lighter tone than a lot of the rest of the set had been. Fun. Oh, and not a Dolly Parton cover either.
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on lap steel, Stu and Charlie on stratocasters, Tony on standup bass)

All Along the Watchtower - He closes with this one a lot, I think. Not quite as industrial sounding as when I saw him in Lincoln, but with Charlie Sexton the guitarwork was phenomenal. Dylan-covering-Hendrix-covering-Dylan, as they say. A nice, raucous song to end the show with. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

-Dessert-

And that was the end. At the moment the lights came on the evening had felt too short, but he played for about two hours. Time just flies when you're having fun, I guess. I had been saving some cash for souvenirs, so I picked up a t-shirt and event poster and called it a night. I'd say the vast majority of the crowd had been thoroughly pleased with the show, and I was actually close enough to the stage and with a good enough view of everything that it looked to me that even Bob had a satisfied expression on his face as he and the band were exiting.

So, yeah, maybe this was even better than the Lincoln, NE show. What it lacked in crowd mayhem it made up for in spades by being the most consistently excellent Dylan performance I have been treated to yet. I'll be remembering this one for the rest of my life, I think.

Further Reading:
Bob Links - 10/21/09 Set List
BobDylan.com - Concert Page
Denver Post/Reverb Concert Review

(A Little) On Gay Rights

Sorry for the lack of updates, life has been interfering a bit so I haven't been posting. Anyways, just wanted to point out a little tidbit that Gene brought to my attention:

In March, American anti-gay activists traveled to Uganda for a conference that pledged to “wipe out” homosexuality. Seven months later, a draconian bill has been introduced that pledges to make good on this threat. The “Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009” is so severe that it is designed to shred the spirit and suffocate the soul of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Ugandans. If it passes, Uganda will become a predator state that actively hunts down GLBT people to destroy them.

Uganda already punished gay intimacy with life in prison. But, apparently that was not harsh enough, with this bill penalizing anyone who “attempts to commit the offence” with up to seven years in jail. Additionally, a person charged will be forced to undergo an invasive medical examination to determine their HIV status. If the detainees are found to be HIV+, they may be executed.

This barbaric legislation stifles free speech by threatening anyone who is accused of “promoting” homosexuality with five to seven year prison sentences. Snitching on gay friends and family members is strongly encouraged because “failure to disclose the ‘offence’ within 24 hours of knowledge makes somebody liable to a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.”

Hmmm... terrible stuff, obviously. Locally, I think the biggest thing to take away from this is that for folks who involve themselves in anti-gay coalitions these are the consequences of your actions. Your money, the power you give to those in and out of office who perpetuate the anti-gay agenda, the rhetoric, the contemptuous religious bigotry, all of it. Maybe most folks just think of it as denying their fellow human being a few rights here and there, but the beast they help create isn't content to simply cease at some arbitrary line of "reasonable repression."

The sad truth is that this is a common tactic for evangelical powers like The Fellowship: harness in-state contempt of unprotected populations or hot button issues, amass wealth and power from the outraged citizenry, and then export that wealth and power to exact an even more hardline policy in other countries around the world. It's not just GLBT issues, evangelical churches having been using this tactic successfully for years in their fight against sexual education and their fight against controlling the spread of AIDs (aided by the U.S. government in this case).

The causes we support and the institutions we ally with have consequences. Global consequences that can mean life or death for many, many people.

Star Trek Fridays: The New Trek and Nerd Insularity

Okay, instead of another classic TOS episode, I wanted to post one of my favorite recent gags from The Onion:

I still crack up every time I watch it. Besides being quite hilarious, it also hits the mark pretty well. Now, I'm a pretty unabashed nerd and I love Star Trek with pretty much every fiber of my being. But, I think this Onion piece pretty well captured the ridiculousness of some of the opposition to the new flick. Now, discussion of nerd conflict and insularity in general is pretty tired, and even moreso when it's an attack or defense of the Star Trek franchise (and especially the new flick), so I won't get into it. Any quick Google search can take you into the thick of the horrors that such a discussion entails, so I'll just leave well enough alone.

Anyways, hope that made you chuckle and have a great weekend!

Human Sexual Response - Fig. 14

I dug this one out of the archives to rip and upload for general enjoyment this weekend. Boston's very own Human Sexual Response and their debut album, Fig. 14. These guys had some controversy with playing an explicit song on television or something (which you can read about at the Wiki article), but I'm mostly familiar with them since members of the band later played with guys like Bob Mould and Frank Black. So, that's pretty cool.

Anyways, this particular album is long out of print, and even the band compilation which collected this album along with other cuts from the group is longer being manufactures (and used copies don't appear to be cheap), so for anyone who doesn't wanna drop lots of cash money on out of print cds, I just ripped a copy of this excellent 1980 New Wave/Post-Punk release for your listening pleasure (and mine). You have two flavors to choose from:

FLAC (Level 8)
or
MP3 (-0 VBR)

Enjoy!

On Atheism & the Public Sphere

Not that there's a shortage of discussion on this subject, but occasionally (well, okay, regularly) I'm reminded that I'm part of pretty disliked minority in America - the atheist. Why do I say this is a disliked group? Well... let's start with the opinion some have that atheists aren't fully human (upshot: we're probably actually robots). I'm going to go through a few recent articles and studies which, unfortunately, mostly speak for themselves.

1. Intolerance for atheists in the United States is strong. In a recent study, it was found that an astonishing 61% of Americans believe "moving away from God" is at the root of our social ills. 31% of this country would be characterized as "Religious Traditionalists," and of that group, over 40% favor denying non-believers political rights. James Gibson, the author of the study, warns that these findings suggest that atheist would do well to reconsider revealing their lack of belief in the public sphere.*

*This is especially insane when we consider some of the United States' demographics. This YouTube video is actually pretty illustrative here:

This, unfortunately, jives with other information we already know (for example: that the American electorate would never vote for an atheist as president). In some states, it's actually technically illegal for an atheist to hold public office (despite a 1961 Supreme Court ruling declaring such requirements unconstitutional).

I don't want to overstate the case and claim that, as a nonbeliever, I'm about to be rounded up and put into a labor camp or something, but for a lot of Americans tolerance of non-belief isn't even in the realm of possibilities - outright hostility is the norm. And even for those that don't actually advocate taking away my rights (such as they are), a strong majority of Americans think that those that think as I do are the primary cause of America's social problems. Which brings us to my next point.

2. Atheists are blamed for pretty much anything. Don't think that's true? Well, apparently atheists are responsible for global warming. Also, teaching evolution in schools leads to eugenics, abortion and racism. Advocating for godless evolution is so bad that concerted efforts have to be made to keep a film about Charles Darwin from premiering in the United States (never mind that 1 in 3 Americans don't understand Darwin's link to evolution anyways). These are just a few recent examples in a culture in which the majority believes that atheists are at the root of our social problems. So, in a culture where people advocate taking your rights away and blame you for eugenics, what can an atheist do?

3. Atheists are usually told to shut up and not speak their mind. In the study discussed in point #1, the conclusion reached was that atheists need to be very, very careful with who they reveal their non-beliefs to. This is a rather kinder and more sympathetic version of a mantra that seems to be all over the popular discussion of the issue: that atheists need to pipe down. Without getting into the real fringy stuff, a fairly mainstream and non-evangelic type complains about the "aggressive" and "tedious" New Atheists represented by Richard Dawkins et al. Of course, this is an example of the position that most in Western society subscribe to: that evangelizing on behalf of religion is acceptable in the public sphere while advocating against religion in the public sphere is still taboo. And let's not make any mistake here: this isn't about railing against anyone's beliefs in the private sphere. By definition, if your beliefs are truly relegated to that realm then no one would have any idea what they are. No, if your religion is affixed to your sleeve and and you bring it into the realm of open discourse then it is absolutely a a valid subject of critique. As an atheist, I have never been afforded the courtesy (one that I don't want anyways, as I'm comfortable defending my position from so-called critiques) of immunity from public criticism. No attempt to respect my positions or comfort level in the public sphere has ever been afforded and, quite frankly, it shouldn't be. Once a position is in the realm of the public, the public has a right to interact and dissect that opinion.

The real offense these New Atheists commit isn't a "tedious" position, but instead daring to challenge the accepted social order of what constitutes valid public discussion. For those claiming that this is a uniquely American problem, look at the UN's Anti-Blasphemy Resolution to see how pervasive the idea is that religious belief deserves special protection from criticism in the public sphere. While some countries are more comfortable with the idea of criticizing particular religious institutions, it is rare that you find open discourse critical of religious belief itself. Even in secularized Western Europe (who are so enlightened they tire of uppity atheists from America and seek to repress religious freedoms in public), the notion that no one has a right to be critical of another's personally held beliefs seems to hold sway. I would, again, argue that whatever beliefs enter the public sphere are open grounds for critique (merciless critique, if necessary). By definition (and I can't stress this enough, hence repeating this point several times), if we know what one's beliefs are, they have entered the public sphere.

As a side note, I would argue that (Western) Europe has dealt with religion exactly backwards: using state power to curtail freedoms while at the same time discouraging open discourse. This manages to combine the worst of intolerance for public discourse with the heavy handedness of institutionally-driven "solutions." So, kudos on that one Europe.

No, my concerns with how people treat atheism is twofold: a) while debate and critique is welcome (as I'm pretty sure I'm in the right anyways), disingenuous and anti-intellectual rhetoric seems to be the normal response as opposed to rigorous, logical opposition; and, b) the power dynamic is slanted such that criticism of atheism is normalized and accepted while the opposite is discouraged. Paul Fidalgo is helpful here, illustrating the climate that we live in:

Truly? Not only do we not have the right to criticize people's claims about the nature of existence or their treatment of human beings under the auspices of revealed dogmas, but even a hero of the fact-loving left is telling us that we can't even think that someone is off their rocker if they believe in reincarnation, the societal benefits of genital mutilation, transubstantiation, winged horses, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Maddow almost certainly did not intend her remark to be taken to the lengths to which I am now pushing it, but it remains indicative of a mindset that places beliefs that deal in the supernatural as off-limits to anything but the most neutered analysis.

and

[...] I feel there is a soft self-censorship implied here that is indicative of my larger complaint. (I don't mean the following as a beating-up on Beers any more than I mean to beat up on Maddow, which is precisely not at all.) Because I think it is about proving people wrong. Otherwise, are we as nonbelievers, rationalists, and secularists not simply sitting in a circle, merely agreeing with each other over coffee and bagels? "Challenging others" is an important and noble goal, but if we have ruled out persuasion, what is the purpose of challenging beliefs? To what end?

Somewhat dubious usage of the term "political correctness" towards the beginning of the article aside (a post for another day), the entire article does an excellent job explaining the problem the sensitivity towards "offense" that atheists have to deal with in public discourse, and the lack of allies from anywhere when it comes to combating this attitude.

So, in the end, we're left with a few realities and goals. First, that atheists are considered wretched scum and villainy here in the United States, and the cause of social decay in general as well as global warming, racisim, and anything else you can think of. Second, the reality of this climate is that we're probably safer to speak out against religious belief little and communicate our own stances even less. Third, that there is a pervasive stance among most political stripes that, while discussion and evangelizing on the behalf of religious belief is tolerated and even encouraged in the public sphere, the same allowance is not afforded for non-belief. Fourth, if the public sphere is to afford religion and religious belief its spot outside of the private, then atheism deserves the same courtesy. To do otherwise would negate the point of talking about atheism, which is to encourage a commitment to rationality in the public sphere. If atheists are not "allowed" this, if they are ridiculed as coarse and tedious when they attempt to seize the same rights and privileges that the religious are afforded, then the point of public discourse is lost, in favor of some mealy-mouthed commitment to shielding others from offense and a disingenuous pseudo-tolerance for belief.

To close, for my own amusement, I'll leave on the delightful insanity of Victoria Jackson:

If that doesn’t reek of Daniel 3:6 and Revelation 13:15 I don’t know what does! 

Communists do not allow Bibles.  When I was a child, my Dad was writing a check to an organization that smuggled Bibles into Russia.   I said, “Why do they have to sneak Bibles?”  Dad said, “They’re Communist.” 

Atheists do not like Bibles. 

All decisions and most political issues all come down to whether you are FOR GOD or AGAINST GOD. 

The reason Liberals-Communists-Atheists don’t like Bibles is because they do not want the competition.  “No man can serve two masters…”  Matthew 6:24  You cannot worship God and the State.  You must choose one.

Remember: The current social climate holds that it would be wrong for us to criticize these beliefs, since it might make Victoria Jackson feel uncomfortable.

Further Reading:

-Made by Mammals (for the groovy graphic)
-Research on Political Tolerance "Ominous" for Atheist Americans by Paul Fidalgo
-...Obviously by Ricky Gervais

For a Lot More Further Reading:

-The Secular Web Library
-Historical Writings @ Positive Atheism
-Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists by Dan Barker*
-Freedom Evolves by Daniel Dennett*
-Freethought Radio @ Freedom From Religion Foundation*

Addendum: Looking over this post (which I worked on in a few different sittings), my intent definitely changed from the beginning of the post to the end. Originally, I mostly just wanted to complain about how atheists are treated in America, but by the end I think I hit upon a more interesting - but interconnected issue - conduct in the Public Sphere. While it's obviously all tied together, I think that perhaps breaking out a public versus private sphere discussion would be fruitful for a future post. Just a thought.

*Addendum II: I mostly included free articles or online libraries for further reading, but thanks to Hayden for suggesting these books for additional reading. I've read the latter (which is excellent), and will definitely be checking out the former. So, if y'all have any other books or articles that you would recommend, let me know and I'll add them here.

Star Trek Fridays: The Trouble with Environmentalism

Well, not really trouble for me, but apparently it was for Paramount when "The Trouble with Tribbles" was being made. Originally, writer David Gerrold was trying to craft a story on ecological devastation caused by removing a critter from its natural habitat. At it went through rewrites, the story became about a whodunnit plot and the devastation the tribbles represented took a back seat to a comedy story. Now, I'm not complaining: "The Trouble with Tribbles" is one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time. But, it's worth keeping in the back of your mind where the story originally came from as you're watching. And since it's turning into kind of a crappy day weather-wise around these parts, what could be better than battening the hatches and watching this classic episode of Star Trek?

TOS, 2x14: The Trouble with Tribbles

Not much more to say, today. Environmental politics is an area you can probably expect a post from me on in the future, but for now just enjoy the weekend!

Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power [Original Mix]

Howdy all,

Taking a short break from the political to bring a music download. For those not in the know, Iggy Pop is one of my favorite musicians and his landmark third album with The Stooges, Raw Power, is generally considered the blueprint for Punk Rock. Released in 1973, it anticipated all the fury and anger that would come with Punk in the mid-70's.

Anyways, the album has sort of a storied history in terms of mixing. Originally, Iggy set about to mix the album (some of these leaked early mixes are available as the album Rough Power), but David Bowie ended up taking over the project and did the final mixes of the album that Columbia ended up pressing. Many, Iggy Pop among them, were dissatisfied with this mix and talks of a remix which would reclaim the "real" Raw Power continued for years. In 1997, Columbia was planning on a remix and reissue of the album and asked Iggy Pop to handle the new mix. He did and, well, the results were - at best - mixed.*

*GET IT?!

The new album, as Iggy himself proudly proclaims, is mixed entirely in the red which creates one horrible block on the audio spectrum. You can see a pretty good demonstration of the results of the new mix of Raw Power here. Needless to say, the final result was a really, really loud album that totally cut away all the nuance of the original release and led to lots of digital distortion. Even I, not exactly an audiophile, noticed.

But here is the tragedy of this woeful tale: with the remix released the original Bowie mix went out of print. Alas for those interested in something that sounds good, not just loud. Luckily, after close to a decade Columbia repressed the original mix of the album on vinyl and (with the Columbia pressing out of print), a Sundazed pressing (they had already reissued the first two Stooges albums on vinyl) followed in 2008.

So, ladies and gentlemen, here is my own rip of the original mix of Raw Power from the Sundazed reissue, made available since - as of this post - the only version of the album available on compact disc or digitally is still the 1997 Iggy Pop mix. EDIT: You have one format flavor to choose from:

MP3 (-0 VBR)

Enjoy!

EDIT (10/19/09): It's been brought to my attention that the FLAC and MP3 links are down. They seem to have been removed from my Mediafire account, possibly by me accidentally (I was doing some housecleaning recently). In any case, I no longer have the FLAC files handy but I re-upped the MP3 album onto a different file hosting site, so hopefully this will work for a while.

RIP Jim Carroll

Jim Carroll, one of the great punk poets, passed away last Friday at the age of 60.

These videos speak for themselves:





RIP.