Sunday, December 2, 2007

After reading Fifty-Two

I still haven't picked up a cigarette since a year ago last April 13th, thank you for asking.

The following are my thoughts after reading DC's maxi-series of 'Fifty-Two' weekly comics about a handful of relatively unknown characters in the DC universe. Yes there will be spoilage here, but if you haven't read it by now you probably aren't gonna, and I knew how it was gonna end and it didn't ruin the fun for me, reading it.

Yes, I know I'm a little late to this particular party, but I just got done reading DC's Fifty -Two weekly series of comics, and am attempting to once again revisit the fantasy world of my youth. After spending a year with a curiously chosen cast of characters, I find myself wondering why I'm still fascinated by this fantasy world of my youth, cuz you can't proveribally go home again. I mean this ain't my childhood fantasy. Someone's bulldozed the old neighborhood and put up strip malls. The following are a cast of characters who took center stage during these fifty-two comic books, trying to show the world where the present crop of writers and artists have taken the DC Universe. Most of these characters are obscure and therefore expendable, which is perhaps what makes them interesting. They could die. They could be irrevocably changed. They could have something about their pasts that hasn't been explored before that might actually make them interesting. I thought I'd make a few mental notes about each of them to see if I thought there were any more possible stories that could be told with these characters now that Fifty-Two is over.

Black Adam: For the uninitiated, this is an evil anti Captain Marvel who fits today's definition of the anti-hero. He means well but his methods are very "eye for an eye" which means essentially he's a good badguy. I was done with him before they started, but they made him interesting for awhile, then ripped the rug out from under him. I'm done with him again. Story potential? Zero. I really like the idea though of him living out the rest of his immortality trying to guess the secret word that would once again turn him into Black Adam. That's funny.

Booster Gold: For the uninitiated, this guy started in the 25th century as a washed up football star who got caught gambling on his own games. He decided to steal a time machine, go back in time, and try to be famous in his past cuz he couldn't cut it in his present. Only, he neglected to actually pay attention in history class. You can guess where that's going can't you? You're right, that's where he went. And I was done with him before they started too, but the writers of 52 actually made Booster interesting for awhile. He's a hero now and no one will ever know. If DC's writers can keep that up, I might continue to find him interesting.

Animal Man: A second string hero who was with the Challengers of the Unknown for awhile. Never heard of them? That's cuz they lived up to their namesake. He had his own comic, which was either an opportunistic sillyfest or a grandiose environmentalist pamphlet, depending on the writer. Personally, I really like the guy, but DC can't seem to find anyone who can consistently make him worth reading about. I think they should team him up with Ambush Bug, make his family less serious, and just have fun being silly with him. Maybe pit him up against Bat-mite and Myxlpltk. As he is tho, I'm done with him.

Starfire: Frankly I'm still in shock this Ex-Teen Titan is no longer dating Dick Grayson. I thought those two kids were gonna make it, even though this alien lab experiment gone awry has been married off twice out of duty, you'd think Grayson would look past all that and see Koriand'r for her 'assets.' *ahem* I really like her, but DC doesn't know what to do with her. I'm an old Teen Titans fan from the Wolfman/Perez era. I guess that makes me a Nightwing/Starfire shipper. Seems like that ship has sailed tho, and without the titans, I'm done with her.

Ralph Dibny: aka The Elongated Man. Essentially a second-string character who DC invented for when legal matters would preclude them from using Plastic Man. Despite his less than sparkly history, and the fact they used his wife as a plot device in the now infamous "Identity Crisis" I've always liked this character and his wife, and I think even though they're both dead now, there's a lot of meat left on this bird. I like the idea of a Vertigo-like title that deals with DC's after-life. Have the Dibnys be a ghost detective Thin-Man couple. Have Deadman be their whacky neighbor. It'd be a bit like Beetlejuice meets Macmillan & Wife. I'd buy it.

Renee Montoya: She started in the Batman animated series as a throwaway supporting character but turned out to be too intriguing to ignore. If I had to pick one favorite character in this series, it'd be Ms. Montoya. I particularly appreciated how she kicked the habit of smoking cigarettes. The second someone she looked up to admitted he was dying of cancer because he used to smoke, she dropped the cigs cold turkey. I could totally relate. Although, where she ended up was a bit of a yawn climax, watching how she got there was quite a ride. Now she's managed to become DC's latest "Question." Does her story have a future? Would I read a title focusing on her? I'd buy that. Heck, if she weren't gay, I'd hit that.

Batwoman: Only if she's hitting that. This twosome of The Question and Batwoman would definitely bring me back to the comic book store like a drug crazed lunatic. However, would it be Big Batwoman and the lil question, or The Question and her Significant Other? I mean... who's on top? Who wears the pants in this pair? Even if somehow they can prove that this Kane woman has the right to wear the bat insignia, I'd rather they allow the character to find her own shadow rather than hide inside someone else's. What these two really need to do is put in an application with The Oracle.

John Henry Irons & Daughter: Not one of the stronger links in the 52 storyline. They'll have to dig a bit deeper than they have been tho to make it more interesting. Also, I understand that a major reason why John is a superhero and not dead, is cuz Superman once saved him, but still I think he should drop the use of Superman's insignia, and find his own calling card. Also? "Rain of the Supermen" has got to be the worst pun ever in the history of anything. What a groaner. Lex Luthor is now so far beyond redemption to me, I wish I could personally feed him to Black Adam.

Adam Strange: I am so uninterested in this guy I'm not even gonna try to describe who he is in case you don't know. Didn't he fade into obscurity once? Isn't it time he do that again?

Who'd I miss?

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Halloween songs

This is an ongoing list. An equally outdated version is available at everything2.org

Some years ago, I deejay'd for an online radio station [wasn't really a station we just called it that] which doesn't exist any longer. On my show, I took to doing themes. Around September eleventh of one year, I played all the songs located on Clear Channel's list of questionable songs, including a half dozen or so songs by Rage Against The Machine. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, I played as many songs as I could find which had something to do with weather. That was fun. One October, I decided to go for the Halloween theme for a couple weeks, so I amassed the list below.

A list of this sort is an intermittent (pseudo-annual) work in progress, but this list is arguably one of the more extensive you will find on the Internet. I welcome any and all suggestions for inclusions or commentary about present inclusions. I posted this list elsewhere on the Web when I started it, but I've noticed that E2 is one of the few places that didn't either disappear off the web or remove my list after some cobwebs developed. I've decided I'm going to break this list up into two groups. The first is Artists, and the second is Songs.

The first list contains talented bands or people whose work largely falls into the macabre or the suspenseful. With obvious exceptions, almost everything these artists churn out will fit in with your own Halloween festivities. Even if a song doesn't actually have in its lyrics Halloweeny words, it will probably still help set the mood or tone for any October gathering. I created the Artists list because there's some talents who have so many great examples for Halloween it's just hard to choose which is best. The second list consists of talents who have in their repertoire one or two songs which contribute to this theme well, but the rest of their stuff may or may not be as welcome at a spooky party. The chosen song titles are those which in my not so humble opinion, no Halloween party should be without. They're the halloween songs that are unquestionably of the season. If you're with a group of people, chances are some of them have heard it before, and they'll be appreciative, and the ones who haven't heard it before will be quickly educated by those who have.

Admittedly, this list is very commercial and not at all pagan inspired, like the other node entry. This is simply a different approach to the idea of Halloween songs, and it's not intended to diminish the other list which is equally valid, or yet still other lists which others may offer in the future.

THE ARTISTS

    Most anything by these artists and bands will work for Halloween. I will note a few examples, but you'd be best served by reviewing their discography|discographies..

  • Alice Cooper - Two obvious examples are Welcome to My Nightmare and Teenage Frankenstein but frankly, anything that has ever passed this man's lips rings Hallow. This man personifies the holiday in a way that no one else can. If James Brown is the godfather of soul, Alice Cooper is the godfather of reap.
  • Bernard Herrmann - theme from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, music for Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast and the film Citizen Kane, his work for Cape Fear, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and anything he did for Ray Harryhausen. Let's face it, this composer knew how to chill us to our bones. Repeatedly.
  • Danny Elfman - motion picture soundtracks for Army of Darkness, Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Darkman, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks!, Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Tales From The Crypt, and others (see also Oingo Boingo). I honestly don't know if this guy can compose music that isn't deliciously dark and creepy. Even when he's being light and happy, like in the theme song to the Simpsons or his work for Pee Wee Herman movies, Elfman's got one foot in the clouds and one foot in the grave.
  • David Seville - Witch Doctor is an absolute must, and to a lesser extent I recommend any random pop covers by Alvin and the Chipmunks (just not the xmas album). I recommend this with mild hesitation. You should incorporate Seville into your Halloween music in small doses only, mixed in with all this other stuff; otherwise you may start a riot.
  • Elvira, Mistress of the Dark - aka Cassandra Peterson, has been since 1981 the penultimate queen of bad horror movies, bad jokes about blood, gore, cleavage, and all things that bump around at night. Though more widely known for her *ahem* visual presentations, she recorded five albums worth of comedy and music for the Rino records label. She's also done radio spots, and other random things. If you can find anything with Elvira's voice on it, you should make it a part of your personal Halloween collection.
  • Mark Mothersbaugh was the lead singer for DEVO in its heyday and has since done his share of composing for film and television. Like Elfman, Mothersbaugh's work has always embraced the shadows. I would suggest Whip It for a mainstream audience. A more thorough Halloween collection might include music from the film Mystery Men, or the cartoons Rugrats, or Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue.
  • Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath - definitive examples include Bark At The Moon, and Children Of The Grave, but anything by Black Sabbath when Ozzy was with them is a certainty. Anything by either Ozzy or Black Sabbath after the breakup is probably worthy of Halloween, with few exceptions.
  • Tim Curry - early in his career, Mr. Curry portrayed Frankfurter for the motion picture version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Of course Sweet Transvestite belongs on this list. In the years since RHPS, Curry has built a career in film and music that is unparallelled, including three albums in the late 70s and early 80s. Although not always Halloween-oriented, Curry's unmistakable voice is welcome on any list focusing on the harvesting season. I recommend "I Do The Rock," and his cover of Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate." He also did a song for the movie Ferngully called Toxic Love which is deliciously creepy. Oh, and long ago he did a strangely fun low-budget video (high quality effects for the time tho) where he actually sings about Halloween. If you can find that, you're set.

THE SONGS
  • A Fire Inside - Halloween (Cover of Misfits song)
  • Abney Park - The Wrong Side
  • Alan Parsons Project - The Raven, Don't Let It Show, Can't Take It with You, Don't Answer Me, and possibly any of their instrumental pieces like Lucifer or Sirius.
  • Alan the band - All Hallows Eve
  • Alice In Chains - Them Bones
  • Amber Benson - Under Your Spell
  • Amy Fox - Keeping Time With The Moon
  • Andrew Gold - Spooky Scary Skeletons
  • Aquabats - Fashion Zombies
  • Aqualung - Strange And Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)
  • Armand Van Helden - Witch Doctor
  • Asylum Street Spankers - The Minor Waltz
  • Atlanta Rhythm Section - Spooky
  • Barenaked Ladies - Grim Grinning Ghosts
  • Barry Manilow - When October Goes (words by Johnny Mercer)
  • Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
  • Bernard Herrman - theme from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo
  • Beth Hart - Blame The Moon
  • Bette Midler - I Put A Spell On You (Hocus Pocus) see also Screamin' Jay Hawkins
  • Bif Naked - October Song
  • Big Bee Kornegay - At The House Of Frankenstein
  • Bill Cosby - Chicken Heart, Ralph Jameson
  • Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock 'N' Roll
  • The Blanks - Happy Halloween
  • Blowtops - Teenage Zombie Blues
  • Blue Öyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper|Don't Fear The Reaper
  • Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers - Monster Mash
  • Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy
  • Bush - Mouth (An American Werewolf in Paris)
  • Candy Snatchers - Halloween
  • Cat Power - Werewolf
  • Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
  • Children of Bodom - Black Widow
  • Christopher Walken - Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven
  • Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
  • Course of Empire - Freaks
  • Cradle Of Filth - Vampire
  • Cramps - I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon, Zombie Dance
  • Cranberries - Zombie
  • Cream - Strange Brew
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising, I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins cover)
  • Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
  • Dave Matthews - Gravedigger, Halloween
  • David Bowie - Mister Gravedigger, and Scary Monsters (with Nine Inch Nails)
  • David Mook and Ben Raliegh - Scooby-Doo, Where are You!
  • Dead Kennedys - Halloween
  • Demented Are Go - Don't Go Into The Woods
  • Diane Schuur - When October Goes (cover; words by Johnny Mercer, music by Barry Manilow)
  • Disturbed - Fear
  • Donovan - Season of the Witch
  • Doors - People Are Strange, Fire
  • Down - Stone The Crow
  • Drowning Pool - Bodies
  • Dusty Springfield - Spooky
  • Dweezil Zappa - You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (cover)
  • Eagles - Witchy Woman
  • Eden Automatic - Vampire Discotheque
  • Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark - Bride of Frankenstein, Haunted House, and Monster Rap
  • Eminem - Scary Movies
  • Erin McKeown - Blackbirds
  • Ex-Voto - Transylvania Twist
  • Faith No More - Zombie Eaters
  • Fastway - After Midnight, Trick Or Treat
  • The Five Blobs - The Blob
  • Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft
  • Frank Zappa - Goblin Girl
  • George Harrison - Here Comes The Moon
  • Gerard McMann - Cry Little Sister (Lost Boys Soundtrack)
  • Ghoultown - Fistful Of Demons
  • Ginger MacKenzie - Sliver Of A Moon
  • Grateful Dead - Friend of the Devil
  • Gravy Train - Nightmares On Wax Mix
  • Grim Reaper - See You In Hell
  • Guess Who - Clap For The Wolfman
  • Hap Palmer - Witches Brew
  • Harry and the Potters - My Teacher is a Werewolf
  • Harry Belafonte - Calipso/Day oh, and Jump In The Line (Shake Senora) (see Beetlejuice)
  • Helen Reddy - Angie Baby
  • Helloween - Halloween
  • HIM - Dont Fear the Reaper
  • Hooters - All You Zombies
  • Horror Pops - Ghouls, What's Under My Bed
  • House Of Krazees - Sounds of Halloween
  • Inkubus Sukkubus - Dark Mother, and Samhain Pagan Halloween
  • Insane Clown Posse - Every Halloween, Great Milenko, and House of Horrors
  • Invasion - Bypass
  • Iron Butterfly - Real Fright
  • Jack Marshall and Greg Wray - Theme from The Munsters
  • Jack Off Jill - Fear of Dying
  • James Marsters - Rest In Peace (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
  • Jane's Addiction - Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stones cover)
  • Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child
  • Joan Osborne - Spooky
  • John Cale - Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley cover)
  • Joy Division - Dead Souls
  • Jumpin' Gene Simmons - Haunted House
  • Kate Bush - Waking The Witch, Wuthering Heights
  • KC and the Sunshine Band - I'm Your Boogie Man
  • Ken Nordine - A Cage Went In Search Of A Bird, and Edgar Allan Poe
  • Kill Lizzie - I Hear Chains (The Ballad Of Beach Ballones)
  • KISS - I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night
  • Kirsty MacColl - Halloween
  • Kristy Kruger - Pride
  • Lambert, Hendricks and Ross - Halloween Spooks
  • Laura Brannigan - Creatures Of The Night
  • Lazytown - Spooky Song
  • Levi Stubbs - Mean Green Mother From Outer Space (Little Shop of Horrors)
  • Levi Stubbs and Rick Moranis - Feed Me Seymour (Little Shop of Horrors)
  • Lewis Lee - Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
  • Loreena McKennitt - All Souls Night, Samhain Night The Old Ways
  • Mack David and Jerry Livingston - Casper the Friendly Ghost (theme)
  • Mad Sin - Body Snatchers, Mad Filthy Undead, Naughty Little Devil
  • Marduk - Samhain
  • Marilyn Manson - Dope Hat, I Put A Spell On You, Willy Wonka theme
  • Mark Snow - X-Files Theme
  • Massive Attack - Angel
  • MC Hammer - Addams Groove (Addams Family Values)
  • Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr cover)
  • Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell, Hot Summer Night
  • Mel Brooks - Puttin On The Ritz (Young Frankenstein)
  • Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now
  • Michael Jackson - Thriller
  • Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Exorcist)
  • Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween
  • Misfits - Halloween, Halloween II, Night of the Living Dead, and Scream
  • Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels - Devil With A Blue Dress On
  • My Chemical Romance - Vampires Will Never Hurt You
  • Nancy Lamott - Autumn Leaves/When October Goes
  • Napoleon XIV - They're Coming To Take Me Away
  • Necromantix - Curse of the Coffin, Demons Are A Girls Best Friend, Haunted Cathouse, Love At First Bite, Nekrofilia
  • Neil Norman - Twilight Zone theme
  • Nick Cave - I Put a Spell on You (see Screamin' Jay Hawkins), Red Right Hand
  • Nine Inch Nails - Sanctified, Something I Can Never Have
  • New York Dolls - Frankenstein
  • Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party, Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself), Weird Science (see also Danny Elfman)
  • Old Man's Child - Return of the Night Creatures
  • Outkast - Dracula's Wedding
  • Peter Gabriel - Digging In The Dirt
  • Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
  • Rain Station - Trick or Treatin
  • Rammstein - Mein Teil
  • Ramones - Pet Semetary
  • Randy Newman - If I Didn't Have You (with Billy Crystal and John Goodman)
  • Ray Parker Jr - Ghostbusters theme
  • Ray Stevens - Haunted House, Teenage Mutant Kung-Fu Chickens
  • Redbone - The Witch Queen of New Orleans
  • Reverend Horton Heat - Halloween Dance, The Devil Is Chasing Me
  • Rick Yost - Monster Inside
  • Rob Zombie - House Of 1000 Corpses, Living Dead Girl
  • Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne - Zombie Stomp
  • Rockapella - Zombie Jamboree, You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch (cover)
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show - Science Fiction Double Feature, Time Warp
  • Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
  • Rose and the Arrangement - Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati
  • Run DMC - Ghostbusters II Theme
  • Santana - Black Magic Woman
  • Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You, Whistlin' Past the Graveyard
  • Sheb Wooley - Purple People Eater
  • Siouxsie and the Banshees - Jeepers Creepers, Trick or Treat
  • Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings (aka The World Is A Vampire)
  • Sonic Youth - Halloween
  • Specials - Ghost Town
  • Spinanes - Halloween Candy
  • Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hell
  • Steve Martin - King Tut
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan - Voodoo Child
  • Sting - Moon Over Bourbon Street
  • Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
  • Taco - Puttin On The Ritz
  • Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
  • Thomas Dolby - I Scare Myself, She Blinded Me With Science
  • Thurl Ravenscroft - You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
  • Tim Curry - Anything Can Happen
  • Tom Lehrer - I Hold Your Hand In Mine
  • Tom Waits - Murder In The Red Barn
  • The Touch - The Vampire Song
  • Type O Negative - Black No. 1, Creepy Green Light
  • Vic Mizzy – The Addams Family Theme
  • Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London
  • Weird Al Yankovic - Nature Trail to Hell
  • White Zombie - I'm Your Boogieman
  • Whose Line Is It Anyway - Halloween Hoedown
  • Zacherly - Dinner With Drac

Share and enjoy. =)

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Mental Exercise of Politics

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=444888
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=444969
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=408855

(save for later)

[color=red][b]The Democratic Republic of ZachsMind[/b][/color]
[b]Abortion: [/b] Pro-choice
[b]Affirmative Action: [/b] It WAS a great idea. Now we need a new great idea
bourne from the needs and fairness issues of this generation.
[b]Arms Trade: [/b] Should be placed under same rules and regulations as any
other kind of trade, with the added understanding that it's always possible
you're selling arms to a country that might later use them against you. ...and
who wants that?
[b]Death Penalty: [/b] I used to be for it, until I saw "governor Bush"
exercise it here in Texas. Now I'm against it, but I am at a loss for a better
solution. Our problem here is if the lifer is beyond redemption or
rehabilitation we're just feeding and sheltering him w/o any way for him to
contribute to society. There must be a better solution.
[b]Drugs: [/b] I would prefer they be legalized, regulated, and taxed. However,
with marijuana being a weed, how do you regulate something that can literally
grow anywhere? Harder drugs simply cause more harm than good when used
recreationally. Current prohibition is not working satisfactorily, but neither
would harsher bans or more lenient solutions. Legalization would benefit a
capitalist society, but may create more social problems. Consider all problems
we have no with alcohol and multiply them ten-fold. That's drug legalizing. Not
a pretty picture.
[b]Economic System: [/b] free market capitalism with some regulation and
encouragement to charity
[b]Education: [/b] Yes
[b]Electoral College in USA Elections: [/b] No
[b]Environmentalism: [/b]
[b]Euthanasia: [/b]
[b]Evolution or Creation?: [/b] Yes
[b]FCC: [/b]
[b]Gay Marriage: [/b]
[b]Gun Control: [/b]
[b]Immigration Policies: [/b]
[b]Income Tax: [/b]
[b]Israel/Palestine: [/b]
[b]Philosophy: [/b]
[b]Political Party Affiliation: [/b]
[b]President Bush/American Policies: [/b]
[b]Prostitution: [/b]
[b]Religion: [/b]
[b]Social Security: [/b]
[b]The UN: [/b]
[b]Veganism/Vegetarianism: [/b]
[b]War in Iraq: [/b]
[b]War on Terror: [/b]



[b][size=5]INSERT NAME HERE [/size][/b]
[b][i]Picture:[/i][/b]
[url=URL_Address]YOUR NAME[/url]
[b][i]IM Contacts:[/i][/b]
AIM:
YIM:
MSN:
ICQ:
GoogleTalk:
Email: zachsmind@yahoo.com

[b][i]Player Profile:[/i][/b]

[b]The blah blah of YOUR NAME<--REPLACE[/b]
Real Name:
Age:
General Location:
General Political Affiliation [if any]:
General Religious Affiliation [if any]:
Where Did You Find NationStates?:
Have you read any of Max Barry's books:
Professional Goal:
How many hours a day do you watch TV?:
What is your favorite genre of music:
Other information:

[b][i]Political Beliefs:[/i][/b]
[b]Abortion[/b]: Pro-Choice
[b]Affirmative Action[/b]: Was a great idea. The future needs a new great
idea.
[b]Arms Trade[/b]:
[b]Death Penalty[/b]:
[b]Drugs[/b]:
[b]Economic System[/b]:
[b]Education[/b]:
[b]Electoral College in USA Elections[/b]:
[b]Environmentalism[/b]:
[b]Euthanasia[/b]:
[b]Evolution or Creation?[/b]:
[b]FCC[/b]:
[b]Gay Marriage[/b]:
[b]Gun Control[/b]:
[b]Immigration Policies[/b]:
[b]Income Tax[/b]:
[b]Israel/Palestine[/b]:
[b]Philosophy[/b]:
[b]Political Party Affiliation[/b]:
[b]President Bush/American Policies[/b]:
[b]Prostitution[/b]:
[b]Religion[/b]:
[b]Social Security[/b]:
[b]The UN[/b]:
[b]Veganism/Vegetarianism[/b]:
[b]War in Iraq[/b]:
[b]War on Terror[/b]:


Monday, April 9, 2007

Thirty-two

I vow to remember these names.

  1. Emily Jane Hilscher
  2. Ryan Christopher "Stack" Clark
  3. Ross Abdallah Alameddine
  4. Brian Bluhm
  5. Austin Cloyd
  6. Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
  7. Caitlin Hammaren
  8. Jeremy Herbstritt
  9. Rachael Elizabeth Hill
  10. Matthew Joseph La Porte
  11. Jarrett Lane
  12. Henry J. Lee
  13. Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
  14. Lauren Ashley McCain
  15. Daniel Patrick O'Neil
  16. Juan Ramón Ortiz
  17. Minal Hiralal Panchal
  18. Daniel Pérez Cueva
  19. Erin Peterson
  20. Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
  21. Julia Pryde
  22. Mary Karen Read
  23. Reema Joseph Samaha
  24. Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
  25. Leslie Geraldine Sherman
  26. Maxine Shelly Turner
  27. Nicole Regina White
  28. Christopher James Bishop
  29. Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
  30. Kevin Granata
  31. G. V. Loganathan
  32. Liviu Librescu ...holocaust survivor, and hero.
source: Wikipedia


I put them here, now, symbolically and virtually in my mind, so that they will not be forgotten. Corny. Cheesy. I know. I put things in here cuz this is where I put slices of brain so I can find them later, and I don't want to forget these names. I pray and hope in the days and weeks to come, we learn more about these people. Their potential. Their accomplishments. Their hopes and dreams. Their lives. These are the lives we should take to heart and find interest. They came from all walks of life. Many of them were born and raised in Virginia, but a few were from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, and even as far reaching as Indonesia, India, Egypt, and Peru. It is not just one city that is in mourning. Not just one country. This has affected many fellow human beings across an entire planet. Family members. Friends. And temporally speaking, this affects people who would have met them in the future, but now they never will. Maybe YOU were supposed to meet one of them, and now you never will.

The promise and potential that was housed in these thirty-two souls is gone now. These people still had so many things they wanted to do with their lives. So many sunrises and sunsets to take for granted. So many birthdays and holidays and special events to attend. They were studying a wide range of subjects from Civil Engineering to Foreign Languages to Animal Sciences. Perhaps one or more of these thirty-two would have learned how to time travel, or cure cancer, or take better care of horses, or run for congress, or come up with a new flavor of ice cream, or become a world-reknowned artist, or run marathons, or make you laugh ten years from now in a moment when you really needed a laugh, or continue to teach and inspire in others greatness.

One stupid idiot who thought his petty problems were more important than those of thirty-two others... One small mind had the power so painfully briefly, to snuff out the candles of thirty-two lights of humanity. One trigger finger. Thirty-two bullets. That's all it took. Why is the media - and why are we - so drawn to that little guy? The thirty-third one? The coward who hid behind a gun? That is not the name we should honor. It's not the life upon which we should dwell.

And why does that number haunt me? Thirty-two. I can't remember my ex-wife's birthday. I can't remember my ex-girlfriend's phone number. I can't remember a lot of things, but I have branded to my memory the number of people whose hearts were stopped on Monday April 16th. twenty-some-odd others were injured, but it's the thirty-two that stick in my head.

I wanted to ignore this. I was originally not going to say anything about it in my blog. I don't know these people. Dwelling on their names and their lives won't bring them back. I have found myself growing less and less interested in current events in recent months. The war in Iraq. I can't stop it. I tried to vote that bastard out of office. I'm powerless before the crap that goes on on this planet. Hell, I'm powerless with regards to pretty much everything going on in my own life. Who was it that said all men live in quiet desperation? Yet we persevere, somehow. We struggle forward. We don't freak out and blow up other people. Is it not beginning to look, in some circles just outside the mainstream, that this mentality of taking to arms and blowing up innocents is deemed fashionable to some? I don't like this trend, and I don't think parading the perpetrators of such fashion and encouraging their behavior is the right thing to do.

Nor is mourning the loss. Rather we should celebrate the fallen - thank fate or God or whatever you prefer to thank, for allowing these souls to exist on this Earth and do what good they did while they were here. The fond memories family and friends have of their presence on this spinning rock. That's what should be honored and treasured. Not the pathetic ramblings of that gun-wielding buffoon.

But then, I'm just another pathetic rambling fool, sans the guns. What do I know? Well. I hope to know these thirty-two names. It's not much, but the best way we honor those no longer with us is to remember them. I learned that from my Dad. =)

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

A Voice That Sounds Like A Warm Blanket Feels

"Out of the greatest tragedy comes the greatest comedy. Remember that. That's why I'm so funny... looking!"


Think I found my new Short Duration Personal Savior ...for the next fifteen minutes or so anyway. Until my cat-like attention span notices something shiny.

...ShorDurPerSav. You know. ...Or maybe you don't. That's a SubGenius way of describing one's most recent addiction, or obsession, or fascination, or INfatuation... Or just someone whom you think is really cool and you wanna tell the world about this person. Someone who somehow brings to your heart or your cockles or your third nostril or whatever ...SLACK. I found my latest Slack Wench.

Past ShorDurPerSavs I've known include Jenny Bruce, Kristy Kruger, Annie Benjamin, Courtney Fairchild, and the list goes on and on. This most recent ShorDurPerSav's name is MaryAnne Isabella, aka "ysabellabrave" which is a nickname her daddy gave her. That alone is just beyond cute, but it gets better.

She's a woman with a video camera, and karaoke CDs which she sings to and records it and puts it up on YouTube. She's just having fun, doing something she enjoys doing. There's also cats you don't often see which occasionally dance around her feet as she sings. When one looks at this objectively and rationally, there's perhaps nothing special about this. A woman stands in front of a camera and sings songs like Ain't Misbehavin, or Love Me Two Times, or I'm All Shook Up. This is nothing new. Others have done it before her. However, the thing is others who have done this before her, aren't her. This woman is lightning in a bottle. Someone somewhere with the right connections and resources could 'discover' this woman and make her The Next Big Thing, whatever that is. However, at the moment she has not yet been encased in glass or given the 'Star Treatment' she richly deserves. So, if you hurry fast you'll be able to see raw talent in its natural state. This is unique, like watching a meteor shower or catching a glimpse of a rainbow where you didn't think there'd be one, but it is also as common as a sunset. Every human being has some kind of talent. This lass has found hers and is putting it out there for the world to see, if the world cares to look.

This woman has a voice that sounds like a warm blanket feels. Her rendition of What A Wonderful World is heartbreaking, and there's the negative pessimist in me that thinks maybe she put eyedrops in her eyes before she recorded so that she'd get the tears. When I first tuned in I thought she was lip synching. She couldn't possibly be this good. This real. This sincere in front of the camera. However, a few videos into watching her and whether she's live or she's Memorex, it draws you in. You believe the illusion as if it's real, and you feel it's so real it must be an illusion. She's a virtual mirage in a world of wasteland media.

I don't know if she's real or fake and it really doesn't matter, so I'm gonna assume she's real and sincere and she doesn't have a dozen make up people behind the camera making her look this good that it's all just her and maybe her cats, and maybe a couple friends cheering her on. I just hope I don't get proven wrong like so many people who thought LonelyGirl15 was really whatever the hell she said she was. I didn't fall for that one, but then I wasn't ...by the time I heard about Bree, people were already thinking she was Blair Witchy, y'know? That the LonelyGirl15 thing was all too well produced to be real.

I don't think that's what's going on here with Isabella, but nowadays, how can ya tell? Doesn't matter either way I guess. I mean if it turns out this is some kinda viral marketing for a motion picture where this woman's just a character in a movie? So? But to her credit, it's that good. Y'know? She's either a well constructed faux YouTube personality, or she's a real woman who happens to have personality.

YouTube's full of people who want to be special. In the movie Incredibles, the mom tells her son everybody's special, and Dash responds to his mom by saying, "that's just another way of saying no one is." And then later in the same film, the villain explains that his plan is to make inventions that will give everybody super powers, and when everyone has special powers, no one will be special anymore.

The thing is though everyone is special, in different ways. The people on YouTube ARE all special, but I don't think most people on YouTube are special the way they intended to be. It's hard to explain. I enjoy Plan Nine From Outer Space but I don't think the way I enjoy that film is the way that Ed Wood intended for people to enjoy it. I see that a lot on YouTube. Someone does a serious religious piece on YouTube thinking they're reaching audiences and they're getting some serious point across about how they feel about their god, and I'm watching it cuz his voice makes me laugh, or there's something strange about the background, or just cuz some weirdo in Tennessee telling me how I should pray to my God? That just cracks me up sometimes. Like I said, it's hard to explain.

Guess that's why I haven't bothered trying to get a camera and getting on that thing myself. I don't wanna be one of the teeming masses who put themselves in front of a camera, think they have something to say, and then jackasses like me come along and say, "no you don't have shit to say." I'm horrendously jaded and cynical, probably cuz I know I'm one of those jackasses.

This is different though. YsaBellaBrave appears before the camera as someone who doesn't have an axe to grind. She just has a talent to present, a service to provide. She wants to put a smile on your face. Not too much to ask. So her presentation of herself is the kinda thing that melts through my jaded and cynical defenses against the LonelyGirls of the world. Is she real or is she just pretending to be real?

Who cares, when she's got a voice that sounds like a warm blanket feels?

YsaBellaBrave loves the camera and the camera loves her. It's a courtship that we are voyeuristically peering in on. She's having some kinda endearing and wholesome romantic relationship with that camera. It's not sexual but it is very sensual. It feels almost dirty that we're looking in on it, like reading a kid's diary, or accidently walking in on two people as they're just discovering how they feel about each other. It's a bit embarrassing, but obviously she doesn't mind, and the camera ain't talking, so we continue to look.

She's flirting with the camera lens. She's managed to be rather provacative without doing anything particularly provacative. And a strange thing is at first when you're watching you'd swear she was lip synching, and you watch her mouth waiting for her to mess up and she doesn't. Then depending on which video you're watching, she talks directly to you during the instrumental part. In one video she says, "this is where you're supposed to dance with me," and she dances, being careful not to stray too far out of shot. Maybe she's not just flirting with the camera. Maybe she's sincerely flirting with whomever sees it. This is where there's a dichotomy of uncertainty here. It's like she's making a connection, but she's most certainly not. So it's a magic trick. She's managing to make this illusion that she's making a connection with her audience, when it's patently impossible. Perhaps this is what Hollywood does all the time, and we're always suckers falling for it. YsaBellaBrave's able to do what it takes a team of people in Hollywood to do for television shows or motion pictures.

YsaBellaBrave is apparently her own own producer, director, writer, and star talent. She knows her virtual space before the camera. There's a lot of spontanaeity going on here. Her style's very improvisational, and in one of her Q&A videos she says that usually she does these in one take, but there's also obviously more than a little preproduction too. Before she turns the camera on, she knows how she wants to start it, certain things she wants to capture on film at certain times in the song, but rarely does she seem to have a controlled direction of how she's going to actually end a piece. She just starts giggling and then reaches behind the camera to turn it off. And like the greatest showman, of course she always leaves you wanting more.

There's also the fact that the way the world is right now, someone like YsaBellaBrave is just what I think the world needs. Her seeming innocence and daring courage before the camera echoes back to an earlier time, perhaps a more innocent and carefree time. A lot of the songs she sings are old standards from as much as a century ago, so she's doing this Torch Song kinda thing like... well it's like she's somehow captured the essense of every talent from The Andrew Sisters to Marilyn Monroe to Lena Horne to Sarah Vaughn. Her voice can turn on a dime emotionally speaking, and she's very expressive and dramatic - at times deliciously melodramatic. She's experimenting and taking risks, and sometimes I don't even think she knows she's taking a risk she just does it and if it works fine if it doesn't so what it's just YouTube, right? All this adds up to quite a novel approach to entertainment.

She has this paypal thing set up of course for people who can donate to her. I don't have any money. What money I do have is already spent on bills. So if I can't pay her for entertaining me a few minutes tonight, I figured the least I could do was talk about her. This is why YouTube, and the Internet, exists. So people like her can reach people like you and me. She's lightning in a bottle, and maybe no one with the right resources and connections will ever catch her in that bottle. Maybe she'll do this for a little bit, it won't work out for her, and she'll move on. Or maybe she will get discovered, and next time we see her will be on Letterman.

She claims she only just started singing a year ago. Didn't think she could ever hold a note. Then one day she just could. Something clicked. She figured it out. Now she's just enjoying the heck out of it. Here's hoping she continues to do so for many years to come, and we get to eavesdrop on her romance with the microphone and the camera lens.

I won't tell her we're watching if you won't. Now shhhh... Looks like she's about to sing again. Don't interrupt.