Category Archives: Culture

Hellloooooooo! I can’t remember the

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Hellloooooooo!
I can’t remember the last time I posted a blog. Forgive me people for simply enjoying your blogs and not contributing myself. I have to get El Presidente Geeko man to post a picture of our sweet little dancer on the blog, as I am technically challenged and presently lack the skills necessary to do so (for now). Our wee ballerina did an amazing job at her competition on Sunday morning at the Palais des Congress in Hull. We don’t know how they placed yet as we were sacked and couldn’t last until the end. We were up around 5 AM(ish) to do hair and make up and be ready to check in at the competition at 7:00AM. Blah blah, anyway will post her results once we get them. This must be what a hockey mom feels like. (I wouldn’t trade it for the world either).

TPB party YEAH! I’m looking forward to it. I was considering making a reappearance for Corey but the jury is still out on that one. We’ll see. Ali, you let us know how we can help with any prep work. Let me know if there is anything here from the last TPB fest that you can make use of. Also let me know if I can bring any JELL-A-PEN-OS chips too!
10-4

Changin’ the world, man. .

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Changin’ the world, man. . .

Paper Baghdad

You don�t see the mothers, stricken with grief
The hopelessly inadequate humanitarian relief
You�re spared the image of the hospital ward
Where supplies are woeful and screams ignored

You can�t smell the metal of the searing hot tanks
Or the rot of those executed for breaking ranks
Or the frenzied fear mounting before the bombs fall
Or the dust of destruction that covers it all

You can�t hear the sirens that wail in the night
Or the rat-tat-tat-tat of an unseen gun fight
Or the gurgle of blood as a soldier expires
Or the roar of a hundred oil well fires

No, your ears hear a thud as you kick off your shoes
And faintly (in the background) the 6 o�clock news
The clang of the pots as you make tonight�s dinner
Your own sad sigh because you wish you were thinner

Oh sheltered America, with your senses dulled
How have you into this awful lie been lulled?
Did you think, when you put the bag over your head
They�d be any less innocent or any less dead?

Nicely done Ali. I can’t

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Nicely done Ali. I can’t help but read it to the tune of Julie Andrews’ “A Few of my Favourite Things” from the Sound of Music. I’m sure that’s not the tune you were shooting for…. was it?

In any case, I’m continually amazed by the companies that won’t move for fear of upsetting the balance, when it’s already blown wide open. Personally I avoid record stores for as long as I can because I think I’m getting hosed every time I walk in there. Eventually I do end up buying a few CDs here and there, sometimes because I want to get a solid copy for the MP3 library that I can’t seem to get online, and sometimes because I like to support artists that I think actually try to contribute something to music, and aren’t bands contrived by music executives.

But if I’m not picking up some good old CDs (out of the el cheapo bin, mind you) then I’m probably downloading it. I mean jeez. That’s the way I listen to it, that’s the way I want to consume it. It’s even better for the environment for pete’s sake. Just take my money, wouldya? Should I just start mailing in cheques for the stuff I steal? Where do you think that money would go? Probably nowhere even close to the artists, I’m betting. How do I rationalize this stuff to the kids when they are old enough to figure out what’s going on? That’s the doozy. I’m a big fan of “do as I say not as I do” but that’s not going to wash, I think. Can I raionalize this? I guess not. I’m stealing, and there’s no way around it, right?

Anyway, this is just a light bit of diversion from the weight of the world this week. I suppose I have already spent too much time thinking about it, really. Besides I will probably be arrested soon.

Labels and napster and fortune

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Labels and napster and fortune dot com
Lawyers and rapsters and good ideas gone wrong
A user’s agreement that 10 pages long
When all I wanted was to buy one frickin song

Yeah that’s what you get for your Commie ideals
Face it man, everyone lies cheats and steals
Take your gripe to the national court of appeals
If you’ve got a problem with these amazing deals

It’s wireless, digital slick plug ‘n play!
Hurry, you need it, buy now and don’t pay!
NO INTEREST, NO PAYMENTS, sign up today!
Mastercard accepted, click Submit and OK!

Whoa what the fuck happened to me just now?
I think I bought a cellular phone somehow.
All I wanted was Cougar’s “Blood on the Plow”
Not to feed the bloodthirsty corporate cash cow

But that’s what you get for your Commie ideals
Face it babe, everyone lies cheats and steals
Take your best shot and see who squeals
We bet you can’t afford the court of appeals

Geek alert yet again. Just

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Geek alert yet again.

Just got Office 2003 beta 2. I must say that just when I think the mail client can’t get any slicker, it does. I’m amazed how much better it is.

Anyway. Here’s another thing. Why is it that the big record companies won’t take my money? I have very modest needs and from my perspective they should be easily fulfilled. I want to pay for music that I can download and use as I see fit. That’s it. But I’ve looked around and you can’t do that, apparently. There are always strings attached, and that doesn’t work for me. You can get music from bands you don’t know, and I’m sure it’s fine stuff but I don’t really need to be scraping through a boatload of crap to find one good band or song. I know what I like and what I have heard, and I want to be able to buy that from the people that own it. Ideally, I would just give the artists the money but that’s not usually possible.

I don’t want to buy a CD for $20 in the pursuit of one song. I used to, sometimes, but now that I’m older I won’t. I do want to pay for music I like, all napsters aside.

I don’t think I’m being unreasonable, does anybody agree?