Interesting...

Not sure I agree with it, but it's interesting:

"It has been said that American pop culture was as responsible as anything else for bringing down the Berlin Wall. If that’s the case, then what are our current films doing for the world, and for our own security, here and now in 2005?

Hollywood history is not hard to learn. When the studios make movies that leave ticket buyers feeling good about their country, that celebrate the everyday heroes who live among us, and that aren’t afraid to turn the people who want to destroy our way of life (today, Islamic terrorists) into movie villains then moviegoers, red and blue, will flock to the theaters. Yes, Hollywood can and should throw the occasional provocative and controversial bone to the fringes and profit quite nicely (as was proven by The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004).

But if all the bones are thrown in any one direction, Hollywood loses the mainstream, the lifeblood of a healthy and prosperous box office. And once lost, they may never come back.

Y'ever see something that's so racist...

That you arent' even mad? You jsut think "Damn, thats some racist shit"?

Normally I'm not one to go for that, but this particular "looter guy" photoshopping was just a bit too much for me:

Damn, that's some racist shit right there. Thank you Chris Rock.

Now that being said, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noted this particular resemblance:

Screw that, I'm gonna LIVE

Just got back from Serenity...

GOD DAMN THAT'S A GREAT MOVIE!!!

Okay how to do a review on this movie without spoilers...

First, from the opening tracking shot (actually a multi composited shot, but still gorgeous) to the final space battle, this movie looks expensive. Since the budget, including P&M (promotion and marketing), was under $40m that's one hell of an achievement.

As to the story, well let's just say the Kobyashi Maru scenarios referenced by other bloggers are apt. The characters are presented with a series of unwinnable scenarios, and they don't win; but they survive... which is I think the central theme of the entire series. Courage is doing what is right when it is guaranteed to get you killed. Heroism is surviving that; or at least making sure everyone else does.

And that's what they do.

When presented with a situation where they MUST succeed, to make sure that right is done; when they are being set upon at all sides by death and destruction; when they cannot possibly succeed, they do; but they pay the price for it.

Damn there are so many better ways of saying that. I've even got them written in my head. There is a Saint Crispins day speech in this one but I can't say it without spoilers.

Let me just put it this way. If you've ever taken a service oath, this movie is going to make your emotions stand up and shout.

Now, the cast.. Well I'm a BIG firefly fan so I'm biased, but I have to say the performances were letter perfect. There just wasnt enough time to show them off more. This movie could have been twice as long, and still they'd have had enough story, and enough character involvement to keep me in my seat.

Oh and the feminity in this movie is utterly yummy. Especially in the fight scenes. Think buffy, the matrix, kill bill, and Zaitochi "a master of swords"...

Summer Glau... Who would have known a balet dancer could kick so much ass (well actually I did; I've known a few who were also martial artists. DAMN).

Gina Torres protrayal of Zoe is jsut a tiny bit too stiff. She's trying to play stoic duty, but it ends up coming off a bit unnatural to me. Of course it's rather unlikely she's ever taken orders, so I can understand that.

Morena Baccarin... we need to see more of her... MUCH MUCH MORE.

And Jewel Staite as Kaylee... Remember Willow and Gabrielle? Yeah she blows them BOTH out of the water. Even in their vamp versions.

Nathan Fillion played it perfect. Henry the fifth meets Yojimbo... or maybe last man standing. Perfect for a space western.

The best performance in the movie though? I have to give it to the tongue twisting Chiwetel Ejiofor as "The Operative". Every time he was on screen all I could think was "Damn this guy kicks ass".

Actually I'm guessing that Joss Whedon is a bigger Toshiro Mifune fan than I thought.

It's definitely the best movie of the year so far, although admitedly, that's not saying much.

Okay I need to stop talking or I'm going to start raving with spoilers. Lets just say I'm going to see it again.

And now, the theme:

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

Senate Confirms Roberts As Chief Justice

About 90 minutes ago

Now, anyone want to lay some bets as to how long it takes Bush to announce the next nominee, or who it will be?

The frontrunner is Janice Rogers Brown, and I could very definitely live with that. A black female libertarian on the court? HELL YES!

Oh and those confirmation hearings... anti-woman, anti-black.. see she has to be because she hates herself... AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Sorry that was my democrat impression.

Oh and the vote was 78-22, with no republican dissenters. The 22 who voted against are all either ultraleftynutjobs or they are running for president in three years (or both):

Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)

Transparent partisanship, thy name is democrat.

Articles like this...

... Are why I subscribe to "The Weekly Standard".

The Left University

Today nearly 70 percent of the 18-to-24 age cohort attends college in one form or another, and more than 80 percent of high school graduates do so. College attendance has become a near universal rite of passage for youngsters in our society, and a requirement for entry into the world of middle-class employment.

When this year's freshmen enter the academic world, they will encounter a bizarre universe in which big-time athletics, business education, and rigorous science programs operate under the umbrella of institutions that define themselves in terms of left-wing ideology. This is especially true of the 100 or so elite public and private institutions that are able to select their students from among a multitude of applicants seeking entry, and true also of the humanities and social science departments that define the political and social meaning of the academic enterprise. These students will enter the world of what we may call the left university.

The ideology of the left university is both anti-American and anticapitalist. The left university, according to its self-understanding, is devoted to the exposure of the oppression of the various groups that have been the West's victims--women, blacks, Hispanics, gays, and others that have been officially designated as oppressed groups--and

to those groups' representation. This is the so-called "diversity" ideology to which every academic dean, provost, and president must pledge obedience and devotion.

As it happens, the contemporary university is diverse only as a matter of definition and ideology, but not in practice or reality.

Go, read, be enlightened.

Never forget that the state of Americas schools, from Kindegarten to post doctoral programs, is a deliberate effort, running since the 1890s, doubled and redoubled in the '20s and '30s, and then redoubled again in the '50s and '60s; to turn all of America into a "scientific socialist" state ruled by "academic experts" who believe only they know what is best for everyone.

They have only truly succeeded in our educational system; where many would I'm sure be quite thrilled to be addressed as "Comrade Academician" instead of "Professor Smith".

John Dewey was the most influentual force in the creation and structuring of our modern "german model" of public education; from Kindegarten to the research universities, lifted straight from the statist german system (at times socialist, at times fascist, but always authoritarian). His most telling quote? "You can't make a good socialist out of an individual". You might be interested in knowing that there are HUNDREDS of public schools in the country named after that vile man.

Here is another Dewey quote:

"From a social standpoint, dependence denotes a power rather than a weakness; it involves interdependence. There is always a danger that increased personal independence will decrease the social capacity of an individual. In making him more self-reliant, it may make him more self-sufficient; it may lead to aloofness and indifference. It often makes an individual so insensitive in his relations to others as to develop an illusion of being really able to stand and act alone-an unnamed form of insanity which is responsible for a large part of the remedial suffering in the world."

This philosophy forms the very core of the socialist welfare state ideal. Individualsim is bad, both for society, and for the individual; because it reduces his connection to society; and reduces societies value as a whole. The individual is not an asset to society, but a threat to it.

If reading the works of this man, who essentially created modern public education as an experiement in social engineering, doesn't anger you (even if you are a liberal or other leftist); are you really paying attention?

One of the reasons I love my girlfriend

I love my girlfriend very much, even though we have had a somehwat insane relationship (which is apropriate considering we are both more or less insane. Her more, me less ;-).

Why?

Well aside from lots of sweet sweet lovin, she does things like this:

"Someone at work gave me tickets to the advance screening of Serenity tomorrow. I have to work,but you can use the tickets if you want. Maybe you and Jon can go [ed. note, a good friend of mine]. I would like to see the original Firefly series before seeing the movie anyway."

Ummm yes darling, yes I do want, and yes I do love you eversomuch.

She may irritate and infuriate me on occaison, but then she does things like this (quite frequently actually -- especially the little important things like bringing me home foods that I like). She makes unreasonable demands on my time and attention, and has some very odd ideas, but it all adds up to my general qote on her:

"I love her. She's crazy, but in an endearing way"

Content Free...

Sorry for the lack of new and interesting content the last couple weeks. I've been on a new contract, and it's draining me hardcore.

Only 50 billable hours last week, but it feels like 100.

Hey, at least I'm getting paid again right.

I've got some good stuff brewing, I jsut havent had the time and energy to spew them forth upon the virtual page.

It's funny cuz it's true

Found on the NoR:

Folks don’t understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in America. Well, there’s a very simple answer. Nobody bothered to check the oil. We just didn’t know we were getting low.

The reason for that is purely geographical.

Our OIL is located in: Alaska, California, Oklahoma, and Texas

Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington DC

Another one makes it past the censors

Two nights in a row even:

[Doctor is telling patient about new drugs target towards black men, because they react differently than white men]

Black Patient: Son, white people been lyin to me for 60 years
Black Doctor: [exasperated] See, that's the trouble with us black folks, we can't tell the difference between racism, and just "everybody get's screwed"...
Black Patient: Oh you think THEY tell YOU the truth?
Black Doctor: Tell you what. If you really want to screw whitey, be one of the few black men who LIVE to collect social security. Take the damn medicine.

Aaron McGruder... paging Mr. Aaron McGruder... reality is calling....

Sometimes TV comes out with a gem

Lawyer 1: "Isn't he afraid of being convicted of perjury"

Lawyer 2: "Well, no-one ever get's convicted of that anymore. The last guy to get caught was Bill Clinton, and he got away with it."

Sweet

Take the James Bond Car Quiz!

A Righteous Rant

The Geek with a .45 is touching on one of my pet peeves, the inability of fast food types to get the simplest of orders correct.

{Speaking slowly, enunciating, and formatting my request in a manner that it will be understood} "Hi. I'd like a #1 with cheese, fries and a coke. I'd also like two cheeseburgers, and a pie."

It's the simplest farging job on the planet. All it requires is that you understand highly formulaic English. I've already interpreted my desires into a form you can understand, so you don't have to think at all. When, for example, I tender the order above, you push the following buttons: "#1", "w/ cheese", "med fries", "med coke", "cheeseburger", "cheeseburger", "pie".

If you do this correctly, two things will happen. The first is that an amount of money will magically appear. You collect from me an amount greater than or equal to this number, and tell the machine how much I gave you. If I gave you more than the first number, a second number will appear, labeled as "change", and that is the amount of money you give back to me. The other thing that will happen is that a list will appear elsewhere in the store, which is an exact match of the buttons you pushed. Someone else will select each of these items from bins, put them into a bag, and hand them to me.

It's the simplest retail transaction possible, honed to absolute efficiency by 50,000 years of societal development and relentless market forces. It has been analysed and reduced to its smallest, leanest components, so that it cannot be perturbed by anything other than monumental incompetence.

If you can tie your shoes in the morning, wipe your own butt, and somehow miraculously manage to get food from your plate to your mouth without stabbing yourself in the face with your fork, you should be able to do this job.

My friend, I know exactly that of which you rant.

I hate mayonaise, and I am allergic to onions.

Fresh onions are the worst, with onions in soup or stews leaving me with just heartburn.

If I eat a single burgers worth of fresh onion, I will have violent intestinal disturbances, which are quite unpleasant, and may require me to seek medical attention.

A single bite worth of onion on a burger will generally cause me to be unable to finish my meal. The reaction isn't that fast in my stomach, but the unpleasantness I know is sure to follow is so imprented, that the mear taste of onion like that will make me ill, or at least unable to eat further.

I ALWAYS order everything either "no onions" or "plain" - sometimes with mustard and ketchup.

Long years of experience have brought me to spelling out exactly what must be and what must not be on my sandwiches for me to eat them "I'd like a bacon double cheeseburger with nothing but meat, bacon, cheese, ketchup, and mustard. No onions please, I am allergic to onions."

Still, perhaps 25% of the time, I recieve my sandwich with onions.

Frequently I simply order food that cannot possibly be served with onions without asking for them specially.

Tell me, how hard is it to understand the word "plain"???

Your whateverly dose of comics lovin

Had me worried there for a minute...

Actually for about three hours...

Patriots 23, Steelers 20, and they did it with 1 second to spare.

My favorite song

I ran across this old post of mine on the NoR, and I thought I'd share my favorite song:

Generally I sing it A Capella at SCA events along with "Whiskey in the Jar", and "The Minstrel Boy"

Wanderlust
--Wylde Nept

Once I loved a lady, she meant the world to me
Her eyes as green as a shady lake, and her hair like a springtime breeze
Her long hair shown like gold and silk, with the rolling sea in her stride
I found my comfort in a feathery bed with my lady by my side
But a long dark winter took her from me I must’ve wept for forty days
As the sparks from her pyre flew up to the stars, I thought about my ways
My lady was my hearth and heat, my lady was my home
Without her love and without my tears I’ll pick up my staff and roam
Harvest time turns the trees to rust and my travels bring me to town
The smell of hay rolls up from the fields, and the sounds of music roll down
The farmers laugh and the mercheants sing, and the women dance till dawn
There’s ale and merriment enough for me, but in the morning I’ll be gone
For I’m at my best when my boots wear thin, I’ll see the world by the mile
Every lake as green as my ladys eyes, every breeze as welcome as her smile
Through caravans of gold and silk, to ships on the new moons tide
I found my comfort on a mossy bed, with the road close by my side
Summer time brings the drums of war, and banners from lands far away
The fields burn as the farmers arm, so I lend my sword to the fray
You’ve won a place of honor here lad, why’s it you wont stay
But the winding road keeps calling me back and this is what I say
For I’m at my best when my boots wear thin, I’ll see the world by the mile
Every lake as green as my ladys eyes, every breeze as welcome as her smile
Through caravans of gold and silk, to ships on the new moons tide
I found my comfort on a mossy bed, with the road close by my side
On a cold mountain road in a travelers inn I find shelter from the winter time
I rest my bones by the crackling fire, and I trade my tales for wine
The innkeepers always ask the same, what calls you to the open road
As they turn for their answer all they’ll see is me vanish in the swirling snow
For I’m at my best when my boots wear thin, I’ll see the world by the mile
Every lake as green as my ladys eyes, every breeze as welcome as her smile
Through caravans of gold and silk, to ships on the new moons tide
I found my comfort on a mossy bed, with the road close by my side
Once I loved a lady...........

The bands web site has this for an intro:

Sing like no one is listening
Dance like no one is watching
Live every day like it is your last

Sounds like a nice philosophy.

Technology sufficiently advanced...

Will be indestinguishable from a DemonranticUnderground commenter:

From the mind of Sean Gleason

Redemption

The catholic church will shortly issue a "clarification" that homosexual men cannot become priests, even if they do not act on their homosexuality.

"Sep 22, 2005 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests under stricter rules soon to be released, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The newspaper quoted a Church official "with authoritative knowledge of the new rules," as saying the question was not "if it will be published, but when," referring to the new ruling about homosexuality in Catholic seminaries."

The question has been asked "How are they going to enforce this?" I mean if a man does not act on his homosexual desires how can they prove he's a homosexual.

The people who ask this question simple don't understand catholicism at all. This unfortunately includes many catholics. I was rasied as a catholic, though I left the church long ago due to various disillusionments. It sticks with you, and honestly I consider myself a better man for it.

So back to the question, how are they going to enforce this? Well, they aren't. It's a matter of conscience, as are many things in the catholic faith.

Homosexuality is a sin according to the church, both in act and in thought, however sinners are allowed to be priests; so long as they repent and recieve absolution. If this were not true, then no-one could be a priest, for we are all sinners.

In the promulgation of this doctrine, they are saying that a homosexual priest can not be in grace with god, and therefore a man who is true to his faith must recuse himself from the priesthood; in fact from the both performance of all the sacraments, and the reciept of all the sacraments except confession (a side note: any catholic may confess to any person in a state of grace with god under extraordinary circumstances; ordination is not required. In fact even extreme unction can be given by any person in a state of grace with god if necessary). Even then they may only recieve absolution with sincere repentence, and renunciation of the sin.

The thing is, current doctrine states that a homosexual man CAN be in a state of grace with god, so long as he repents his homosexual desires, and does not act on them.

I do not agree with this doctrine (as regards priests), because as has been pointed out, it violates a fundamental precept; that of redemption. If one sincerely repents ones sins, and recieves absolution; one should be regarded as in a state of grace with god, and thus not barred from the other sacraments, including holy orders.

They have basically said you can be in gods grace if you are gay, but not if you are gay and a priest; however there is no teaching justifiying this differentiation. Additionally they have said this doctrine only applies to new seminary students, and I can see no justification for THIS differentiation.

I can tell you WHY they did this: there is an association in the public AND the hierarchies mind between homosexuality and pedaerasty. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant to the perception; which is what they are atempting to manage by issuing a message on this doctrine at this time.

Promulgation of a doctrine that condemns the calling of a redeemed man, simply for public relations purposes; is a fundamental rejection of the nature of redemption.

Unfortunately, yet another reason I can no longer consider the catholic church my spiritual home.

Stolen...

The revolutionary war began, not July 4th 1776, but April 19th 1775 when the army moved to sieze the caches of arms that his majesties loyal subjects had assembled over the previous three years of being treated as an occupied enemy territory.

April 19th 1775 was the day that Englishmen chose to become Americans, unable to tolerate any longer their suppression by force of arms.

It's time to remember that now:

--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness -- The Declaration of Independence

NOTE: This image is from Scott Bieser, a libertarian cartoonist. On his website he notes that his editorial cartoons may be freely redistributed on the web in unaltered form.

In the immortal words of Herschel Krustofsky "Guns aren't toys. They're for family protection, hunting dangerous or delicious animals, and keeping the King of England out of your face."

An honest liberal in support of democracy

David Gelertner is frequently my kind of liberal. We disagree on many things, but he is generally honest, and doesnt fall into the doublethink

The position he gives here pretty much mirrors my own:

Let's take abortion away from the court
DAVID GELERNTER

The abortion issue is a catastrophic wound in U.S. cultural life. It has inflicted unending battles on American society ever since the Supreme Court seized control of the issue from state legislatures in 1973 — in one of the grossest power grabs American democracy ever faced.

Young people pondering U.S. democracy today might easily conclude that all really important laws must be decreed by the high court.

We could heal the abortion wound, end the battles and reaffirm the integrity of American democracy if we had the guts to use the Constitution's own mechanism for introducing big, permanent changes to American law. We should get Congress to propose and the nation to ratify a constitutional amendment.

Ever since the 7-2 Roe decision, supporters of abortion rights have been nervous — with good cause. The right to have an abortion could be abolished by a one-vote majority of the Supreme Court. It was only created in the first place because of the Make-a-Wish theory of jurisprudence. The American people had never written it into the Constitution, but the justices (closing their eyes and wishing hard) discovered it...

Read it all, for he speaks the truth.

God Bless the high pressure dome

Galveston may survive this one.

Rita has dropped back to cat 4, and is rapidly diminishing in force down to cat 3. She is also trending more northeasterly than previously forecast because of the high pressure "dome" off the Houston coast...

Unfortunately that leaves Lake Charles, LA to be pummeled, but they can handle it a bit better than Galveston can. Lake Charles may be a swamp (actually it's not bad), but Galveston is a semisubmerged island. It's already been wiped off the map once.

I haven't heard directly from Jim S the layabout sailer and leading gun nut of galveston bay, but by blog comments he's hanging in, and stressing out.

Why Steve H. is a frikken genius

Well, the first thing is "Eat what you want and die like a man", but really its just his writing...

"Here is what I read about negative ions: they make us happy. Positive ions make us sad. There are lots of negative ions outside, especially in the mountains and at the beach. There are very few of them in air-conditioned buildings, on congested freeways, and within a hundred-yard radius of Cindy Sheehan.

Supposedly, falling water releases negative ions, so we feel happy near waterfalls or in the shower.

Hell, it could be true. Although I always thought I was happy in the shower because I was wet and warm and soapy and naked. It just goes to show you how wrong you can be."

Frikken brilliant

In honor of a city that will soon be departing...

Galveston is fucked.

I mean "god will smite thee" kind of fucked.

Take a look at this: http://www.weatherunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200518_5day.html

Let us take a moment to remember the city in song...

GALVESTON
-- Jimmy Webb
(as sung by Glenn Campbell)

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea winds blowing
I still see her dark eyes glowing
She was twenty-one
When I left Galveston

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea waves crashing
While I watch the cannon flashing
And I clean my gun
And I dream of Galveston

I still see her standing by the water
Standing there, looking out to sea
And is she waiting there for me?
On the beach where we used to run

Galveston, oh Galveston
I am so afraid of dying
Before I dry the tears she's crying
Before I see your sea birds flying
In the sun, at Galveston

Update: Galveston may be saved, and creepily, there was a new show on tonight "Criminal minds" starring Mandy Patinkin (I wasnt too impressed wit the writing, but the performances were good). During the final scene, "Galveston" is playing in the background.

Anonimity

Most bloggers are at least nominally anonymous. They don't use their real names, dont publish them, dont use their real email addresses etc...

There are a lot of good reasons for this, and let me just enumerate some right now:

1. Using your real name WILL get you fired from most jobs at some point
2. Using your real name could get you sued
3. Using your real name could get you serious death threats with visits from the FBI

Those are all pretty good reasons to be anonymous, and if you've read me for any length of time you may know that I've gone through all of those (more than once for the first).

A lot has been made recently about the decision of a previously open couple of bloggers identities goin anonymous. Some have criticised them for "running away from a fight" etc...

Those people are assholes.

See, I DO post with my real name, because I want people to know who I am and what I stand for, but there is an important difference between me, and most.

Actually two:

1. When I AM working, I make an obscene amount of money, so I can afford not to work for months at a time (the Travis McGee plan)

2. I don't have kids

If either of those statements were untrue, I would be another anonymous soul. I can afford to lose a job most of the time, and I can afford to find a new one frequently, In fact as a consultant, it's a frequent occurance by nature.

Others are not so lucky. They may be in a far more sensitive or public profession, or they may not have the financial freedom. That dose not render their contribution less worthy than mine; nor does it mean they are cowards of any kind.

I chose to live my life the way I want, because I could; because I had the money and earning potential. Had I not, and were I not, I can assure you my choices would be much different.

Oh and for those of you who ARE in theory anonymous, remember there is no such thing as either privacy or anonymity on the internet. Don't write anything you aren't prepared to talk with HR about; or you WILL be fucked over.

The Nation of Riflemen is BACK

Everyone, as promised the NoR is back, and rarin to go.

Praise be to all that is great and holy, and thanks to all those who made this effort possible, anonymous or not.

The new URL is:

http://www.thenationofriflemen.com/

The Nation of Riflemen will be back..

Everyone,

The NoR forums will be back up and ready to go VERY SOON (not "very soon now"),

Watch this space for updates.

Rockstar INXS - It's finally happened

I'm slightly mad...

One of my fav songs actually, but neither here nor their.

Ok first, Brooke hasn't been that yummy since the metal micro-mini...

So... Marty, J.D., and Mig...

Ok before we go on, I think Marty is the best individual performer to lead a band, but he's not good for INXS. Mig is a great singer, but he's really a theater guy. Of course he is from Oz (sort of, he's originally philipino but gre up in OZ) but I'm still thinkin he's not right for that. Finally J.D.... attitude problesm sure, but I think he's the best for INXS.

Hell, he's got a decent sense of humor if nothing else.

Ahhh so they have to sing any one of the songs already performed this year, then they'll eliminate one, and it's a singoff with INXS, doing an INXS song for the gold.

Sweet...


Mig - Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody": No big surprise here, Mig does one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and he does it very very well. This is his moment. Unfortunately he overreaches in a few spots, not sure whats wrong there, but hey. Also, as impressive as the song is, it might not be THAT impressive fom Mig, because everyone knows he's done it every night on stage for the last three years.

Overall, pretty damned good, but I dont think it'll save him.

J.D. - Rolling Stones, "Can't always get what you want" : Remeber how I've been saying J.D. could be the best up there if he just calmed down a bit, and channeled the energy into the song.. Well he did it. This is what J.D. should be like 90% of the time, and it's VERY good.

Marty - Pink Floyd "Wish you were here": So Martys best performance was CLEARLY wish you were here, and he decides to reprise it. MISTAKE. It was good, hell it was very good, but it suffers in comparison to the FIRST time.

Elimination: Mig wasn't surprised. You could see it on his face, he knew from the moment they started talking

Marty - "Don't Change": Hmmm, well it was good... He made it into HIS song, which may NOT be a good thing. I liked it, but he sounded more like a naughties emo band than INXS

J.D. - "What you need": The only way J.D. could have done this better would be to BE Michael Hutchence. It was jsut great. The perfect amount of sex, and ham, and jazz... I can't help but think it's him, and this is why.

Decision Time: J.D. is SHITTING HIMSELF.... Oh man... Marty is quiet, no expression whatsoever....

J.D. is definitely the right choice to do INXS and their back catalog. Marty NEEDS a record contract with his band, and this will get him one without any doubt.

Oh and the news song? Not bad.

Oh and this was a liveblog, but blogger hosed everything up for hours.

Not generally a bumper sticker fan but...

My girlfriend just sent me this:

and I found this one while I was there:

A message for the Nation of Riflemen

Everybody, remember how I said not to pull the trigger yet? Well heres why:

Not sure if this is the best place to put this, but I just wanted to post a quick thanks to all of the above who said such incredibly nice things.

I would ask that people not post things like links to cache locations that make what we'd like to "disappear" accessible to folks who may be looking for something.

We're fine. As some have surmised this was a sudden "emergency" situation that caused us to react without any warning. For that we apologize, but it became a choice between our personal obligations (fill in the details yourself) and the site. The site lost as we're sure everyone can understand.

Just to be clear, no one "ordered" us to do anything, but it was obvious that things were going to have to "change" and our obligations were too imposing not to respond the way we did.

We're only now back from a little whirlwind of travel and we'll be "handing over" the NOR Forums to "temporary guardians" soon.

Details to follow.

-- CD

See I figgered K and C would already have some plans, and I didn't want to get in the way. So everybody jsut sit tight a little while longer, and stay frosty.

Oh and to everyone who's say "Why didnt they warn us, I'm addicted, that was so rude, I depend on that site"... Hey, I'm addicted too. DO you know how much of my day was spent there BY CHOICE???

All you folks down on K and C, quit whining, thank everyone for the free ice cream, and SHUT THE FUCK UP.

By lucifers beard...

It's ....

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

Aaaaaargh!!!!

Where's your parrot?

I'm a dead man ... in 47 years

According to our research, you'll be dead by

December 2052 at age 76

- probable cause -

heart attack

YOU DIE: 75.7 years
AVERAGE MALE LIFE SPAN:	72.5 years

As you can plainly see, you have more health & vitality than the average man.

WHY YOU DIE? 56% heart attack 24% car accident 13% loneliness 5% drowning of the lungs 2% wounds You have 17280.2 days left on this earth. You've already lived 38% of your life. A FEW COLLECTED STATISTICS Across all 743607 test takers. 17% smoke. 42% have health insurance. 5% eat a lot of nice beef. 39% hold in farts. 13% are impressed with themselves. The top cause of death among relatives was cancer. The most widely suffered ailment among takers is high blood pressure. The average day for an OkCupid user involves 7.8 hours of sleep and 1.1 movements of the bowel.

This test is always available at:
www.okcupid.com/death

More random unsurprising shit

Super Perv Congratulations! You scored 18/20!

Way to go, Pervy McPervster! You have obviously heard of/seen/done most of these licentious acts. I'll keep this short because I'm sure you have a full schedule of lewd activities and porn to get back to.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 65% on sex termability

Link: The Name that Sex Term Test written by hautepink on Ok Cupid

---

Well I always say, a flithy mind is a terrible thing to waste

---

Movie Expert! You scored 97%!

This is a difficult test, but you definitely passed, and have finished in the highest category! You know a lot about actors and movies! Well done! The Ultimate Sex Appeal For Women Test The Interested In This Aussie Test Please feel free to rate my test below! :-)

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 98% on ActorsMovies

Link: The Match The Actors To The Movie Test written by aussierick on Ok Cupid

---

Yeah, I'm a pop culture junky I know

Better Looking

You are a Social Liberal (70% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (90% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (74, 149) modscore: (54, 42) raw: (5339)

Yet more unsurprising shit - part whatever...

You are a Social Liberal (70% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (90% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

HT: The Smallest Minority

Smoke on the water

A friend of mine lives on a boat in Galveston harbor; a lot of you know him and of course I've mentioned him before, Jim from Smoke On The Water.

Galveston may be the point of Landfall for Rita. Even if it isnt, the projected tracks will all result in significant storm surges for the entire Gulf Coast.

Right now Jim is securing and preparing the "New Dawn", and within her the remainder of his worldly goods (anything that doesn't fit in his land yacht with his exceedingly unhappy cats); and waiting for a better picutre of whether he needs to evacuate or not.

I don't know if you've ever been out in a small craft in a heavy storm. There is nothing that can so fiercly remind you of the power of nature as being in a little tiny boat, on the great big ocean.

Perversely however, you are actually safer OUT of the harbor, and well offshore, when there are large storm surges involved. A 10 or 12 foot storm surge (and there are wildly varying predictions for tropical storm/soon to be hurricane Rita from 6-20 feet) can take a small boat a half mile inland, or smash her against a seawall in a heartbeat.

Galveston is a relatively protected harbor, and the hope is that Rita will keep to a category 2, or at least reduce to it by the time the effects reach Galveston on Thursday or Friday.. unless she speeds up or veers off or does any other crazy thing.

See, hurricane models are a little bit better than what we engineer types call WAGs.

I think you can figure out what a WAG is.

The environmental variables that combine to produce a hurricanes track are so numerous, and so complex, that it takes a fair percentage of the worlds supercomputing resources to calculate them, and even then they have about a 50% accuracy rate on a good day.

So the WAG is that Rita will intensify to a cat 2 or low cat 3 storm by late Wednesday early Thursday, with a significant effect on NO (yes, god really does hate you. Just face it now, he wants the big easy to die. No really, I'm serious, god must hate Mardi Gras or something. Maybe he didnt get enough beads last year); then diminish to a category two or strong cat 1 and make landfall somewhere along the texas gulf coast.

So basically, unless it takes a good turn north, or dumps a lot of energy before it hits the gulf coast (both of which are possible, but both of which would screw an already devestated area even harder), Galveston is in trouble. Best case scenarios, they see a 6 foot or so storm surge, and 40-50kt winds (that assumes the eyes passes to the far north).

6 FT. storm surges are about the most a moored boat in a slip can take without serious damage, and possible loss. Even in a protected anchorage with a long rode, the forces on the vessel, cable, and anchor itself are tremendous.

Good luck Jim, and let's hope this thing loses power (it's 50/50 to do so in theory), and you stay frosty brother.

Philosophical musings

So Jim from Smoke On The Water and I were kicking around some random philosphy, and we got to talking about how a man should manage a staff, live his life, fight a man, fight a war...

Basically we were getting all Heinleiny, and Jim says "Hey that'd make a good management seminar"

Anyway, what we came up with was this

First, the classic code of chivalry:

To fear God and maintain His Church

To serve the liege lord* in valour and faith

To protect the weak and defenceless

To give succour to widows and orphans

To refrain from the wanton giving of offence

To live by honour and for glory

To despise pecuniary reward

To fight for the welfare of all

To obey those placed in authority

To guard the honour of fellow knights

To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit

To keep faith

At all times to speak the truth

To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun

To respect the honour of women

Never to refuse a challenge from an equal

Never to turn the back upon a foe.

Now you need to throw in my personal management philosophy.

My management philosophy has a few very basic, but very important tenets:

• Trust
• Respect
• Professionalism
• Communication
• Honor
• Loyalty

To this end, I have some rules to live by. The rules are simple, but they are critical:

• You are adults, I will treat you as such
• You are professionals, I will treat you as such
• I am your advocate; I do my best for you
• In return, you do your best for me
  
  
• I trust you completely – ONCE
• Trust your team completely – with all others; trust, but verify
• Life Comes First
  
  
• K.I.S.S.
• The “P”s
• Planning (SMESCS)
• Mission focus
  
  
• Be prepared
• Be creative
• No idea is a bad idea (but it may not be the RIGHT idea)
  
  
• Never say "That's impossible" to the guy who's actually doing it
  
• Take risks – but understand and MANAGE them
  
  
• Good is Enough; Good Enough Isn’t
• Unintended consequences
• Good intentions matter, but good results matter more
• Sometimes you have to make the “least bad” decision
• The Perfect is the enemy of the good

Now some of these rules may require more explanation:

K.I.S.S

• Keep
• It
• Simple
• Somethingorother (depending on how rude you want to be)

The "P"s

• Prior
• Preparation
• Prevents
• Poor
• Performance

SMESCS

• S ituation
• M ission (or objective)
• E xecution
• S ervice and Support
• C ommand Control Communications
• S upply and Logistics

MISSION

• What is a MISSION?
• What’s the difference between a mission, and an objective? (two answers)
• What is OUR mission??????

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS:

No matter what you do, what you know, or what your intentions are; every word you say, every thing you do, will have consequences you did not intend, forsee, or understand.

Oh and there's an important maxim to live by:

Expect and require excellence, and you will often recieve it.
Expect and reqire no more than mediocrity, and you always will recieve it.

Now we're off to a good start, but we need to leaven it with some classics.

Lets add in Von Clausewitz, Heinlein, Sun-Tzu, Von Mises, Robert E. Lee, and Adam Smith...

To my mind, you can't do any better than that

What's Wrong with America???

To each to his needs, from each to his abilities wot?

Kim DuToit open thread

An open thread for people to discuss the shutdown of Kim's rants, and the nation of riflemen forums.

Warning, Kim bashers will be thwacked.

Kim DuToit.com is down

All,

As y'all probably know, I'm the forum administrator for the Nation of Riflemen forums over at kimdutoit.com.

Late last night the site was taken down, and the message now appears "this site has been closed permanently".

I have communicated briefly with Connie Du Toit, and there is a business issue requiring Kim and Connie to take the site down right now, and without any notice. They can't provide details yet but expect some information in a few days.

No need to worry about Kim and Connie physically, they are all right. As to the nation of riflemen, if we can't get it back up as it was shortly for whatever reason; I'll continue it at another site.

The nation of riflemen is an ideal, not an organization. The ideal that the right to defend ones self, ones love ones, and ones country; is absolute. It cannot be limited, it cannot be taken away, and it must be defended. The nation of riflemen is about preparing to defend that right, and by extension all of our rights; because if we won't who will.

I'll keep everyone updated as I can.

A new x-men quiz

Well, I did one of these a few months ago, and I came out as Hank, now let's see who I show up as...

You scored as Beast. Beast is an intelligent, politcal spokesman for the X-Men. He has a Ph.D in Genetics and is well versed in literature. He may look like a blue fuzzy monster, but deep down he's very benevolent and logical. Powers: Enhanced strength and agility Iceman 90% Beast 90% Jean Grey 80% Colossus 75% Wolverine 70% Emma Frost 70% Rogue 70% Gambit 65% Cyclops 65% Storm 60% Nightcrawler 50% Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

Ayup, I am in fact Hank McCoy. Chris Byrne is actually a secret identity.

Rockstar INXS - Suzie says so long

Am I surprised it was Suzie? No, not really. Yesterday I said it could be her, or J.D. (and should be Mig), and well, here we are...

The viewers choice for the encore was Marty with Trees, but J.D.s fans in the audience chose him to perform pretty vegas... again... four the fourth time... as the opener

The women really do love this guy, and that's what's kept him alive so far.


So, on to the songs:

Suzie - "Suicide Blonde": Funny, another prophetic song, because she tanked it. She knew eshe was gone tonight I think. No real energy, and her performance felt.. unnatural I guess... Stilted. Oh and horrible fashion choice there but hey...

She jsut didn't bring it, and of the four remaining she is the least right for INXS, so that's it. I dont think anything she could have done would have saved here, unless J.D. and Marty so gratuitously sucked...


J.D. - "By My Side": Two bit Elvis, and playing on the sex appeal to the ladies. If the elimination were based on these songs and not the "INXS rightness" factor, he'd be gone.

Mig - "What You Need" : Good one for Migs voice, but he actually went a little rough and ready with his singing. Unfortunately his jumping around the stage and posing jsut reminded me of Zoolander "Blue Steel". He didnt get the depth into the voice he should have, but it was a decent performance. Maybe he was trying to show he could J.D it up so to speak, and change his style. I don't think it really worked, but it was enough. Oh and the shirt ripping thing... what was that man...

Yeah, nobody brought it out tonight, and they all knew Suzie was gone before she went out on stage. It was in their faces while she was singing.

Well.. Crosby and Nash anyway...

So I wanted it to be great. I had high hopes, and moderate expectations...

It was good, but it wasn't great. Three reasons why:

1. Wall to wall politics. Lots of political jokes (including a rather offensive one about McCains time as a POW), and rather than play what people wanted to hear, they set their playlist up as an anti-republican anti-christian screed.

Yes, you go to CSN and you expect to get politics, but not to that extent. I'm here for your music, not your politics guys.


2. Not enough favorites, too much politics and side project stuff. They played about 50% of the older stuff, and 50% stuff from new albums from Crosby and Nash, Stills, and crosbys son. They also went and brought out the political songs.

3. Too much guitar, too much orchestration, not enough harmony. They had a full band backing them with another guitarist, a keyboard player (Crosbys son James, who is an excellent musician in his own right. I saw him play with his dad and David Coverdale, and it was great), an organist, a MASSIVE double drum kit, and a bassist. Add in the guitar or piano played by each band member in almsot every song, and you might have had up to 4 guitars playing at one.

They did it that way for a reason, they can't make the harmonies as well as they used to, or hold the notes for as long as they used to. So instead of depending on the strength of their voices in instrumentally simple songs, they added WALLS of instrumentation.

Honestly, they just can't do a lot of their songs anymore. They didnt even try Judy Blue Eyes (which has long basically unaccompanied stretches), and wooden ships, southern cross, woodstock, Almost cut my hair, Wasted on the way... basically all of the songs they did with Stills, were just loaded with guitar, keyboards, and organ.

Again, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear from CSN.

Actually, if it's jsut Crosby and Nash, they still have a lot of their hearmony. They did a pretty good guenivere... which brings me to number four...

4. Steven Stills might as well not have been there. Steven is unfortunately clearly ill. He has gained a massive amount of weight in the past few years (he's bigger than Crosby), and he's almsot completely lost his voice. He still ahs the grunt and growl for the low end, but he's lsot the mellowness and the sweetness; plus he can't hold a not for more than a second or two. It was very clear that Crosby and Nash were used to this, and they were backing him up and propping him up as much as possible, as was the backup band (who were quite excellent BTW) Stevens guitar playing on the other hand was top notch. For a closer they did wooden ships with a MASSIVE 10 minute instrumental bridge, and the guitar work was great. For the encore they brought Nils Lofgren (who was watching in the audience) up on stage, and did the Buffalo Springfield (Stills band with Neil Yound prior to CSN) "For What it's Worth", which is one of my favorite songs, and again the singing was ... jsut not there ... but the guitar work was great.

I think Steven may be in seriously ill health, and I wish him well. Crosby still has got the pipes, but it's clear he's not long for this world either. Nash is healthy, and still skinny as a rail at 63 years old, plus he's still there 100% vocally.

Oh and Nash was always the leader of the group, with direction from the others, because Crosby was such a fuckup, Stills was so independent and really a loner, and Neil Young was.. Neil Young. Nash was the relatively quiet one who got things done and kept everyone else together. You dont see it or hear it on their albums, but it was always apparent in live performances, and it still is today.

Too Little, Too Late

A few days after the pathetic cowards wrote... well essentially nothing; and AFTER the police and guard preety much ignored the illegal orders, the NRA comes out with this:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2005
www.nraila.org

Disaster Can't Destroy Gun Rights

(Fairfax, VA) -- National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre slammed New Orleans authorities Monday for seizing legal firearms from lawful residents.

"What we've seen in Louisiana - the breakdown of law and order in the aftermath of disaster - is exactly the kind of situation where the Second Amendment was intended to allow citizens to protect themselves, " LaPierre said.

"When law enforcement isn't available, Americans turn to the one right that protects all the others - the right to keep and bear arms," LaPierre said. "This attempt to repeal the Second Amendment should be condemned."

The New York Times reported last Thursday that no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to have guns, quoting the superintendent of police that "only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."

A Louisiana state statute allows the chief law enforcement officer to "regulate possession" of firearms during declared emergencies. "But regulate doesn't mean confiscate," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist.

"Authorities are using that statute to do what the looters and criminals could not: disarm the law-abiding citizens of New Orleans trying to protect their homes and families," Cox said.

"The NRA will not stand idly by while guns are confiscated from law-abiding people who're trying to defend themselves," he said.

"We're exploring every legal option available to protect the rights of lawful people in New Orleans," Cox said, "and we're taking steps to overturn such laws in every state where they exist."

"Local authorities in New Orleans are turning nature's assault on human life into man's assault on human rights," LaPierre said. "Four million NRA members intend to stop this unconstitutional power grab."

Too little, too late boys. I'm a life member, I will remain a life member because the NRA is still effective in some arenas, but any further financial support will be going to GOA, GOAL, JPFO, the pink pistols (and organization I wholeheartedly support), or the Second Ammendment Foundation.

Dominance and Submission

Okay, this is another weird personal one guys, so if you don't want to know these things about me, stop reading now.

I've spoken before about dominance and submission, and the relationship dynamics, and it came up today on the NoR forums in relation to dating. IN particular a submissive man is having trouble finding a dominant woman to date who isn't psycho.

This is a ctually a pretty common problem for "sceners", but usually a lifer will find someone eventually; they jsut have to be serious about it.

Anyway, there was certainly some misunderatanding on the board about the nature of dominant and submissive dynamics, one commenter saying:

Quite frankly, I don’t feel a need to dominate someone or be someone’s slave. Actually this whole domanite/submite master/slave thing sounds like a load of bullshit.

To which another responded:

There are people out there, both male and female, who have submissive personalities. People who are, quite honestly, weak. They will naturally be attracted to people who can lead them, and those that want to lead them will find them. In the end it usually makes for balanced and happy relationships. Opposites attract and whatnot.

Which is partially correct, but again, misunderstands the fundamental nature of the relationships. It's most definitely not about strength or weakness, of mind, will, character, emotion, or spirit.

Dominance and submission are not about sex, or kinkiness; though they can be. Natural dominance and submission relationships (as opposed to “scene” D&S) are about three things… or rather about seven things broken into three categories.

1. Power, control and responsiblity: Some people are unable to balance these things in their lives. THey feel lost with or without these things, intimidated by them or their lack, stressed by them or their lack, frightened by them or their lack, angered by them or their lack, whatever…

2. Trust and loyalty: The relationship between those with dominant personalities and submissive personalities is entirely best on two way trust, and two way loyalty. This applies whether it is a sexual relationship or not. If there is trust and loyalty, there is strenght, and there is the next element…

3. Freedom and safety: Some naturally must be in control to be free, some cannot be free if they are in control. Some naturally must be in controll to feel safe, some cannot feel safe if they are in control.

Let me go into detail further here...

I am a naturally dominant person. I lead naturally, and others follow me naturally. That doesn't necessarily mean I’m a control freak, though sometimes I can be; it means that I am comfortable with power, control, and responsiblity; and that I prefer to not be in a situation where I don’t have them (yes, the AF was far more of an emotional challenge to me than physical).

This also applies in personal relationships. I am impatient with the incompetent, and I am agressive in aserting myself. If somethign is wrong, I will act to correct it. If something is right, I will act to praise the responsible party and emulate it.

These are all natural personality tendencies, that are as inbuilt to me as my soul.

My girlfriend is naturally submissive. She was not aware of this until I made it clear to her, and she’s still not entirely comfortable with this, but it’s the way she is. This isn’t to say she is weak, or has a weak will, she doesn’t. She simply prefers and feels naturally better, and safer when others WHO SHE TRUSTS have the responsiblity. That said, if she is right about something, she fights for it. If she see something wrong, she goes after it. She will not agree to somethign jsut because thats what a dominant person thinks. She is independent minded, and very spirited, and jsut a bit nutty (but in a cute and endearing way)

What she feels with me is love, comfort, warmth, safety, and freedom. In fact when I'm not dominant enough, she starts to think I don't care enough about her. She's constantly testing me. Oh and don't get me started on the whole "passive agressive" thing. That's at the very CORE of overtly submissive behavior, and it can be the bane of every tops existence.

Though some dominants do see submissives as weak, those people will most likely never uderstand what is below the surface of the relationships; only seing the “scene” as it were. Some dominants also DESIRE the weak partners, but that extends into an entirely different level often involving debasement and humiliation, voluntary slavery, or human toys and human pets.

Has anyone ever said to you “I jsut want to let go”, or “I jsut wish it were all someone else proble”, in a serious way? If so, they are expressing the desires of the submissive.

Most people are neither naturally dominant, nor naturally submissive. Most folks, have a hard time dealing with responsiblity, power, and control all the time, and they sometimes want someone else to take care of it for them. They sometimes just want to be free of that burden.

That is the expression of a submissive desire.

Many people who have these desires are also very insecure about them, because they believe it makes them weak; or they are afraid of being taken advantage of.

Many people feel that they enjoy power, control, and responsiblity sometimes, but that often it is jsut too much hassle.

These are all normal things, and most folks have a balance of dominant and submissive tendencies in their personalities; though they will often lean slightly or strongly towards one or the other. True natural dominants are almsot vanishingly rare, and natural submissives are quite uncommon (though there are probably 10 times as many natural subs as there are natural doms).

Now, a moment on terminology to describe what I just talked about. Dominants are often referred to as “Tops”, submissives as “bottoms”, and if you go both ways you’re a “switch” (though these terms have more extensive connotations to do with play and scenes). Most people are really a switch to some degree or another; or may be a top with some folks, and a bottom with others. As I said above, true dominants who will naturally top, and true submissives who will naturally bottom are very rare.

In a dominant sumbissive relationship, while on the surface it appears that the submissive is sacrificing themselves to the dominant, actually the reverse is true. The top is in fact assuming responsiblity for the bottom, which allows the bottom to be freer, and more comfortable, more in tune with their nature. This can be a very heavy burden on the top, mentally and emotionally (and sometimes physically and financially). It is far more draining in every sense to top someone.

This is actually why I brought up the top and bottom terminology; because it illustrates one of my points. In play, the top is doing what the bottom wants; not the other way around. The top is recieving instructions; or is acting according to the known desires of the bottom.

The purpose of dominant and submissive games and gestures, is to enhance the feelings that these power relationships engender in the participants; the top feeling more responsible for the bottoms safety, and having more of a duty to live up to their trust and loyalty; and the bottom feeling freer, and more able to express themselves as they wish, without worrying about the cares or dangers that the top is protecting them from.

Trust me on this one, topping someone is hard work. Hell even being the dominant partner in every day situations is hard work, because YOU are responsible for EVERYTHING.

But we like it that way...

Do you think the dominant partner is really in control in this situation? Not if they care for the person they are topping they aren’t. The real control, and certainly the real freedom, lies with the submissive, because by making the dominant responsible for them; if their top cares for them and is loyal to them; their safety, protection, and satisfaction has become a central concern; as in an almost parental relationship.

This get’s even MORE complicated when you move beyond simple submission relationships and into the area of slaves, toys, pets, etc…

So it’s a lot more complicated than most folks think, and in general it has very litttle to do with sex, and very much to do with the three sets of factors I describe above.

Oh and the real lifers talk about “power and control” or “power exchange” relationships not dominance and submission, but that’s an even more complicated subject.

Rockstar INXS - Doubleshot

Well, overall an unimpressive night. Nobody really put in a great performance, nobody was horrible (well... maybe J.D. on Money). Oh and Dave sat in with the band for some of the sets and as always, he kicked ass. He really is a great guitarist, his weird choices notwithstanding.

Two songs from everyone tonight as well:

Suzie - Stone Temple Pilots, "Interstate Love Song" AND Four Non-Blondes "What's up": Not her best here. I love "...love song" and she just really doenst have the guts for this tune. She's not dirty enough if you know what I mean. No heroin, no living in her car... Well, she's not Scott Weiland (or else she'd be fronting Audioslave). That said, it was decent, and reasonably well sung. She did mess the lyrics up a bit, and she was jumping around so much that her tone was inconsistent. Plus it's not a country song...

Now, as to "Whats Up"... Well it's a fun song , but kind of irritating. I think her voice is cool for it, and it's certainly a different take. I think she did a good job with it, but I just don't think it was a good choice. She DID show some major vocal power there, but...

Well she's pretty obviously bottom three here, since there's only four of them left, and she certainly wasn't the best.

Mig - Rolling Stone "Paint it Black" AND Seal "Kiss from a Rose" : Ahhhh no. Not even close. Okay so I'mna be hard to please on this one; "Paint it Black" and "Sympathy for the Devil" are tied for my favorite stones song, but still... This isn't the west end man, it's fucking ROCK AND ROLL. Are you going to convince the mike to let you touch it in the bad places? because that's the only reason I can think of singing like that. Micheal Bolton meets Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Let me jsut say, this was definitely the night for the vibrato monster for everyone. If you've ever taken any formal vocal training you'll know what I'm talking about, otherwise it jsut sounds bitchy.

Doing Seal? no I don't think so. I guess it was a not to trying to connect with the ladies or summat. I love the song but no. I've heard a bunch of cover attempts at this song and everyones fucked it up, including him. I'll give him credit, it is the best cover I've heard, but it still isn't right. The break down at the end, that FINALLY sounded like there was some soul and passion there... and then he lost it.

Yes both were competently sung, but wheres the soul, the emotion, the rawness, the sex, the tears... It's just broadway to you baby. Fuck man, the guy can sing, he's got a 4+ octave range, and he CAN have a ton of charisma, what the hell is he doing up there on stage. He started off so well, and the last few weeks it's like he thinks he's back up on the theater stage.

If there is any justice in this world, Mig will be eliminated tomorrow. Of course there isn't so he won't be, but he should be.

J.D. - Original, "Pretty Vegas" AND Pink Floyd, "Money": So we heard "Pretty Vegas: for the thrid time today... with a glittered up megaphone"... and it was pretty darned good. Definitely the best of three performances we've seen, with more balls, more gravel, more shout.. Just plain more Rock and Roll. He hams it up too much on stage, but he does connect well with the audience. Oh and a great little solo at the end from Dave, and watch the bands reaction. Priceless.

Unfortunately, he killed it with "Money". Again, one of my favorite songs, and an iconic rock song. First thing, way too fast. Second, WAAAY too much sneer and swagger, and even MORE vibrato than we usually see from J.D. He kind of had the first verse, but lost it in the second. Tossing the sack of "money" out in the bridge was an interesting gimmick. He gets the transitions right, which is difficult, then drops the elvis back in and it's just not right. Oh and what's with the Gwen Steffani hop thing he does all the time?

Definitely bottom three, and I think probably an elimination tomorrow. I'd rather it be Mig, but I'm guessing it will be J.D.

Marty - Original "Trees" AND Radiohead, "Creep": Okay Creep was damn good. It's a great song, that I love, it's perfect for Marties voice (both soft AND screamy)... just great here.. but for the visit from the vibrato monster. Is J.D. Infecting everyone tonight? Yeah that's definitely the best song of the night.

Trees is definitely better as done this time. Less poppy but still infectious. Digging it greatly, but again the vibrato monster rears it's ugly snout (though not nearly so bad). I'm definitely digging the double acoustic thing with Navarro, and he's pretty obviously digging it too. Love the bands reaction.. great stuff.

I wonder which song he'll encore tomorrow?

So, what's my conclusion here?

Mig sucked all the way around, and he'll certainly be in the bottom three, because Marty was clearly the best and won't be. Unfortunately I still don't think they'll eliminate him. The thing is, I KNOW he can be better than he is (much as Jordis), but as the competition gets tighter he's going with what he knows, the theater, and it's jsut not working.

Suzie was O.K. but not great. She's clearly the least right for INXS, but I don't think they'll want to get rid of her just yet.

J.D. Was pretty good with "pretty vegas". In fact I think we'll see the song released and charting some time soon. He wasn't horrible with money, and I think the audience will like it.

Although I don't think J.D. is the worst at this point, I think tomorrow is his final night. It's jsut a gut feeling, and maybe a suspicion on my part of the producers wanting a more balanced (demographically) field.

That said, if the game IS honest, and they are choosing to elimnate the person least right for INXS, I have to say that's Suzie.

Marty was defniitely the best tonight, knocking both songs out in excellent fashion. I think he did a great version of Creep, and everybody likes trees.

If we were to jsut base everything on who I think is best for INXS, I think the final would come down to Marty and J.D.. J.D. may be an asshole and a ham, but theres a lot to work with there, and I do think he's a good rock front man. Mig has tons of talent, but he just belongs in theater. Marty is great, but I can't see him fronting INXS. I CAN see him being a breakout college and alternative rock success with his OWN band.

So yeah, much as I have been iffy on J.D., I think he's the best choice for INXS.

UPDATE: CT and I are thinking along similar lines though I'm a bit more critical than he is, plus although I don't think J.D.s money was great, it didnt make me want to puke.