| Back to our regularly scheduled ranting... |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|03:05 pm] |
I'm almost recovered from a nasty bout of the flu that I contracted a week ago. I had a short bout of nausea followed by weakness on Wednesday, which I assumed was food poisoning from a funny-tasting nectarine I had for lunch. Thursday is was full blown flu symptoms but I felt well enough to work through to Saturday. I rested Saturday through Sunday, then did a day of work on Monday, where I started to feel worse. Cold sweats on Tuesday and weakness in the afternoon. Took the next two days off (last is today) and I'm almost totally cured.
This was one of the weirdest flu bouts I've been through. No coughing or sneezing. I had chills and fever only for days, then, the chills went away, the fever broke and got replaced by cold sweats and weakness. The only constant throughout was a nasty headache. Rest, cool showers and juice seemed to do the trick though. Just some minor headaches and some sweating (mostly to do with the heat outside).
I regaled myself these past few days with lots of TV, which may have been a mistake. I watched some of the stuff on American healthcare reform on the news channels and I was shocked at the amount of disinformation about socialized healthcare floating around down there, not only in not understanding (or outright lying) about the Canadian and European systems, but the ability for people to fly off to the most ass-backwards conclusions ever. Like, Obama will force you to choose a government doctor, or doctors not willing to go along will be fired, or socialism will kill business. It's obscene the type of thinking (or lackthereof) that's allowed to be spoken on the airwaves. No one talks about facts, they talk about talking about facts. It's infuriating.
Between that, I watched some Star Trek, watched an amazing documentary on North Korea called Friends of Kim on Youtube, cleaned up my Animal Crossing village on my DS and drank more liquids than I can count. Now that the aches are gone, I'm doing some cleaning of this pigsty, then getting back to work tomorrow |
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| Elvis Costello With... (saving the best of last) |
[Jun. 27th, 2009|10:01 pm] |
It's over! The last episode of what I hope will be the first of many seasons of Spectacle aired last night, with the legendary Smokey Robinson as the guest. Strangely fitting that a man so entwined with the Motown/Detroit sound was featured on the day after the death of one of its greatest ambassadors, Michael Jackson.
Elvis's love of Motown is legendary. He recorded an entire album of songs in the Motown vein (Get Happy!!), done with aplomb and vigour. His adoration of Smokey was apparent from the moment he opened the show. The conversation was one of the best so far. Smokey was lively and entertaining and seemed genuinely happy to be on the stage and talking about his long career. There were great anecdotes of his early career in Motown, and some great stuff about working with Ray Charles for the first time.
Musical highlights were tough to find though. Elvis and Smokey both did very short singing segments, no more than a couple of minutes a piece. They came together in the end they do "You Really Got a Hold on Me". Elvis notes that it appeared on the very first album he owned, Meet the Beatles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH5TTnUh9oc
Other than the musical breaks being much too short, this was one of the best episodes of the season. Start out strong (Elton John, The Police), end strong (Smokey Robinson).
Now, rating the episodes from favourite to worst:
1) The Police
2) Herbie Hancock
3) Smokey Robinson
4) Bill Clinton
5) Renee Fleming
6) Elton John
7) Jenny Lewis/She and Him/Jakob Dylan
8) Diana Krall
9) Lou Reed
10) Rufus Wainwright
11) Kris Kristofferson/Roseanne Cash/Norah Jones/John Mellencamp
12) James Taylor
13) Tony Bennett |
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| Elvis Costello With... (part 6) |
[Jun. 20th, 2009|08:37 pm] |
Two more weeks of Spectacle. Let's recap shall we!
Last week was the legendary Lou Reed. I like Lou Reed's work, especially when he doesn't work solo. His work with the Velvet Underground (and with John Cale as a duo) is spectacular. His solo work is less spectacular, but nails it into brilliance every once in a while. Lou Reed has something I've started calling "Lou Reed syndrome", in that he doesn't seem to have an internal censor when it comes to his own work. His solo work seems to have 1-2 great songs each album and the rest of the album is just embarrassing dreck. He just seems to release everything he records. It rarely happens on his non-solo work though.
The interview here was much more interesting than the music. Lou is a noted grump, so his interview bits were a bit downstated, but entertaining. The early parts were good, where he talked about beginning his career as a jingle-style writer for a supermarket record company in the 1960s. His discussions about the early days in the New York scene and the Velvet Underground were great too.
They did a few songs, the stand out being a version of "Perfect Day". Lou doesn't translate well into a live setting I think. He's an odd bird, powerful but sombre, uncharismatic, but engaging like watching a trainwreck. Elvis and Lou also did a version of "Set the Twilight Reeling", which was spotty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA2BjakmejM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol0fOUk-TzU
Last night, Elvis welcomed opera singer Renee Fleming. Admittedly, I know next to nothing about opera and only knew Fleming's work through a jazz album she put out. I didn't expect much not knowing the artist's work, but this turned out to be one of my favourite episodes so far. Fleming was bubbly and very self-effacing in her interview and gave some great insight into her work. Especially interesting was the acting aspect to opera, where the singer is not only expected to sing, but put on a character act as well, turn themselves into the grieving widow or whoever is singing.
Fleming's voice was spectacular. You'd never expect such a powerful sound to come out of such a small woman. Check out this performance of "Visse D'Arte":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YBoXNkOZhA
Fleming was joined by Rufus Wainwright halfway through the show, which put a bit of a damper on it for me. Wainwright, as I've stated in early reviews, doesn't do much for me. His voice is good, but he's over-dramatic most of the time. I thought his performance of "L'Absence" was needlessly over the top:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etx572P5XkY
The rest of the show was good. Guitarist Bill Frisell (of whom I am a big fan) showed up to play "Answer Me":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bY1unOjt7w
and Renee and Elvis do a decent version of "In the Pines":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gRSzLSb-ak
If anything, this just shows Fleming's versatility as artist, being able to adapt to opera, jazz and Americana.
The one thing that set this show apart was Elvis dragging out some obscure bits of his own catalogue, which I appreciate, since it feels like a tip of the hat to his fans who love his work, like myself. He started the show with "All This Useless Beauty", the title track to his 1996 album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnqKBRRjPOw
They finished the show with a version of "The Scarlet Tide", a song from 2004's "The Delivery Man". This song works best as something very stripped down (it's originally performed as a duet with Alison Krauss, whose fragile voice is well suited to the emotion of the song), and kind of falls apart under it's own weight with three powerful vocalists in this version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6b-3xP842Y
Next week: The season finale, with Smokey Robinson! |
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| Results of the Iran speech |
[Jun. 20th, 2009|06:36 pm] |
A relatively large crowd was present to hear Khameini declared during the prayers, while Reformist leaders called on their supporters to stay home. It was very easy to notice that this crowd was also much older than those we have seen revolting.
There were two sermons, a religious one and a political one.
- The religious sermon itself was rather short and stayed on topic. It concentrated at first on peace and tranquility, leading into the fact that the Revolution was the Will of Allah, that it was sacred and its goals were the goals of Allah. He continued by asking Allah victory over their common enemies, and that people who went against the Revolution were enemies of Allah.
- The policial speech was much longer and disjointed. He started by thanking everyone for the election, then he proceeded to blame the West, claimed that Iran was one of the most democratic country on Earth and that the results were not rigged. He claimed that while yes, there is some corruption in Iran, it's nowhere near the UK MP expenses scandal. He then directly threatened the pro-Reformists leaders, saying that all the violence will be their responsibility. This is all the works of Zionist spies and British radio, and Hillary Clinton was responsible for Waco so Iran is better than America and the West.
There are three major statements to be gleaned from these speech, with further confirmation of a fourth. However boring and long-winded it might have been to the Western ear, it was a major milestone of this revolution, and its implications are far-reaching:
1- His declaration that the Islamic Revolution sacred, that its goals were the goals of Allah and that those who went against it were the enemies of Allah. He then asked Allah victory over the enemies.
This is major. He has in fact painted the entire reformist movement as being anti-Islamic. Due to his position, and the tone that he adopted, this is basically a death sentence delivered to those who will keep on protesting. Not unexpected, but a bold move nonetheless.
2 - He fully supports Ahmadinejad.
This is not a surprise, but he did not back down one inch. He does not give credibility to any of the Reformist claims, and says to either toe the line, or suffer the consequences.
3 - He has put the responsability of violence on the shoulders of the Reformist leaders, and openly declared that he is not going to tolerate it anymore.
This means that the repression from now on will be much more violent, and has more or less openly threatened the leaders of the Revolution that they will pay with their lives if they continue.
4 - As confirmed by Stratfor, the Revolutionary Guard has taken over from the police in all matters of domestic law and order. This effectively means that they are going to start crushing dissent as well, and that they have allied themselves to the regime.
Out of all major developments, this is the biggest one. Will the army stay Neutral, toe the line or side with the Reformists? |
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| Iran to June 19th |
[Jun. 18th, 2009|08:20 pm] |
17th of June - With the end of the fourth wave of violence, we have been in a wait and see mode. As of right now, there are many rumors involving clerics and Ayatollahs meeting in the Holy Shiite city of Qom and planning to overthrow Khameini, as well as reports that some in the Army plotting to overthrow the government, semi-confirmations from credible twitterers, but nothing concrete or substantiated so far. These would be extremely big development, so it's better to treat them with caution.
- Nothing much has happened on this day aside of that. There was another mostly peaceful march, with around 500,000 protesters in the street. The Basij and others are still roaming around and beating on the population, as well as dressing in green, destroying buildings and trying to pin the blame on the protesters in order to make them look like a bunch of thugs.
- There have been more than a hundred people arrested in their hospital beds and taken to prison. The number of prisoners right now is estimated between 1,000 and 10,000; possibly more. The Basij are now laying traps into hospitals themselves, trying to snatch up protesters there. There are also reports that they are taking dead bodies before they are identified, stuffing them in vans and leaving to undisclosed locations. Doctors have been setting up outside clinics and fighting back in order to stop the Basij from doing what they do.
18th of June - The protests show no signs of slowing down, and the fact that the government has been less violent so far and concentrating on discrediting the protesters instead shows that they are losing grip and painfully aware of all the attention given to what is happening right now, CNN notwithstanding. It's also a worrying step, because the moment they start feeling they are losing grip even more is the moment where they might begin to unleash brutal waves of violence again, much worse than what we've seen so far.
- Iran Human Rights reports that today alone hundreds of members of the opposition and known Reformists have been arrested, some of them tortured in the basements of government buildings.
- There is a (so far) quiet march going on, where all the protesters are dressed in black and mourning those who have died so far. The crowds are estimated to be as big as they have been for the last few days, so that puts them between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 in Tehran alone.
- Khameini has agreed to a recount of 600 out of the thousands of ballot boxes, but this has been rejected by the opposition, who says that these elections are to be declared null and void, and that new elections have to be rescheduled. Khameini in return rejected this. There are reports that Mousavi went as far as saying that Khameini does not have authority to preside over the state of Iran anymore.
- As a sign of growing tension in the governmental apparatus, fist-fights were said to have broken out in Parliament over who to support, but it seems that the Parliament will ultimately back Ahmadinejad and Khameini to the end. The Interior Ministry has ordered a police investigation into the massacre of 7 civilians by a Basij firing in a crowd. There are also reports of police officers deserting their posts and joining the protesters, while others use their position in the police force as a way to warn protesters from incoming arrests or crack downs. The army is still silent. There are reports that the man who leaked results of the election giving Khatami winner and Ahmadinejad as losing in third position has been killed in a car "accident".
- The State TV has been turned into a full-blown anti-Revolution machine, constantly hammering on how evil the "thugs" who are smashing around private property are. Problem is that those thugs are in fact Basij dressed in green, but IRIB is reporting it as pro-Moussavi supporters. They have also been showing documentaries about the evils of the internet and how the US, UK and Israel are behind the protests. State Radio is not much better, with talking heads calling for the death of those evil thugs destabilizing the country at the behest of external forces. They have also issued false reports that Moussavi was "condeming the rioters".
- The Government has closed Iran to all foreign communication and coverage, according to many reports. It would also seem that the Iranian government has opened an account in the name of Ayatollah Khameini on Twitter. There are reports that senior aides to all reformist candidates have been arrested, but it has yet to be corroborated and this is not the first time we hear such reports.
- According to Reuters, Iranian prosecutors have warned of the death penalty for the rioters who are involved in violence. Islamic cleric have warned that not going to Friday's prayer service makes you worthy of the death penalty. It is unclear yet what isn't worthy of death penalty at this point if you protest against the regime.
- All the violence reported over Iran is now exclusively done by the Basij, Ansar and, if the rumours are true, Hizbullah and Hamas. The police have completely stopped participating in the repression of the population, and both the Army and IRG are standing still and not doing anything. This is good news, but the Basij are sadly not reducing the level of violence they are unleashing on the population, beating up everyone they can get their hands on. It continued all throughout the night and during the day, but due to the mass of people involved it seems that they are restraining themselves when it comes to the mass rallies, preferring to pick isolated targets.
- Universities have cancelled all exams all over the country, and a long list of rebel students was given to all universities and they have to report the students, who are to be arrested on sight.
- There have been a few confirmed cases of people threatened inside the United States for providing proxies for the revolution. Their details were available on the internet so they were passed around pro-Government forces. If you are helping this revolution, be careful to do so as anonymously as you can. It doesn't mean you are risking your life, but it could potentially result in harrassment or vandalism.
19th of June - The day has yet to begin in Iran as I write this (19pm EST), but today looks to be by far the defining moment of this week. Supreme Leader Khameini has called for Friday Prayers where he will be present. There are fears that the IRG has been called in support and that they will have a massive presence, which could possibly be a post-prayers trap. On the other hand, not attending makes the reformists enemies of Islam and worthy of the death penalty according to Khameini. Iranian prosecutors have also warned protesters that violence might be punished with the death penalty, according to Reuters. Supporters of Khameini are expected to flood Tehran from all corners of Iran on Friday, so big clashes are expected. As explained above, details are presently unclear as to what the protesters have planned for tomorrow.
- As the Basij, they are cracking down on the population as ever, roaming the streets, vandalizing both pro and anti-Mousavi targets while pretending to be pro-Mousavi forces and trying to crack down on all dissenters.
The revolution lives on. Long live the revolution! |
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| Iran Part 3, from Tatsuma |
[Jun. 16th, 2009|06:40 pm] |
early 16th of June - Supporters of Moussavi have a manifestation planned for 5pm, Tehran time. Roughly the same number or more is expected to attend. People are dressed in black and told to protest silently.
- The pro-Ahmadinejad crowd however are planning a counter-demonstration at the very same place the supporters are supposed to gather at 3pm. Most agree that basically they are simply going to gather for a confrontation. Rumours are that they are taking position in buildings next to the parade and in bunkers to attack. Basij from all over the country are moving to Tehran and supporters are being bused from all over the country. A major showdown is expected to unfold.
- The crackdown on people using telecommunication is as strong as ever. Anyone with a laptop, camera or cellphone is attacked in the street by plainclothes militias. Tehran hotels are under lockdown to prevent the members of the foreign press not yet expulsed from reporting what is happening.
- As for the Iranian Government and different branches, there are rumours that many Army Generals have been arrested for plotting a Coup d'État, but this is still speculation at this point. The Supreme Leader has also called for a 10-day inquiry into the claims of fraud, but it has been widely dismissed as cosmetic. Moussavi and his supporters have rejected this, claiming that they want new elections. Khameini is now using the armed Basij as his own bodyguards, hundreds of them are surround him and his residence to protect from attempted assassinations. Ahmadinejad himself is in Russia right now, for a planned visit, and tries to pretend that everything is good as usual.
early 16th of June - The fourth wave of violence has started, and was expected to flare up very soon. It surprisingly was quite mild. Pro-Moussavi supporters said that there were even more people today protesting against the regime, though raw numbers are hard to get. If this is true, it means there are more than 2M protesters in the street right now. They are dressed in black and protesting silently and without violence so far. Other reports that only 250,000 were in the street, possibly scared by the Basij and propaganda.
- The Basij, surprisingly, did not attacking the march itself but rather assaulted dorms again. It looks like they are using the march as a diversion. In Tehran proper, 2000 Basij are waiting to storm the male dorm, and they are backed by IRG helicopters, which seems to send the message that the IRG has broken from their undeclared neutrality toward tacitely supporting the Regime.
- The crackdown on telecommunications is starting to suffocate all of Iran. As of now:
* Gmail and GTalk are shut down
* Yahoo is shut down
* AIM is most likely shut down
* Phone lines are down
* HTTPS and other such protocols are down
* Iranian ISPs have been shut down
* They are trying very hard to close down the Iranian connexion to twitter and giving proxies they control in order to track down people
* Cellphones and SMS are shut down
People are also receiving phone calls from the government saying "We know you were in the protests".
Night has fallen on Iran, and the Basij are roaming, attacking passerbys at random. They have also surrounded dorms and waiting to storm them once again. There are rumors that have yet to be substantiated that hundreds, possibly thousands, of students have been arrested since the beginning of the night. This is not confirmed, but it would be surprising if it wasn't the case.
The Revolution lives on.
Demands from the protesters
1. Dismissal of Khamenei for not being a fair leader
2. Dismissal of Ahmadinejad for his illegal acts
3. Temporary appointment of Ayatollah Montazeri as the Supreme Leader
4. Recognition of Mousavi as the President
5. Forming the Cabinet by Mousavi to prepare for revising the Constitution
6. unconditional and immediate release of all political prisoners
7. Dissolution of all organs of repression, public or secret.
Who is Grand Ayatollah Montazeri?
Ayatollah Montazeri is a pro-Democracy, pro-Human Rights Ayatollah who was at one point on the short list of possible successors of Khomeini, but became marginalized as he adopted what was seen as a too pro-Western, pro-Democracy stance.
Since the beginning of the Revolution, he has been one of the fiercest critics of the Regime, and one of the biggest proponents of women and civil rights for ALL Iranians, including much-maligned minorities like the Baha'is. In fact he goes further than the protections afforded to them under Sharia.
He is also a big critic of Ahmadinejad and has been seen for years as the best hope for Iran if he ever was to come to power, something that was unthinkable a mere week ago.
He has also come out with a statement saying that policemen who beat on protesters and follow orders will not be forgiven under Islam, and that even if the government cuts the lines of communication with the outside world, that it was too late and the truth was getting out |
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| Iran part 2 |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|06:08 pm] |
Here's some basic information on the political situation in Iran. This has been provided by Fark.com user Tatsuma, who has been providing information on Iran since the election.
This seems to be helping quite a few people, so I'll go ahead and repost it in every threads with some adjustments. Sorry, this has reached the level of TL;DR but I really am trying to cram the most relevant information and speculation only. Everything is updated as events unfold, especially the timeline and what will happen in the future.
Suppression of Dissent - The Players
Currently, there are either two or three groups who are suppressing the students on the ground that you'll read about throughout this thread:
1. The Basij
2. Ansar Hizbullah (which I will refer to as Ansar)
3. Lebanese Hizbullah (Unconfirmed but highly probable. Many different independent reports and video point that way. Even in the last hours other independent twitter feeds have declared witnessing thugs beating on people while shouting in Arabic; I will refer to them as Hizbullah)
- The Basij are your regular paramilitary organization. They are the armed hand of the clerics. The Basij are a legal group, officially a student union, and are legally under direct orders of the Revolutionary Guard. Their main raison d'être is to quell dissent. They are the ones who go and crack skulls, force people to participate in pro-regime demonstrations, and generally try to stop any demonstrations from even starting. They are located throughout the country, in every mosque, every university, every social club you can think of. They function in a way very similar to the brownshirts.
They were the ones who first started the crackdown after the election, but it wasn't enough. While they are violent and repressive, they are still Persian and attacking fellow citizens. A beating is one thing, mass killings another.
- Another group was working with them, whose members are even more extreme, is Ansar. There is a lot of cross-membership between the Basij and Ansar, though not all are members of the other group and vice-versa. The vast majority of Ansar are Persians (either Basij or ex-military), though a lot of Arab recruits come from Lebanon and train with them under supervision of the Revolutionary Guard. They are not functioning under a legal umbrella, they are considered a vigilante group, but they pledge loyalty directly to the Supreme Leader and most people believe that they are under his control. They are currently helping the Basij to control the riots, but due to the fact that they are Persians and in lower numbers than the Basij, they are not that active.
- (the following paragraph includes some speculation based on reports from ground zero) Hizbullah flew in a lot of their members in Iran, most likely a good deal even before the elections in case there were trouble. They are the ones who speak Arabs and are unleashing the biggest level of violence on the Persians so far. Another wave arrived recently and there is chatter that yet another wave of Hizbullah reinforcements are coming in from Lebanon as we speak. According to Iranians on the ground, they are the ones riding motorcycles, beating men women and children indiscriminately and firing live ammunitions at students.
The Lebanese Hizbullah is a direct offshoot (and under direct control) of the Iranian Hizbullah (itself under direct control of the Supreme Leader) and cooperates closely with Ansar though Ansar occupies itself only with Iran's domestic policies, while Hizbullah occupies itself only with Iran's foreign policy unless there is a crisis like right now. However, Hizbullah has been called to stop violent riots in Iran in the past.
What will happen
Unless the army decides to intervene in the favor of the Council and to stop the early beginnings of the new Revolution, Ansar & Hizbullah members will be the ones doing the brunt of the killing and repression with Basij as a support while also protecting government buildings and try to do crowd control. The police seems to have for the most part disbanded in centers like Tehran according to all reports, including international media. If the police decides to come back, they will focus less on protection and crowd control, so the Basij will start to crack more skulls).
Currently, this is what is happening.
Timeline
note: I built this through both articles and twitter feeds, so I do not claim that this is a 100% factually correct representation of reality, but this is the general narrative.
- When the first spontaneous riots erupted, the first wave the Iranian Riot Police was called in, and short after the Basij also took the scene. The RP concentrated mostly around public buildings and streets while the Basij took position around student groups, especiallly universities.
- As things got more out of hand, more and more Basij troops were called in, as the police started dispersing. The riot police are less inclined (or, rather I should say the Basij are more inclined) to use violence so they retreated and leaving the place to the Basij.
- With the second wave of Basij also came Ansar Hizbullah members. This is the point where firearms started being used. There are reports of a few murders but it was mostly fired in the air or on walls in order to scare away protesters in University dorms.
- It's around the time of the second wave that the first reports and videos of an important number of non-Persian thugs shouting in Arabic and violently beating people with chains, clubs and electric batons (similar to cattle prods). The end of the second wave came right before the beginning of the current manifestation. Things were getting quieter with only sporadic reports of dissenters being assaulted. Important to note: at this time. the Supreme Leader has authorized these militias to use live ammunition against the crowd if things get out of hand (source: BBC)
- This brings us to the third wave, which just began around 12:30PM for those of us on the East Coast. According to all reports, plainclothes militia have opened fire on civilians protesting peacefully.
Right now, there is chaos in the streets, reports of fighting all over Tehran, plenty of pictures of people shot, some to death. Things are ugly and this is spreading in other cities as well. There is a major crackdown on students, especially those with connections to the outside world going on right now. Some people report that the students are fighting back in some areas. Telephones are being bugged and everyone twittering and sending videos outside of Iran are being rounded up.
Violent and murderous repression has started. At least a twenty people have been killed so far. Things will spiral down fast, and very soon.
- The people are fighting back. First, they took over and burned down a Basij base, killing its commander. Then, they attacked the Basij HQ with molotov cocktails and there are reports of Basij beaten to death as well.
Right now, most people have gone to sleep and there is a major manifestation tomorrow as well, including a general strike all over Iran. This is the end of the third wave.
- Major events during the third wave: Basij bases have been attacked, and the Basij HQ has been burned to the ground. A Basij shot a girl in the face in front of their HQ, at which point a policeman went to confront them. The Basij beat the policeman, at which point students stormed the compound, throwing molotov cocktails, burning it to the ground. This is big. |
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| Drop the bombs between the minarets, down the Casbah way |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|05:57 pm] |
It's at times such as these that the power of free-flowing media and the potential power of blogging becomes very apparent. As CNN is spending 1-2 minutes each hour on the Iran situation, and a good 5 minutes each hour on the Letterman/Palin non-issue and the NBA championship, it's little wonder that big mainstream media is in such trouble as it is. Watch BBC to find out what media is supposed to look like.
But, Twitter and YouTube have become an amazing tool for those on the ground. As the Iranian government are rounding up people, arresting them and censoring those that are trying to report on what's going on, more and more are using web sources to get the news out. There are at least 20 known Twitter posters using the website and its chat channels to tell everyone what's happening. There are videos on YouTube of Basij and Ansar soldiers firing into unarmed protesting crowds and showing the aftermath of ransacking dorms in universities.
I've always said the real power with media doesn't lie with journalists, it lies with people who realize they have a voice and that the tools to use that voice are easy to use and right at hand. As long as the web stays free, we'll have powerful media. As long as we don't just take the "party line", whether that be government news like what's coming out of the Iranian leaders, or the mainstream media like CNN, there's power in the people's voice. And I applaud BBC for taking the brave stance to keep covering this important news story, even if North American media aren't taking cues from it. |
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| Elvis Costello With... (part 5) |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|04:34 pm] |
Two great episodes in the past week. Last week it was Elvis teaming with some bright new stars on the musical horizon: M. Ward and Zooey Dechanel (aka She and Him), Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice, plus one washed up musician, Jakob Dylan. Last night it was the legendary Herbie Hancock.
Last week's episode was structured a lot like the second episode with The Police, where each musician would be interviewed, then added to the band. Elvis started with Ward and Dechanel. I expected it to be a nice mix with them, with Dechanel being upbeat (due to her experience in movies), and she was very upbeat and charming. M. Ward, as predicted, being a indy darling, was laid back and a bit shy of the spotlight, but carried himself well. Jenny Lewis was brought out next. Jenny, most people know as the former frontwoman for indy rock band Rilo Kiley, but she has three solo albums to her credit, and acted as a child (she was opposite Fred Savage in "The Wizard"). She did a great version of her own song, "Pretty Bird":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ5PZLk4x8U
Jakob Dylan was up next. Honestly, I don't like Jakob's work that much. He always comes off like he's half asleep (or stoned) and his singing is always flat. Nonetheless, he was pretty well suited for this version of The Clash's "Straight to Hell":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04rTOToUmWo
One neat thing in this video (and the next) is how Pete Thomas (the drummer in The Imposters) has his daughter, Tennessee Thomas, set up on a dueling drumset. She's no Pete Thomas, but she's quite good and doesn't detract from the music at all. I have this crazy notion in the back of my head about somehow being linked to Elvis Costello in some way, being such a big fan, and watching her play made me wonder if she was single... Idle fantasies...
The night finished up with a decent version of Nick Lowe's (and a song Elvis made famous) "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding", where Jakob was notably flat again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlXeLgfBaT4
I also found a version of Elvis' "Go Away" from the same session, but this wasn't broadcast with the episode, as far as I can remember:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRzVKYdHKAQ
Last night was the legendary Grammy and Oscar winning Herbie Hancock. Herbie's work has been fascinating to me. I've always appreciated his work and I love his keyboard work. He's one of the best pianists/keyboardists in the world, but his public profile is pretty modest. He seems like the type to let his music speak for him. He can go anywhere from classical to jazz to rock to funk with his keyboard.
The interview was great, running from Herbie's early work as a classical pianist in Chicago, into his time working with Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter, and to his modern work which won him a Grammy in 2008 for his album of Joni Mitchell's work. He shows off his versatility right away: check out this version of "Watermelon Man" and be amazed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ASTMFN-h4
Here's the song that won him an Oscar, "Chan's Song":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGVl1x1h9eo
Elvis and Herbie finish up the show with a version of Joni Mitchell's "Edith and the Kingpin":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAHkJ92WNrE
The only thing bad about this episode was that there actually wasn't much music in it. I would have loved another 1 or 2 songs from Herbie.
Just cuz I can, here's Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Howard Jones and Thomas Dolby from the 1985 Grammies. Time for your mind to be blown again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGzWqAc16l0
Next week: Lou Reed. And don't forget to get your copy of Elvis's new album "Sacred, Profane and Sugarcane". I've already got mine! |
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| It's not paranoia if they're really after you |
[May. 27th, 2009|07:44 pm] |
A thread I follow every day on the Something Awful forums is the comic strip thread, where we discuss newspaper comic strips, the good and the bad, often with hilarious results. Recently, a discussion started up about Zippy the Pinhead, a strip I read regularly online and one I didn't think even ran in mainstream newspapers. Though apparently it does. And most people are confused by the strip. Most say they don't "get it", they find it unfunny or obscure, they're not sure why it gets printed in the first place. I understand their frustration actually. At one point, I didn't "get" Zippy either. But my degree in English has to be good for something, after all, having spent several years reading and studying absurdist theatre and literature. I "get" Zippy in that there is anything to "get" from an absurdist text. Hmm, let's see if I can explain.
First off, you may want to read this, the cartoonists guide to understanding Zippy the Pinhead. Not that it's helpful or anything, but it will put you in the right state of mind:
http://www.zippythepinhead.com/pages/aaaunderstanding.html
I've long been a fan of the work of Sam Beckett, his greatest work being the play "Waiting for Godot". In this play, we find the essence of absurdism, the characters of the play acting themselves out on a theme of the pointlessness of life and action, and how the world goes on silently with or without them. The play is set in two parts, one the first day and the second the second day. The two main characters, Estragon and Vladimir, spend their days waiting for a man called Godot, who will arrive at the spot they sit, but for what purpose he is arriving, they don't know. In fact, they don't know what he looks like or even how to recognize him when he arrives. But they know they have to wait for him. So, while they wait for a man that will never arrive, they play games, talk with each other, hurl abuse and love each other, staving off the horrible silence should they do nothing. It's an existential quandry. Do they sit and do nothing and wait endlessly for Godot to come, knowing each day they wait will be similar, but not identical to the last? What should they do to fill up the time while they wait? Should they do anything? Does anything they do matter? Will Godot ever arrive?
The play highlights the inevitability of life, in that, no matter what people do, life continues onward. You can life and you can die, but the world goes on. You can strive to make yourself a better person, or make the world a better place, and the world goes on. You can cut down your fellow man and be angry all the time, but the world goes on. Nothing anyone can do will change that time will march on, we will grow old and die, and our ancestors will grow old and die. Absurdist thought maintains that human activity, or the act of humans attempting to make sense of the world, is a pointless and futile action. Any attempt to try to change this fact will result in total failure. The characters in Waiting for Godot fail to understand this (or understand it on a very subconscious level) and wait for Godot to arrive because it gives them purpose, even a futile purpose, but they secretly know that Godot will never arrive. Both know it, but are too afraid to admit it, that their lives have no meaning.
This is more starkly shown in the other great masterpiece of absurdist theatre, Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead", a play about the two minor and doomed characters in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". This play focuses on the drama of the two characters who are in the background of "Hamlet", thrusting their story into the foreground and showing the two men slowly realizing that they are actually characters in a play and not "real people". It dawns on them that they will be killed in the near future, as every other Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have died before them and will after them. They struggle in futility to try to escape their fates, but realize they are locked into their stories as the play inevitably winds down to their deaths, while they are powerless to stop what will happen to them. They are doomed from the start, unable to escape death. But, they come to the realization that the characters in Godot do not: that their lives are futile and their actions will not affect anything in their own tiny worlds, that they are doomed to die in the play. Their lives are written by someone else and they are not in control of their destiny. This play, once you understand the message, is one of the most horrifying things you will see. You understand that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are puppets, but, like Dr. Manhattan in the Watchmen, that they can see the strings that control them. Not that it makes much difference to know you are a puppet, but it makes accepting the futility of life easier to accept and makes it much easier to pretend you have a life to live. This is at the heart of understanding Zippy the Pinhead.
Zippy is another character that "sees the strings". He knows life is absurd and that the structures a "normal" person puts up to convince themselves they have meaning are pointless, and, to him, amusing. Zippy puts up a "wall of absurdity" to shield himself, in a way, from the banality of the pretend life the other characters have. His voice is one of pop-culture, in a way, used by "normal" people to bring meaning to their lives, give them something to talk about in the wake of "horrible silence", a silence where one is forced to confront their own mortality and futility. Zippy is a man-child, a forced idiot-savant, one that understands meaninglessness and fills his own life with absurdity instead of railing against his own uselessness in the world. He knows he's useless, but he hopes that his knowledge and his absurd actions will shock the "normal" people out of their own stupor and into the world of his reality, the world where he is self-realized and knows his own (futile) place in the world. In a way, there is no joke in Zippy the Pinhead, only the shocking realization of the true reality of nature, that the world is a gross and absurd joke with no meaning other than what we try to use to fill the void of nothingness. There is nothing to "get" in reading Zippy the Pinhead. If there is anything to "get", it's that there is nothing to "get". The search for meaning in Zippy the Pinhead is a pointless search. It's much like the teaching of Toaism, in my mind. As Lao Tzu said, to talk about the divine is a pointless exercise, since the divine cannot be understood by human, mortal minds. Instead, the divine is the divine and the mortal is the mortal. There's nothing to understand about the divine because it can't be understood. Similarly, there is nothing to understand about Zippy, there's actually nothing to understand in it at all. That's what makes it brilliant.
To celebrate finally understanding Zippy the Pinhead, please enjoy my favourite Zippy the Pinhead strip, rendered here in poster form:
http://www.zippythepinhead.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=zpost&Category_Code=bbin&Product_Count=0 |
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| Elvis Costello With... (part 4) |
[May. 26th, 2009|05:18 pm] |
Sorry for being a couple of days late with this review. I've found a retro game I'm obsessed with lately, plus I have record reviews on the go.
The past two weeks were Canadian singer and pianist Rufus Wainwright and legendary crooner Tony Bennett. Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of either of these artists, but it's Elvis, he'll make me interested in them. Or so I thought.
Rufus was affable and a fairly interesting interview. The most interesting bits was when he was talking about his father, the criminally underrated Loudon Wainwright III. Elvis gave Loudon some props and played one of his songs, "New Paint"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60aCTGrb-3A
Rufus' voice is his most obvious asset as a musician, though I feel it's a bit one-dimensional. I applaud him for taking his parents advice and trying to carve out something unique, rather than going the obvious route for a crooner and sing the old standards. His version of "Willie Moore" was probably the highlight of the night, mostly because it had more of a "meaty" feel to it, with his mother Kate McGarrigle adding her voice and banjo to the mix.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHNJTHq9ECQ
Overall, this episode was a bit flat and underwhelming. The music seemed a bit off and Rufus didn't seem as interesting as I thought he would be.
That being said, I enjoyed him more than Tony Bennett. Bennett has always bothered me as a performer. As prolific and respected as he is, his music seems tired and his performance always seems phoned in. Tony pointed out that Frank Sinatra said that he was one of the best singers ever, but I don't think he sings. He talks and trills a bit. Another thing that bugs me about him is the way he sells himself. He's a bit of a shill for the "popular song" and doesn't do much that makes him move in a different direction. He's happy where he is. But that didn't stop him from doing a duets album to reinvent himself with Johnny Cash was going the same thing...
His interview was as flat as Wainwright's. He comes off as affable, but you get the sense he's done these interviews thousands of times before and is just going through the motions. The music performances were a bit better. He brought along the great jazz pianist Bill Charlap with him for his performances. Here's them doing "The Way You Look Tonight":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd-GHKRwn34
Business picked up when Diana Krall took the keys. As good as Bill Charlap is, he seemed positively limp next to Krall. Here's them doing "I've Got the World on a String":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrCtc6DJ-EY
Overall, I was unimpressed with these two episodes. It's probably because I didn't care much for the musicians involved.
Next week: Jenny Lewis, Jakob Dylan and She and Him (M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel) |
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| The Star Trek Geek Rage Post (part 2) |
[May. 16th, 2009|06:45 pm] |
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=answerman_print
Roger Ebert pretty much nailed it down for me. The problems with Star Trek, the new movie, are partly because the history of the series is treated so shabbily, and, as an extension, the "science" part of Science Fiction is very minimal here. I haven't seen "Knowing" yet, but I'm willing to bet it has more solid science than Star Trek, or, at least, follows the established rules better than the current Star Trek film. Yes, we all know that faster than light travel is theoretically impossible, but the Star Trek universe has an explanation as to how warp travel is possible.
I've also heard some bits from the cast and writers about the need to re-set the franchise because the history of Trek was getting in the way. This is a horrible exaggeration of what's really going on. The history of Trek isn't a burden, it's a tool to be used. You can get good and bad stories about of whatever medium you work in. Trek itself has given us great movies from the original series (Wrath of Khan) and bad ones (The Final Frontier), and from TNG (First Contact and Nemesis). The real problem is bad writing, not being constrained by existing history. Write a good movie, don't just take the bits you like and throw the rest away. Plots need to be consistent and understandable, or they collapse under their own weight. Like this movie.
I'm beginning to take the stance going around that "Star Trek was a good movie, but it wasn't a good Star Trek movie."
More geek rage and science inconsistencies:
Brands and Money: Right at the start of the movie, Kirk and Uhura are in a bar in Iowa, where they are drinking brand name beer and passing money around. Even by Archer's time in Enterprise, shortly after 2161, money was gone from Federation life, so there would be nothing to buy and certainly no brand names to bandy about. I noticed Uhura ordered a Cardassian drink too. There's no precise date of first contact between in the Federation and the Cardassians, but the ST Encyclopedia suggests it happened shortly before 2350, when the two powers started warring against each other. That would be long after the events set in the movie. If Roddenberry was still alive at the time the movie was made, this alone would have set him off and refuse to let the film be made.
The Beastie Boys: By the 2250s, what's the chance a rebellious young boy would roar down the highway listening to music composed in the late 1990s? Would a teenage boy today roar out of his driveway listening to lute and classical music from the 1760s? I doubt it. The Beastie Boys would be classical music by then.
The Romulan ship: Nero says his ship, the Narada, was a mining ship before Romulus exploded. But, according to Spock's mildmeld with Kirk, the Nero was sucked into the black hole almost immediately after the black hole was produced in the Romulan sun. How did the Narada move from becoming a mining ship to a warship bristling with weapons if it was sucked into the black hole before it had a chance to reoutfit? Furthermore, why is it so large? It dwarfs both the Kelvin and the Enterprise. It wouldn't need to be so big if it were a mining ship, nor would it need to have so much weaponry.
Advanced early Star Trek technology: Some license can be given to updating the ships and sets to look less hokey than they were in the original 1967 series. Though there was still no explanation as to why the ships looked so advanced, even looking as advanced as a TNG ship. At least Enterprise put some effort in showing how cramped early starships would have been.
Transporters: Early in the film, Chekov pulls Kirk and Sulu out of a freefall dive through the atmosphere of Vulcan. It's been shown several times that the transporters don't negate momentum, so Kirk and Sulu would have been still traveling at maximum velocity when they were beamed aboard. That means they would have splattered all over the transporter pad as surely as they would have on the rocks of Vulcan's surface.
Beaming: The scene of Kirk and Scotty beaming onto the Enterprise at warp was probably the most scientifically (Star Trek wise) unsound scene in the entire film. You even had to suspend believe to let it happen even if you didn't understand Trek science. Spock puts Kirk off the ship on an escape pod, which crashes on Delta Vega hard enough to create about a 30 foot deep crater. Kirk has enough time to climb out of the hole, hike some distance over the ice, get chased by two creatures, encounter Spock Prime, mindmeld with him, decide to hike the 14 kms to the Federation outpost, talk with Scotty and have Spock set up the transporters to beam them on to the Enterprise. We're supposed to believe all of this happens before the Enterprise leaves the Vulcan system for the Laurentian system. We've seen it takes all of a few seconds to travel out of a system at high warp, which we can assume that the Enterprise was doing, since they were in a war situation and had to contact Starfleet Command as soon as possible. Also, we're asked to believe that the Enterprise was also not travelling with defensive shields up, which is unlikely since the ship is at red alert and already in a war-ready situation. As we know, you can't transport through a defensive shield. Neither can you beam across entire solar systems or sectors of space. Patently ridicilous. |
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| The Star Trek Geek Rage Post |
[May. 14th, 2009|06:34 pm] |
WARNING! THIS POST WILL CONTAIN MASSIVE SPOILERS ABOUT THE NEW STAR TREK FILM. IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN SURPRISED AT THE NEW FILM, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I took in the new Star Trek movie last night and, to my surprise, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It's a great popcorn film. I was not expecting something that would please a Trekkie, since I heard director J.J. Abrams said in an interview once that he hated Star Trek. Plus, Rick Berman and company have been steadily watering down the product til it feels no longer relevant to the Star Trek fan.
Those of you that know me well know I'm a huge Trek nerd. I've been known to spout on about how I'm thanked in the front of the second edition of the Star Trek Encyclopedia for providing corrections to the first edition, or proudly showing off my technical diagrams and star charts for the series. I'm not the kind of geek that buys and wears uniforms or goes to conventions, but I'm deeply interested in the details, mythology and technology of the series. I've seen every episode of every Trek TV show and seen every movie more than five times, even the horrible ones. I take my Trek seriously.
Depending on where you come from, this movie was either one of the best Treks, especially if you are a casual or popcorn fan, or it was an abomination, mostly to the serious Trekkie. On the surface, the film was full of great action, confrontation and character moments and seemed to take the canon of Trek seriously, at least at first glance. But, by the end of the film, it's clear the director had little interest in Star Trek lore as a whole and freely borrowed what he wanted and ignored the rest. In essence, this film is a huge slap in the face to a serious Trek fan. While I understand that the director probably wanted to update the series for a younger, newer audience, but rebooting the whole shebang isn't the way to do it, especially for a series with a 40+ year history, with 10 movies, 5 TV series and countless other novels and books with many, many legions of fans who love the rich history of Star Trek
I'll run down some good and bad points, then get into the geeky stuff near the end. Be warned, non Trek geeks will probably get bored with the last part. Trekkies, stay tuned for awesome!
Good things:
The casting: Most of the characters and the actors cast to play them were spot on. Zachary Quinto was inspired as Spock, especially capturing a young Spock still at war with the human and Vulcan sides inside of him. Karl Urban perfectly captured the irascible nature of Dr. McCoy, as well as the backwoods country doctor side of him. Chris Pine was good as Kirk, though he played him a bit too over the top at times. Both of the actors playing Sulu and Chekov were good too. Eric Bana was pretty good as the villain Nero.
Nods to canon: Abrams did have the good sense to put in some nice referenced to Trek lore in the script. For example, there's a mention of an Admiral Archer and his beagle (from Enterprise). Kirk's run at the Kobiyashi Maru test while eating an apple was a direct call out to Star Trek II and very funny. There are dozens more, which I can't totally remember now, but they will put a smile on a Trekkie's face
The light feel of the movie: The jokes are many in this movie and it keeps the balance of the heavy handedness of Trek in general with the humour of the original series. Unfortunately, it turns the Scotty character into comic relief, but you can't have everything.
The villains: This film uses one of the established villains, the Romulans, to great effect. The best of the Trek films use established villains as threats, instead of making up new ones. II used Khan Singh, IV used humanity (ourselves), IV used the Klingons (and Romulans and humans), First Contact used the Borg. Most of the rest used villains made up for the films, which weakened their impact (I: V'ger, III: Klingons, kinda, V: A fake god, Sybok, Generations: Soren, the El'Aurians, Insurrection: The Ba'ku, Nemesis: The Remans, Shinzon).
Bad stuff:
Uhuru and Scotty: Both characters were played horribly. I'm probably in the minority about Simon Pegg's Scotty, but his character was just used mostly for comic relief. The real problem is Zoe Saldana as Uhuru, who takes a very strong, independent character and the only major female character and turns her into a sex kitten. She drinks, she fights, she takes her clothes off, she makes out with Spock (more on that later), she makes out with Spock in front of her fellow crewmates. She's annoying and a horrible represtenation of Uhuru, and plays nothing like her character has been established to be. At least, her first name, Nyota, is finally canon, after only been mentioned in novels and the cartoon show.
Time travel: This is the third film to drag out time travel as a plot device, and the worst of the bunch to use it. The plot revolved around a disgruntled future Romulan who comes back into the past to revenge for something that will happen to his people long before the event ever happens. The time travel rewrites Star Trek history, and is the most altering use of time travel seen so far in Trek canon. This alone is with the geek rage, the fact that the plot device is used to erase so much Trek history and culture for a splash in the pan movie for a "new" audience.
Geek stuff:
Here's where things get serious. As stated, Nero, the main villain, takes his 24th century mining ship back to 2233 to gain revenge on Spock, who, due to arriving too late to a crisis near Romulus, allows a black hole to destroy Romulus. Nero shows up and ends up in a fight with the USS Kelvin, which, due to taking the captain of the Kelvin off of the ship to interrogate him about the future Spock, ends up with James Kirk's father George Kirk in command, then gets blown to bits. So, the first divergence in history is that Kirk never grows up with his father and ends up with an uncle as a kid, where he grows rebelious and never enters Starfleet in his early 20s. Instead, he's goaded into it by then Captain Pike. Meanwhile, Nero has waited 25 years to capture Spock, who was caught in the same black hole that brought Nero and his ship to Kirk's time, but arrived later due to coming into the black hole later than Nero's ship. Nero captures the older Spock (called Spock Prime for ease) and forces him to watch as Nero destroys Vulcan with a device that creates black holes using "red matter"(which happened to be on Spock Prime's ship, he was trying to implode the Romulus star to prevent it from destroying Romulus). The Enterprise, which Kirk and the rest of the crew are on (Kirk having stowed away after being thrown out of the academy for the Kobiyashi Maru cheating), discovers some of Nero's plan and work to stop it. Pike goes aboard his ship while Kirk and Sulu try to sabotage the black hole device. Pike gets capture, Kirk and Sulu are rescued, then Spock (acting as commander of the Enterprise), throws Kirk off the ship for insubordination. Kirk meets Spock Prime on an ice planet, then encounters Scotty in a Federation outpost on that planet. The figure out how to beam onto the Enterprise at warp, take Spock out of command, chase down Nero and kick his ass.
Let's start with the problems with this storyline, shall we? I'll point out too that I understand that the original Trek history is erased within 10 minutes of the film, so all my arguing may be for nothing, but nerdrage must rule here.
Black Holes: The plot hinges on the use of black holes as time travel, though the black holes aren't used consistently. First, a black hole is used to destroy Romulus, then used to destroy Vulcan. A black hole is also used for time travel for Nero and Spock. So, which is it? Is a black hole a thing that destroys planets or is it a thing you can use for time travel? You'd think that maybe black holes destroy when in a planet, then time travel in open space, but the ending of the film shows Nero's ship destroyed by the "red matter" in open space, so black holes don't cause time travel in open space. It's a gaping hole in the plot. In Trek lore, wormholes are used for time travel sometimes, or time-space ruptures, or whipping around the sun like in Star Trek IV. There's little reason to invent a style of time travel when so many are already available in Trek history.
Uhuru and Spock: The other big problem with the film is the relationship between Uhuru and Spock. Early on, Uhuru is portrayed as a sex kitten (see above) and it turns out she has a physical relationship with Spock. In this film, Spock is already a commander in Starfleet and an instructor, particularly, Uhuru's instructor. A relationship between them would be very inappropriate, especially for a character like Spock, who berates Kirk for cheating in the Kobiyashi Maru test. The whole thing seems hamhandedly added to add some sort of a love story into the film and doesn't ring true to either character's history.
Delta Vega: From a nerd standpoint, Delta Vega shouldn't be where it is. In the original series, Delta Vega was a lithium cracking station near the edge of galaxy, where Gary Mitchell stranded the original crew in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Vulcan is very close to Earth, in fact, one of the closest planets to Earth. Spock is able to watch Vulcan explode from Delta Vega and Kirk is stranded there by young Spock while traveling away from Vulcan. Delta Vega also looked like a desert planet from the original episode, not an ice planet. In addition, Delta Vega would have to be insanely close to Vulcan to be able to watch it be destroyed. We can't even see Venus as more than a shiny dot from Earth. The planet doesn't make sense from a canon point of view, and makes even less sense from a planet point of view.
Shields and Debris: Several times, debris is shown traveling through the Enterprise's shields and colliding with the hull. The shields are designed to deflect small bits of debris and shouldn't act in this way, even in the early days of Star Trek. It's hard to imagine traveling through space, which is full of tiny bits of matter, where debris is allowed to travel inside of the shields while a ship is at relativistic speeds. Even the smallest rock would tear a huge hole in the hull.
Romulans in the timeline: The Romulans weren't known to be related to the Vulcans until it was revealed to the outside world in Picard's time. The Federation know this information long before it was common knowledge to everyone. The Romulans had isolated themselves from humanity back in 2160 with establishing the Neutral Zone, and weren't seen again until Kirck met them in the 2260s, so their history and nature weren't well known at the time of the movie, which contradicts how the humans act around them in the movie.
Chekov: Chekov didn't join the enterprise crew until the second season. He shouldn't be on the Enterprise bridge at the time of this movie.
The Orions: The green skinned girl Kirk makes out with in Uhuru's room is an Orion slave girl. The Orions are long time enemies of the Federation. There's no way an Orion should be a student at the Academy.
Kirk's promotion: Pike promotes Kirk to first officer just before Pike goes to Nero's ship. Pike admits that Kirk hasn't graduated from the Academy and is on probation, and that he shouldn't even be aboard the ship. Pike bypasses common sense by making him first officer, particularly when a legitimate officer, Sulu, is standing right there. In addition, the federation drops all chargers against Kirk and puts him in command of the Enterprise with no rising through the ranks of Starfleet. It defies logic that this would happen, especially when Captain Pike is perfectly capable of command (presumably his stay in the wheelchair is temporary. By the time he's in the high-tech wheelchair in the original series, he's retired for at least 10 years and paralyzed by Delta radition) and Spock is already a Commander on the Enterprise. At the very least, it should be Spock's ship.
More to come... |
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| Elvis Costello With... (part 3) |
[May. 9th, 2009|07:27 pm] |
Covering the last two episodes of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..., which were both great episodes. Last week was Diana Krall and last night was Bill Clinton.
I'm not a big fan of Diana Krall's style of music, but I respect her as a musician. Most folks just pass her by, considering her another jazz vocalist with a piano, but she's a legitimate talent that often doesn't get to show off her hooks, instead catering to her audience. Elton John did the interview here, with Elvis only around for the intro and song, and coming back at the end for a funny version of "Making Whoopee", a duet with Elton with Diana on piano.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfYU_xNAvNg
The majority of the interview was spent talking about Krall's influences as a musician and the role of women in music. Big surprise that she was listening to jazz and soul while the punk rebellion bloomed around her. There was nothing particularly mind-blowing about the interview, but it was nice to see her talk about her influences, then bang them out on the piano. The best part of the interview was when Elton asked her about the late Oscar Peterson, and Diana told a story of how she went to Oscar's house shortly before he died and played "Night Train" on his piano. Elton then asked her to play "Night Train", which she casually says yes to, then bangs out a perfect version of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfYU_xNAvNg
She did a nice version of Joni Mitchell's "Case of You" too, but I thought her performance was pretty by-the-numbers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejjb6MWnuPE
Last night's interview with Bill Clinton was a very different affair. I expected a boring affair with Clinton talking about his legacy in politics, but, as usual, Elvis threw the audience and Bill a curveball. They didn't talk much politics but instead talked about Bill's love of music and his association with the New Orleans jazz scene. He told a nice story about how he went to NO, underage, to try to see Al Hirt in a bar. The doorman wouldn't let him in, but he went to Al Hirt himself and told him he just wanted to watch him play. Al took him and his mom inside, set them up in the front most table and ordered Bill a Coke. They talked a lot about how music affected Bill and how he used it in his career in the White House. He said that world leaders would often bring him saxophones as gifts, so he has a huge collection of them. He also talked about the healing power of music, and how culture and art and music education enhances and improves a student's ability to learn in other subjects.
There was almost no music in this episode and Bill didn't play his sax. Elvis did a version of "Baby, Let's Play House" by that other guy named Elvis...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_gmGZe9RNM
The show ended with Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny doing "Is this America" for ex-prez Clinton. My eyes bugged out when he mentioned Charlie Haden would be playing. I love how Elvis understates them, calling them Charlie and Pat. Oh, and that keyboardist that plays in his house band... that's just Allen Toussaint...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_2tqNoxMo
Both great episodes, especially the Clinton one. Next week, Canadian singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright. |
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| Play him Off... |
[May. 7th, 2009|05:11 pm] |
Yeah, I'm down with the latest internet meme: Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat.
This one is my favourite so far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyauGeRa5T0
But it's already played out, since CNN did a piece on it this morning, because, you know, Internet memes are more important than, say, the swine flu or a war or Obama...
Plus, if you need more fun with your stream video, try yooouuutuuube!
http://www.yooouuutuuube.com/v/?rows=18&cols=18&id=edaJP3Lp0Gg&startZoom=1 |
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| Mall Music Mirth part 2 |
[May. 3rd, 2009|03:36 pm] |
Entering the mall: Chalk Circle - "This Mourning"
Leaving the mall: Nick Lowe - "Half a Boy and Half a Man" |
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| Elvis Costello With... (part 2) |
[Apr. 25th, 2009|05:39 pm] |
Episodes 3 and 4 of Spectacle have come and gone. They've kept up the intriguing television, though both shows had some flaws, mostly from the guest themselves. Elvis was entertainging, but the oldies he's brought on have been less than entertaining.
Episode 3 (from last week), featured John Mellencamp, Norah Jones, Roseanne Cash and Kris Kristoffersen. The approach here was pretty scattershot, probably due to having four individual musicians on at once. Roseanne Cash was the sole highlight, being upbeat and creative, plus doing a nice version of "Seven Year Ache":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFZRf6ZMeq8
John Mellencamp was really downbeat and he did almost no talking. He contributed a stripped down and, frankly, boring version of "Smalltown". Kris Kristoffersen was really limp in my opinion. His responses to questions seemed cliched and hackneyed and his musical performances were tired. He made no real attempt to branch out like previous guests, instead sticking to worn out versions of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and "Me and Bobby McGee". I've never thought much of him as a performer and his performance on this episode pretty much sealed that. Norah Jones inclusion seemed as almost an afterthough. Her performances and question period came near the end of the show. After Kris's tired songs, I found myself not caring about Norah, even though she was upbeat and animated, talking mostly about her work with the roots band The Little Willies. They did a passable version of Johnny Cash's "Big River" too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTHZY0bxXAA
Episode 4 (from last night) was a real snore fest, with the featured guest being James Taylor. Taylor is another one of those guys I never thought much of. He's got decent songwriting skills, but his smooth voice just puts me to sleep. It's pure 70s AM radio fodder. Though Elvis made me care about Elton, I'd give him a shot. Too bad his reclusive ways make him a bad interview. He seemed to stumble through his responses, unsure of himself and his opinions. His repsonses were short and lacked depth. Elvis did his best to draw him out, but he just seemed to nervous and reserved to let go.
The musical performances were uninspired as well. He played his own work, "Fire and Rain" and Carole King's "Crying in the Rain", both okay for his work. But, he took a shot at two George Jones songs, "Why Baby Why" and "She Thinks I Still Care":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CPvRR0tV4Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai3eWolpLBQ (not a Spectacle video)
Okay, compare this to the originals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnX1h2GJuSY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOduYzbwaSs
George Jones is one of those sacred things to me, in that, if an artist covers one of his songs, he better do it better than he did, or there's no real point. Jones' voice is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, with a sad and honest timbre that drives home the sadness of his songs. You feel them like you felt the heartache yourself. John Lennon and The Beatles are the same to me. No one needs to cover "Imagine"; it was done perfectly the first time. No one can do these songs better than George Jones. Taylor's versions are so bereft of real feeling, his performance becomes laughable that he thinks he can give the songs the same treatment as the originals. Even if he wanted to take them to a different place, the choice of song makes it different to forget the original. Admittedly, "Why Baby Why" isn't a great song, but trying to outdo George on "She Things I Still Care" is absurd. The only way Taylor could have done worse is to try "He Stopped Loving Her Today".
These two episodes were flawed, but passable. Elvis is still a fantastic performer. His little narrations at the start of each episode remind me of a grinning circus performer, kind of like his character from "Spike" and the video for "This Town", or the get up he used to do when he was touring for the album "Blood and Chocolate". You can't help but smile when he starts to vamp.
Next week: Elton John interviews Diana Krall! |
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| RIP Geocities |
[Apr. 23rd, 2009|06:27 pm] |
Well, it seems that Yahoo is killing Geocities. I've hosted my radio show's website on Geocities since 1999. As such, I have a huge backlog of stuff I'll need to find a new home for and soon
http://www.geocities.com/dntta
The issue is, can I find an efficient way to move the entire site to somewhere new? Or, should I dynamite the site and start anew somewhere else. I prefer to have the backlogs of old shows especially for independent bands to have a record of their music being played, and for fans to check in and find info about the artists I play. On the other hand, would it be more efficient to restart with the new logs on another site? If so, where should I put it? Facebook? Blogspot? Livejournal?
So, I open it to you. Anyone have any (non-snarky) suggestions? |
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| Mall Music Mirth |
[Apr. 21st, 2009|05:36 pm] |
Two weeks ago, I was waiting in line at the post office in the Sahali mall and heard Hayzi Fantayzee's "Shiny Shiny" come over the speakers in the mall. Today, I was doing the same thing and The Cure's "The Walk" came on. Last week, I heard Devo's "Whip It" while eating lunch at Taco del Mar. Is someone secretly reading my thoughts and making a playlist I'd like?
It's time for the bi-annual KSO Used book and music sale, going on at the Sahali Mall til May 2nd. I browsed through today and saw they have a pretty good selection so far. I just got a Jean-Michel Jarre album, but there's a few more I might pick up later. Go go go and find some bargains! |
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