21st Century Spectacle

Four More Years

Mike Sullivan — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:11:56 +0000

Well done for McCain for coming around on climate change. Us crazy progressives have been waiting for a conservative to man up for quite a while. Republicans are changing their tune because their fundamentalist/evangelical Christian base are slowly realizing that the rapture is going to be self-induced. Immigration is a scapegoat issue (that still needs to be addressed, but not before economy/war/energy). It is used by the GOP in the same way gay marriage was used in 2004, turn your base into a bunch of hot-head bigots and they will go to the polls. I have always admired McCain for taking a sensible, non-partisan approach on this issue. Being from Arizona, he understands the complexity of the issue. Usually complex issues repulse neoconservatives. Shoot first, ask questions later. Heres a difficult fact for McCain to deal with… The war is causing inflation. Keeping our enormous military mobilized for “100 more years” will be very expensive, if not plain impossible. Us, the US tax payer is currently on the hook for 500 billion (projections are even uglier). This is real debt, China’s trust in the dollar (of which they own 1 trillion) will only last so long. In the last 8 years the mostly Republican government has taking deficit spending to a level Democrats could only dream of. McCain has not demonstrated that he even has a rudimentary understanding of macro economics. Here’s quick lesson for him…

If we taxpayers elect to pay for endless war in the middle east and elsewhere; these will be the returns on our investment. Lockheed, Ratheon and all the other arms companies will reap huge profits from government contracts. We will continue to send our neighbors, sons and cousins into foreign cultures without a clear mission. (fighting bad guys is not a mission, it is a game i played when I was 8) Our service men and women will most likely not be killed but brutally injured by an IED. If they complete the ever-lengthening tours without physical injury, they will have absorbed most of the horrors in their psyche. They will then return to our neighborhoods where the will continue to have psychiatric problems. Depression, paranoia, anger from PTSD will lead to drinking, violence, and despair and homelessness. Feeling unsupported by neither their civilian neighbors or their government many will take their own life. All this happened in the other un-winnable war called Viet Nam.

The American Consumer (1950 - 2008)

Mike Sullivan — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:45:05 +0000

The american consumer just finished a marathon in a sprint. Since my Grandfather and his fellow GI’s returned home from the Greatest War, material consumption in the U.S. has gained speed though 60 years and 4 generations of Americans. It was a good run. And it is with relief and a touch of nostalgic sadness to end the 50 year feast on the fruits of free market capitalism. Lets take a stroll down memory lane.

1950-1960: A Well-Oiled Baby Makin’ Machine

1960-1970: The factory at full speed

1970-1980: The Cracks begin to show

1980-1990: Members Only: the rise of FIRE

Not without a flair for the dramatic, we Americans capped off the binge with a grand finale. Since 2001 when George Bush called on the american people to serve their country by ’shopping more’ we have tapped every perceivable credit line and card that the dumb banks would loan us. What did we buy?

Shit for our pets
In 200? we have bought enough pet paraphernalia to sink a cargo freight coming from China.

LCD/Plasma screens
One in every living room, bedroom, kids room, SUV headrest, Nintento DS, Macbook Pro, and expresso machine. I know I’ve miss some. Put them in the comments.

Expensive weddings foisted on us by bridal magazines
What a better way to kick of the toughest 2 years of an already trying social contract than with $30,000 of debt. So a bunch of monkeys you ‘kind of know’ can get drunk on your tab. I believe wedding can be special without breaking the bank.

Kitchens
Viking gas ranges that get about as much use as the palates machine in the garage. Come on you know you just going to drive through Wendy’s.

I do not exempt myself from this group. I am very much the gadget fan and

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18350.htm

Stuff white people like, the Flight of the Conchords

JP — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:48:59 +0000

Honestly, what’s there to say? The Self-Titled album is a great collection of songs, but they failed to add the two best songs from the show: Bret You’ve Got It Goin On and Cheer Up Murray. In fact the only reason I am talking about this CD is to have an excuse to post the videos of those two particular songs. Still worth the purchase, funny, feel-good wit over some groovy music.

Highlights Include, “Think About It”, “Ladies of the World”, “Business Time”, and the Gangsta-Folk anthem “Mutha’Uckas”.

Reviewed Reviews:
C.O.S.
Pitchfork
Crawdaddy

Band Links:
Home Page
MySpace
Last.fm

Upcoming Tour Dates:
5/07/08: NYC, NY
5/09/08: Washington, DC
5/10/08: Ann Arbor, MI
5/11/08: Milwaukee, WI
5/13/08: Minneapolis, MN

JP is a music contributor for 21st Century Spectacle. His blog, Audio Sweet Tooth can be found here.

Cable News Catastrofuck

Mike Sullivan — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:52:24 +0000

CNN: Your Election Headquarters

Not too worried about torture (which is illegal and un-Christian)

Failing at Geography

Manipulating

US Media Trivializes Campaign 2008

By Robert Parry
May 6, 2008
For The Consortium

Every four years, during U.S. presidential elections, the same thing happens, except it’s always a little bit different.

Some clever political operative injects “oppo” into the campaign – some little “scandal” that supposedly speaks to the “character” of a candidate – and the press corps obsesses on this marginal issue nearly to the exclusion of all substantive matters.

This all-consuming event distorts the campaign, turning the targeted candidate into a laughingstock or someone who isn’t quite American enough. Pundits pile on with criticism that the guy should have reacted faster or slower or answered this way or that.

Millions of voters become convinced, amid this intense negativity, that they simply can’t vote for this loser and the outcome of the election changes.

Then, in the election aftermath, the American press corps goes through a period of self-reflection; some excellence-in-journalism group issues a scathing report about the superficiality of the news coverage; political journalists vow that in the next election they won’t get suckered again.

Then, the process – which dates back at least to 1988 and Lee Atwater’s savaging of Michael Dukakis – begins anew, albeit always with some slightly new twist.

All this might be quite funny if one doesn’t consider the consequences for the Republic. When historians try to figure out how the most powerful nation on earth managed to end up under the control of someone as unfit as George W. Bush for eight years, they will have to take note of this media phenomenon.

In 2000, Al Gore was transformed from a thoughtful, even far-sighted government official into a delusional braggart who claimed “I invented the Internet” (though he really didn’t say that), a traitor who sold nuclear secrets to China (though he didn’t), and a phony who wore earth-tone sweaters and cowboy boots.

John Kerry also had many strong points – as a genuine Vietnam War hero (a decorated Swiftboat captain in the Mekong Delta) and a gutsy investigator (Nicaraguan contra drug trafficking and BCCI) – but saw his war heroism smeared by the misnamed Swiftboat Veterans for Truth and his Americanism mocked because he “looked French.”

At key moments in these campaigns, the press let the “oppo” define Bush’s opponents and thus millions of Americans went to the polls believing fiction was truth, up was down. (For details, see Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush.)

Going to Be Different

In 2008, however, the conventional wisdom was that the pattern would be different.

America could no longer afford the silliness – with the United States bogged down in two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), with the dollar sinking and the federal debt rising, with global warming requiring urgent attention and gas prices soaring, with America’s image in the world shattered by Bush’s policies of preemptive wars and torture.

This time, the campaign press corps would keep its focus on what really mattered. Or at least, it would not wander too far off course.

But it didn’t turn out that way. With Hillary Clinton’s campaign playing the “oppo” role filled before by Republican operatives like the late Lee Atwater and Karl Rove, the attacks on Barack Obama’s “character” gradually took hold.

Especially, during the six-week lull before the key Pennsylvania primary, the American people got a steady dose of this “oppo,” especially the guilt by association that sought to define Obama by the comments of his former pastor Jeremiah Wright and by his tenuous connection to Vietnam War-era radical William Ayers.

There also was the furor over the fact that Obama often didn’t wear an American flag lapel pin (though Hillary Clinton and John McCain didn’t either).

One might have thought the obsession with Wright and with the lesser themes of Ayers and the flag pin would have soon disappeared as just little blips on the campaign’s radar, but that would have required the exercise of some judgment and self-control by prominent national journalists.

Instead, the old pattern reasserted itself. So, on April 16 in the first prime-time debate on a major network, ABC News moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson hammered away at these “oppo” themes for nearly the first half of the debate: Wright, Ayers, flag pins.

By the time many Americans had given up or flipped the channel to Fox’s “American Idol,” they hadn’t heard a single question about issues that affect them directly. Though Obama appeared damaged by the pounding, ABC also got roughed up by critics of the debate, which was denounced as the most disgraceful debate ever.

Go Read the whole thing…

Recipe for Creativity

Mike Sullivan — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:03:37 +0000

1 problem 10 lbs detachment from ego 3 cups butter and flour A pinch of competitiveness 1 moderate amount of good cheese and wine 1 atom of god

Set your pasion to º450 F and find a problem to work with. Throw all ingredients into a pot and let stew for 2 days. Set your table with the tools that you have. Imagine what the problem looks like when it is solved? How do you present it to your guests? Stew is ready when these questions are clear. Stylize to taste.

Feeds the whole world

Tapes ‘N Tapes - Walk It Off

JP — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:06:55 +0000

Got an itch for some good old antsy indie-pop? Look no further than Walk It Off, the sophomore release from Tapes ‘N Tapes. Following up on their critically acclaimed The Loon, the boys from Minnesota have pushed their sound forward. The group falls under indie-rock, see: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but this genre is amorphous and TNT are doing a lot with a little in the world of lo-fi, hi-quality pop. Their unique blend of visceral pinging guitars and semi-electronic musical ether is definitely worth checking out.

Highlights include, “Le Ruse“, “Blunt”, “Conquest”, and the power track “Hang Them All”.

Reviewed Reviews:

Helpful Links:

Upcoming Tour Dates:

4/30/08: Birmingham, AL
5/02/08: Autin, TX
5/03/08: Denton, TX
5/04/08: Dallas, TX
5/06/08: Tuscon, AZ

JP is a music contributor for 21st Century Spectacle. His blog, Audio Sweet Tooth can be found here.

There Can Only Be One…overused juxtaposition technique

Mike Sullivan — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:54:41 +0000

Well done everyone, I’d say ESPN thought of it first but this format was actually developed by an intrepid art teacher at Seton Catholic High School.

The Dodo’s — Visiter

JP — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:22:01 +0000

Born of the same acoustic backed lo-fi pop as Ruby Suns and Adem, San Francisco based duo, The Dodo’s, latest release Visiter (3/18/08) uses smokey voices backed by a rockin 6-string and a focus on deep driving drums rather than splashy cymbals, to create an original hardcore sound. The best way to describe the follow up to “Beware of Maniacs” is to imagine Death From Above 1979 loving their parents and writing an album with an acoustic guitar rather than a overly distorted bass. The duo seems to hone their skills, and although not much musically has changed in their latest release, it seems to be a good thing.

Highlights Include, “Jodi“, “Walking”, “Paint the Rust”, and the mind numbingly catchy, “Fools”

Reviewed Reviews:
Pitchfork
Pre-Fix
MetaCritic

Band Links:
Home Page
MySpace
Last.fm

Upcoming Dates:
5/02/08: Los Angeles, CA
5/14/08: San Francisco, CA
5/19/08: San Francisco, CA
6/24/08: Portland, OR
6/25/08: Seattle WA

JP is a music contributor for 21st Century Spectacle. His blog, Audio Sweet Tooth can be found here.

Practice everyday retirement

Mike Sullivan — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:51:03 +0000

Author unknown. Found at toilette-paper.com via reddit.com

A local fisherman in a small Mexican village was unloading his modest catch at the dock. An American tourist approached and complimented him on the quality of his fish. He asked how long it took to catch the 5 Tilapia.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the Mexican.

“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well my friend, that’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” asked the Mexican.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”

Cheers to LA Jr.

Mike Sullivan — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:01:48 +0000

While we wait for downtown to get its thing on, you can get your soft-feel, baby-blue thang on with new “I Heartache PHX” tee. Pre-order with a zero-commitment comment below. Available soon.

Design and Concept by mmsullivan & Royce Martin. Printed by Brady Townsend