Tuesday, February 25, 2003

 

stop the killing

Back from Phish tour, I am ripe for creativity and reflection. There are many things brewing in my mind... being on the road makes you think a lot.

In the next few weeks:
-I will finish the Ones and Zeroes script and begin principal shooting by mid-March.
-I will draft up a new set of long and short term goals. (The old one was a tad unrealistic)
-I will help Jason finish Too Dead To Die while I hope for a March premiere date.
-I will make more time for myself to just appreciate being alive today with my friends and family. I will think more about The Flaming Lip's "Do You Realize" which states "Do you realize that life goes fast, it's hard to make the good things last, you realize the sun doesn't go down, it's just an illusion caused by the world spinnin round'"
-I will write my congressmen multiple times, pleading, not only for an alternative to war, but for the impeachment of the WarMonger in power sitting in the White House. The White House's plan for war calls for many things that go against the Geneva Convention...

How can we call ourselves civil when we attack someone on the basis that they MIGHT do wrong in the future... I MIGHT rob a liquor store tomorrow, should I be arrested today? Iraq is not the problem, an idiot as our "leader" is the real problem. What can you expect from a President that wasn't even elected by the majority of the population?

What he really wants to do is oust Hussein and govern Iraq via an American Military Commander. It's all about denationalizing Iraq's oil. (New York Times, Oct 11, 2002 "US has a plan to occupy Iraq, officials report")

Most people tell you the Middle East is where the Axis of Evil is, but if you look hard you will see evil in our own government:
-In 1985 the Reagan Administration blew up a truck outside of a church an in attempt to take out ONE man. Instead, almost a hundred civilians inside the church were killed, mostly women and children.
-During the Gulf War we poisoned Iraqs water supply. Thousands died as a result.. not military men or government officials... CIVILLIANS.
-In the name of "Homeland Security" they are taking away our freedoms. Pretty soon, you will be paying taxes on all out of state internet purchases. Why? Because there will be a mainframe setup to track every click every IP address makes. You are no longer free to roam the internet as you feel, big brother will always be watching.
-We continue to allow a fool to speak for our country, an eighth grader in student council would make a better leader.
-Our government constantly sticks its head where it doesn't belong.

There's ton's more besides these points, see CLG, InternationalAnswer.org or MichaelMoore.com for more info.

I leave you with these words from Senator Byrd.

Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences
by US Senator Robert Byrd
Senate Floor Speech - Wednesday, February 12, 2003

To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war.

Yet, this Chamber is, for the most part, silent -- ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing.

We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. Only on the editorial pages of our newspapers is there much substantive discussion of the prudence or imprudence of engaging in this particular war.

And this is no small conflagration we contemplate. This is no simple attempt to defang a villain. No. This coming battle, if it materializes, represents a turning point in U.S. foreign policy and possibly a turning point in the recent history of the world.

This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of preemption -- the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future -- is a radical new twist on the
traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our -- or some other nation's -- hit list. High level Administration figures recently refused to take nuclear weapons off of the table when discussing a possible attack against Iraq. What could be more destabilizing and unwise than this type of uncertainty, particularly in a world where globalism has tied the vital economic and security interests of many nations so closely together? There are huge cracks emerging in our time-honored alliances, and U.S. intentions are suddenly subject to damaging worldwide speculation. Anti-Americanism based on mistrust, misinformation, suspicion, and alarming rhetoric from U.S. leaders is fracturing the once solid alliance against global terrorism which existed after September 11.

Here at home, people are warned of imminent terrorist attacks with little guidance as to when or where such attacks might occur. Family members are being called to active military duty, with no idea of the duration of their stay or what horrors they may face. Communities are being left with less than adequate police and fire protection. Other essential services are also short-staffed. The mood of the nation is grim. The economy is stumbling.Fuel prices are rising and may soon spike higher.

This Administration, now in power for a little over two years, must be judged on its record. I believe that that record is dismal.

In that scant two years, this Administration has squandered a large projected surplus of some $5.6 trillion over the next decade and taken us to projected deficits as far as the eye can see. This Administration's domestic policy has put many of our states in dire financial condition, under funding scores of essential programs for our people. This Administration has fostered policies which have slowed economic growth.

This Administration has ignored urgent matters such as the crisis in health care for our elderly. This Administration has been slow to provide adequate funding for homeland security. This Administration has been reluctant to better protect our long and porous borders. In foreign policy, this Administration has failed to find Osama bin Laden.

In fact, just yesterday we heard from him again marshaling his forces and urging them to kill. This Administration has split traditional alliances, possibly crippling, for all time, International order-keeping entities like the United Nations and NATO. This Administration has called into question the traditional worldwide perception of the United States as well-intentioned, peacekeeper. This Administration has turned the patient art of diplomacy into threats, labeling, and name calling of the sort that reflects quite poorly on the intelligence and sensitivity of our leaders, and which will have consequences for years to come.

Calling heads of state pygmies, labeling whole countries as evil, denigrating powerful European allies as irrelevant -- these types of crude insensitivities can do our great nation no good. We may have massive military might, but we cannot fight a global war on terrorism alone. We need the cooperation and friendship of our time-honored allies as well as the newer found friends whom we can attract with our wealth. Our awesome military machine will do us little good if we suffer another devastating attack on our homeland which severely damages our economy. Our military manpower is already stretched thin and we will need the augmenting support of those nations who can supply troop strength, not just sign letters cheering us on.

The war in Afghanistan has cost us $37 billion so far, yet there is evidence that terrorism may already be starting to regain its hold in that region. We have not found bin Laden, and unless we secure the peace in Afghanistan, the dark dens of terrorism may yet again flourish in that remote and devastated land.

Pakistan as well is at risk of destabilizing forces. This Administration has not finished the first war against terrorism and yet it is eager to embark on another conflict with perils much greater than those in Afghanistan. Is our attention span that short? Have we not learned that after winning the war one must always secure the peace?

And yet we hear little about the aftermath of war in Iraq. In the absence of plans, speculation abroad is rife. Will we seize Iraq's oil fields, becoming an occupying power which controls the price and supply of that nation's oil for the foreseeable future? To whom do we propose to hand the reigns of power after Saddam Hussein?

Will our war inflame the Muslim world resulting in devastating attacks on Israel? Will Israel retaliate with its own nuclear arsenal? Will the Jordanian and Saudi Arabian governments be toppled by radicals, bolstered by Iran which has much closer ties to terrorism than Iraq?

Could a disruption of the world's oil supply lead to a world-wide recession? Has our senselessly bellicose language and our callous disregard of the interests and opinions of other nations increased the global race to join the nuclear club and made proliferation an even more lucrative practice for nations which need the income?

In only the space of two short years this reckless and arrogant Administration has initiated policies which may reap disastrous consequences for years.

One can understand the anger and shock of any President after the savage attacks of September 11. One can appreciate the frustration of having only a shadow to chase and an amorphous, fleeting enemy on which it is nearly impossible to exact retribution.

But to turn one's frustration and anger into the kind of extremely destabilizing and dangerous foreign policy debacle that the world is currently witnessing is inexcusable from any Administration charged with the awesome power and responsibility of guiding the destiny of the greatest superpower on the planet. Frankly many of the pronouncements made by this Administration are outrageous. There is no other word.

Yet this chamber is hauntingly silent. On what is possibly the eve of horrific infliction of death and destruction on the population of the nation of Iraq -- a population, I might add, of which over 50% is under age 15 -- this chamber is silent. On what is possibly only days before we send thousands of our own citizens to face unimagined horrors of chemical and biological warfare -- this chamber is silent. On the eve of what could possibly be a vicious terrorist attack in retaliation for our attack on Iraq, it is business as usual in the United States Senate.

We are truly "sleepwalking through history." In my heart of hearts I pray that this great nation and its good and trusting citizens are not in for a rudest of awakenings.

To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be a last resort, not a first choice. I truly must question the judgment of any President who can say that a massive unprovoked military attack on a nation which is over 50% children is "in the highest moral traditions of our country". This war is not necessary at this time. Pressure appears to be having a good result in Iraq. Our mistake was to put ourselves in a corner so quickly. Our challenge is to now find a graceful way out of a box of our own making. Perhaps there is still a way if we allow more time.

Wednesday, February 19, 2003

 

must haves....

download all zero 7 music u can.. it is all good..

plus anything from the 'anotherlatenight' series..
fila brazillia, rae & christian, groove armada & zero 7 all have a disc in the series.

 

who knew?

Soy milk is soooo good. I always thought it would be a bad rap to have to drink this stuff. But it's quite tasty. I had some NOT tasty stuff, i dunno who made it. that came in a rectangle box, but we have this quart container looking 'silk soymilk' stuff and it is very yummy!

Sunday, February 16, 2003

 

big win for the little guy

Today I spent $200 given to me by Discover Card and Borders.
That whole 'pays you back thing' works double if you decide to spend the money somewhere instead of getting the cash back. Plus Borders apparently gives you half off a second CD whenever you buy one.

Acquired today:
(and you can thank the mp3 file sharing community for my purchases of Simple Things, The Last DJ and AnotherLateNight.)

CDs (230 minutes of entertainment)

AnotherLateNight: Rae & Christian
Phish: Round Room
Zero 7: Simple Things [bonus edition +2 songs]
The Police: Synchronocity
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - The Last DJ [bonus editions + 30min DVD]

DVDs (850 minutes of entertainment)

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
X-Men 1.5
Being There
Peter Sellers Collection: Heavens Above, Carlton-Browne of the F.O., The Smallest Show on Earth, I'm All Right Jack, Hoffman, Two-Way Stretch

Saturday, February 08, 2003

 

beginnings and endings

ok so i dunno why, but i was working for this republican
well one of the administrators at my work asked me to
and i took photos of this guy and his family
and i gave him michael moores last book.. the one I had SIGNED

so its a loss but damnit theres a republican out there getting his brain fried by this book

maybe he will change his thinking some what.
maybe i will change history
future history
where is doc brown
i dont know

this month the magazine was was beginnings and endings
i couldn't even write something
i was gonna write about friendship as i had someone i 'filtered out' try to weasel back into my life
and i just didn't even deal with it i haven't called him
like how do you say 'you began to suck and i hated your personal agenda'
'oh and you stole $8,000 from the company i got you a job at
and it was taken out of MY PROFIT SHARING
thats not cool
and 30 other people
i dunno how to say that
i was just disappointed in what he became
you got weeded out
thats what happened.

'you haven't called me in two years, have you been busy?'
i still have posters of letters he wrote me i blew up to 11x17 when i worked at kinko's
letters about how inspiring i am
and how i make other people better themselves creatively and spiriturally
and an 11x17 of a letter he wrote to his roomate
PLEASE WAKE ME WITH YOUR DANGLING BALLS IN MY FACE
its a good 1st month anniversary present for girlfriends

how do you explain someone that meant so much that you won't get that hurt from them again?
you stopped making my spirit and creativity evolve.

Thursday, February 06, 2003

 
Gando just left all upset because I was getting stressed out over work equipment for a minute. He's so funny, I wasn't really that mad and he was like 'I am out of here, I'm in your way."

 
Oh that was so cool. I just ran from across the room to stop a dub from going too far. I hit stop 13 frames (13/30ths of a second) before it would have recorded something I didn't want to go to another tape!

Wednesday, February 05, 2003

 
It took 4 Grateful Dead songs to get to work. I left at 8:05 but there was so much traffic I was actually 5 minutes late and didn't get to work until 8:50.

Tuesday, February 04, 2003

 
I haven't laughed as hard as I did last night in a long long time.

Stayed late for moral support for Chris Wirth. He didn't have any work for me to do but I could see he wanted company anyway and I didn't have anything better to do, plus it was a few hours of overtime.

But we never worked. We just drank and drank. Chris got mad that I asked a work question at about 11 and screamed at me "YOU ARE STILL IN WORK MODE!!!!" well how was I supposed to know we weren't really going to do anything. Being inside the 4 walls of my work puts me in work mode.. I am sorry!

And then we went to the Buddha Bar and drank more.

Normally Buddha Bar is very chill and very cool, nice place for conversation. This particular night was fucked up ambient music night. It wasn't even music, it was white noise mixed with loud screechy blender-like sounds. It was horrible. What made it funny was that everyone was TOTALLY into it. I mean people were recording it with cameras and clapping at every break in the noise. It was hilarious. I stood up strong clapped and screamed "play the blender noise again!!!" and people were all about it.

Then the pillow fight began and the tequilla came around. After that things got a little hazy.

Heather and I enjoyed a laugh and she gave me a high five. Well she followed through a little bit too hard and I ended up with most of my white russian in my ear. I think we laughed about that for half an hour.

It was a great night.


Monday, February 03, 2003

 
PHISH.. in VEGAS???

Maybe.. I gotta come up with $375 for airfare but the tickets to this SOLD OUT show are only $35 a piece. Can I turn this down? We shall see.

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