obligatory christian music follow-up post

In my last post I reiterated a complaint that has been going on for years now. Christian music is awful. But why say it again when it’s been said so many times before? Well, because nothing has changed. Nobody is listening. And I care about that.

But there are always exceptions.

That is why I would like to draw your attention to musicians who write songs reflecting their Christian beliefs that, for the most part, maintain some shred of originality. Feel free to add more or bash me in the comments (but don’t be too mean, k?). For those of you who have extensive knowledge of the music scene, enlighten me as to what I am missing. Maybe I’ll let you write a guest post! I don’t intend to offend, I’m just sharing my opinion on a really subjective topic.

Anberlin – This band has hit a bit of a snag since leaving Tooth and Nail Records and signing with Universal Republic Records, but it’s never too late to bounce back. Their third album Cities is widely considered the pinnacle of their music thus far. I eagerly anticipated their growth only to find they got stuck  and have stayed (relatively) the same for their fourth and fifth albums. The band’s affinity for soul-searching lyrics and Stephen Christian’s rich voice packs the perfect punch for any listener. Now if only they would stop trying to recreate Cities and try something new. I believe in you, Anberlin! You can do it!

While Anberlin doesn’t refer to themselves as Christian, their albums often possess what I like to call “Christian flavoring.” What does that mean? I dunno, probably what it sounds like.

Cold War Kids - Well, this was the scandal of all scandals. Back in 2006 Cold War Kids’ debut album Robbers and Cowards received a scathing review from Pitchfork for the religious undertones found throughout. This caused a fury among critics and religious folk alike — was the review deserved? Did Christian undertones really ruin the music? Or was this Pitchfork guy just a huge jackass with a chip on his shoulder? You decide. I haven’t kept up with the Cold War Kids much, but felt this incident should be included here. (Apparently they’re still at it — whatever “it” is — and Pitchfork still doesn’t like them.)

Edison Glass – Rumors have been swirling around that Edison Glass broke up, but I can’t find anything official. One site says they have not broken up but are currently not working on any music together. Their MySpace looks relatively abandoned and their domain name has been bought by someone else.

Despite this unfortunate lack of activity, there are still two excellent Edison Glass albums in existence, A Burn or a Shiver and Time is Fiction. Perhaps the most distinctive quality about them is their avoidance of generic 4/4 timing — math rock ftw! For a band named after Thomas Edison and Phillip Glass it only makes sense to have an atypical sound in the Christian music scene. Come back, Edison Glass!

Jon Foreman – While Switchfoot’s career peaked with The Beautiful Letdown (okay, apparently their latest album is decent? I haven’t listened to it much), lead singer Jon Foreman showed us where his heart is with his solo EP’s, Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Foreman took Psalms and created beautiful melodies one could imagine David singing out in the field as a shepherd, not marketed or performed for Sunday morning audiences.

Jordan Klassen – This local enables music lovers of all stripes to hear his decidedly Biblical lyrics and still admit, “Damn, that’s good music.” In my mind, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. Klassen’s music meshes folk with ambience in such a way you’re physically aware of the space the sound occupies, like smoke or water filling a room — minus the distraught feeling, plus joy.

Joy Electric – Joy Electric is Christian music’s ever-present underground synth-pop solution. Sometimes light and upbeat, sometimes dark and dreary, Joy Electric is a forever-pleasant oddity. While I haven’t listened to the entire discography (and it is extensive), I am quite the fan of their 2007 release The Otherly Opus.

Kevin Max – Ohhh Kevin Max. What an enigma. While Toby Mac went on to be an uber successful solo rapper and Michael Tait is now frontman for the Newsboys — both fellow former DC Talk members — Kevin Max still operates out of obscurity. Often referred to as the “Black Sheep” of Christian music, Max has always been a bit of a rebel who doesn’t like playing by the rules. He’s an avid poet and spoken word artist as well as musician — not to mention he’s working on a novel/graphic novel called Fiefdom of Angels.

Max is also quite the label-hopper and seems to have had difficulty finding the right creative team to help harness his talent. Despite being the “Black Sheep,” Max still exclusively markets himself towards the CCM audience, but I feel like he has what it takes to bring his message outside the Christian scene.

Mute Math – Take Paul Meany’s soulful voice, catchy drumloops, keytar riffs, and a touch of ambience mixed with spiritually-laced lyrics and you’ve created one of the best Christian bands in existence.

Okay, backtrack — there’s a complicated history here. For those unfamiliar, Mute Math is one of those bands that has tried — and achieved — to break free of the Christian industry and exclusive fan base. As I stated in my last post, the CCM industry often shackles creativity so I understand Mute Math’s decision to distance themselves from the “Christian” label.

What I don’t understand is the dramatic shift in tone between their first two albums, Mute Math and Armistice. Their self-titled debut is brilliant and, while not overtly spiritual, there’s definitely a  message reminiscent of Earthsuit, the band’s earlier overtly-Christian persona. Their second album, Armistice, is amazing, but downright depressing. Are they simply musicians exploring the darker side of human emotion or are they purposefully trying to distance themselves even more from Christian labels? I suspect a third album will give a definite answer.

Sufjan Stevens — Sufjan doesn’t talk overtly about his faith in interviews, but neither does he avoid overtly Biblical themes in his music. Sin, death, redemption, forgiveness, hope, salvation — it’s all there. Why is he so popular among secular listeners then? Well, he’s just a damn good musician and that kind of thing can’t be ignored.

I guess one might ask, why does this matter? Isn’t music music? Why must we label things?

I’m a bit of an idealist in that I’d like to see musicians be able to express their Christian beliefs without alienating secular fans. Mute Math is almost paranoid to have any affiliation with Christianity now because they think it will put them in a box or something. Pitchfork seems to have vendetta against the Cold War Kids over ideology. It’s absurd.

I’d also like Christian artists to fully express their creativity within the CCM industry without feeling like they are trapped and have to go mainstream to be unique.

It basically brings us back to what I said here.

christian music is awful

People have been saying this for years now, but I’ll say it again anyways.   Christian music is bad. Just awful. Will there ever be a day when this statement is unjustified? My Dad was listening to Shine FM today and I nearly threw the stereo out the window. The latest Newsboys single — featuring auto tune! dear God, no! — is the worst I’ve ever heard from them. Natalie Grant’s obnoxious song Human plays every half hour.  Third Day has been packaging the same material with different wrapping for years now. Smaller bands try to emulate the formula of the more established bands instead of creating something unique. The lyrics are dull and unimaginative.

So what gives? If Christians have this personal relationship with God — the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God — shouldn’t there be more inspiration and creativity behind a their music? Why is there this formula? Why is there the need to copy the style of the mainstream?

I know that being a Christian artist doesn’t mean you have to write Christian-themed music all the time, but it’d be nice if artists could throw together a couple songs reflecting their beliefs that had some level of creativity or — dare I say — brilliance.

And even if that existed I’m sure Shine FM would be the last place to find it. So pray tell — where can I find some non-terrible Christian music?

…I mean, legitimate non-terrible Christian music. I don’t need the Christian version of the “punk” Marianas Trench or Fall Out Boy. That doesn’t count.

a conversation with writer john devore

You may recall one of my earlier posts extolling the writing of a certain John DeVore (I write sophisticated reviews, clearly). Well, I decided that he and I should probably talk about writing,  blogging and media and he kindly obliged to answer some of  my questions!

DeVore has written for a plethora of different websites on many different subjects, hosted a talk radio show on Sirius Satellite Network, writes plays and makes regular TV appearances as the “sacrificial liberal” on Fox News’ late night talk show Red Eye. Currently he is the deputy editor of Premier.com, writes a weekly column called Mind of Man at The Frisky and gives relationship advice at Guy Speak. For more background information on DeVore you can check out his website here!

So let’s jump right to it.

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What is your favorite subject to write about?

DeVore: Well, look, I am a hack writer. A lot of people cringe when I say that, but you know, I’ve lived in New York for 14 years and that was incredibly important to me — to make a living as a writer. So the first thing I like to write the most is whatever pays. I do like plays and I make absolutely zero — I make negative money on that. But really, I’m a hack writer, I write for hire. And I tell a lot of young writers too, anyone that really loves to write really loves to write anything. You know, a writer writes. A writer wants to be read, a writer has a degree of vanity, he or she likes to see his or her byline…but write whatever. I’ve written some incredibly soulless stuff and I’ve written stuff that I’m very proud of.

I like to write for money and if I write for love then, you know…I do like plays. The theater and the internet are kind of similar in a way.

How so?

DeVore: They’re both live mediums. I mean, the web isn’t a dead page. A magazine was written in the past and web is now – it’s live and it’s throbbing and it’s breathing. Bloggers and playwrights both know what it’s like to write for a live audience and both know what it’s like to endure immediate praise or immediate scorn. Playwrights live to have their words spoken to a live audience and there’s no greater thrill than that audience laughing and there’s no greater pain than that audience sitting in stony silence or asleep.

How about your relationship writing? You’re not a psychologist, you’re just a guy who’s dated a lot of girls and they pay you to write about it?

DeVore: When I write about relationships, of course I’m not a therapist or a psychologist…  Good relationship writing asks very basic moral questions. You know, what is right, what is wrong? And as a blogger my job is to try, and without being a dick – and granted there are plenty of dicks online – try to create conversation. A lot of my pieces start with an opinion and then I just sort of blabber from there. But you know, I want to start a conversation, that’s what makes blog writing blog writing. That’s what makes web writing web writing. I’m not trying to be the last word, I’m trying to be the first word. This week I make the statement that I don’t think two people of opposing political parties can fall in love. I don’t, but that doesn’t matter whether I’m right or wrong. You look at the comments and people are engaging. They say “No, I don’t agree with that,” “Yes, I agree with that.”

There was a debate at my university between Howard Dean and Fred Thompson moderated by Mark Steyn. A couple of my friends asked me, “Oh are you into American politics?” and I was like, “Well, I was, but not really,” and they asked why. The conclusion I came to was that there was just so much entertainment everywhere. The media and everyone had just turned everything into a joke, into a punchline. Everything was put up as entertainment value instead of informational value…

They call it the Information Age with the internet, but I’m looking at it as the entertainment age because that’s what gets the hits, that’s what gets the people reading. Do you think there is possibly too much entertainment?

DeVore: A lot of people criticize the media, but I’m in the media and we’re really not that smart. You know, there’s this idea that the media is this powerful pillar that dictates things to the people. The media has always been a marketplace….The media dictates nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s tons of information out there. It is the Information Age. There’s an impressive amount of information out there for the taking. There’s a lot out there a generation ago most people wouldn’t have even had access to, but people don’t want that — they want showbiz. They want to feel hope or they want to feel anger. They want to feel, you know? And yes, I do contribute to the decline of western civilization.

[laughs] I’m not saying that!

No no no, it’s okay, it’s okay, Emily, I know what you’re getting around. I know what this is — this is a “gotcha” interview!

Yes, you found me out, I’m the next greatest journalist there ever was!

[laughs] You’re going to misquote me! John DeVore says, ‘I am the decline of western—’  actually that’d be a great quote.

Well, you write for pay, you write for whatever, but hey – if it’s good writing, it’s good writing no matter what it is.

Well, when I say I’m a hack writer that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it, I love it!

So what are five things you always look for or try to achieve with your writing? What do you try to go for to make your pieces good?

Be entertaining. Be compelling. You know, be concise. Respect the flow. Sometimes when you’re writing it takes a lot of effort to get started. It’s really tough to get into it, like jogging. I hurts until you reach a point where it doesn’t hurt. When you hit that point where it’s just flowing out of you and the music’s playing, that’s great, don’t fight that. And be very wary of over-editing the stuff that you’re writing when you’re in that flow. Don’t tell but show. Make people feel. If you can make a person feel something, that’s incredibly valuable. If you can make them feel, if you can make them cry, if you can make them laugh, if you make them horny, if you make them feel something, that’s a hell of a thing for a writer to be able to do.

Do you have any plans to write a book?

I’ve thought about that and I’ve talked to agents and editors, but right now in my life I am a blogger. It’s such a new thing, people just don’t get it. It was only ’95 that the browser as we know it was invented and back in 1999 I was in print magazines and I made the decision to jump online. People weren’t doing it, I was told I would destroy my career.

But you know, every writer has their romantic writer heroes. Like any friggin’ douchebag male wannabe writer in high school, I loved the Beats, I loved Kerouac. Cliche as hell, but I remember in ’99 asking myself, who was a writing hero of mine and would he have gone online? And I had to say ‘Yeah!’ That’s what it’s about, new ways of writing, new ways of communicating, new kinds of music, new social movements – he actually would have been online. So I kind of feel excited being part of the evolution of something that has never been before.

There are a lot of people who grew up being like, “I want to be a magazine writer.” But really at the end of the day, I want to be a writer. I want to make a living writing. And if that means…Well, bloggers don’t get any respect, that’s a pretty good bet. You know, but history’s shown groups of people who were pioneering something and got no respect.

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did obama pass his mid-term test? live-tweeting whaaaat?

Howard Dean vs. Fred Thompson – moderated by Mark Steyn! It was like a dream. It was wonderful. I wanted to go back stage afterward and hang like we were bff’s but they all left pretty much immediately after. Fine then. One day they’ll all be clamoring to hang out with ME because…I dunno…I’m so good at live tweeting? Because I pre-drink with the free alcohol the School of Public Policy gives out at its events and party at the Den afterward? Yes. All of the above.

Update: Wow, linked front page on Mark Steyn’s website! I wondered why my  blog hits spiked so much today… Thanks for the link and welcome SteynOnline readers!

Okay, so let’s get started.

all blurry images from @TheInvisibleDan

 

The first reason to go to ANY School of Public Policy event is for the free alcohol and food (for students, at least. Non-students have to pay to get in). Usually there is pizza and beer (Big Rock! Mmm.), but since this was a bigger event there were sushi, samosas, veggies, chips and dip (artichoke and something. ooooh) and red and white wine. It was pretty good, except for the mediocre wine. Should have stuck with Big Rock for this event – but who am I to complain? It was free after all.

You certainly learn a lot in university…like how to exploit the system for free food and drinks. Students – seriously, take advantage of the School of Public Policy Events (read: free food).

Anywayyys, I decided to live-tweet the event because I feel like live-tweeting is a necessary skill these days and practice makes perfect. So I made a #sppdebate hashtag and tweeted away. I was the only person live tweeting this event too, so I tried to get as much as I could.

So here’s my live-tweet feed. Maybe it was coherent. I haven’t read it through yet, I’m just going to copy & paste and we’ll find out together:

the future

Children are precious. Let’s give them whatever they ask for.

vote for gin and tonic in round 2 of the canadian blog awards!

As I stated in my previous post, gin and tonic has made it into round 2 of the Canadian Blog Awards for Best Personal Blog 2010! I am so very excited! Thank you all for voting – I’m kind of a dork and get excited about things like this. Currently I’m in 4th place, which is super rad! I know we can push it at least one step ahead for a Top 3 finish though – but you’ll have to vote lots! You can vote once a day for this round, so keep checking back and keep voting =)

CalgaryPolitics.com, The Enlighted Savage and Calgary Rants are all nominated  for Best Political Blog as well and Calgary Politics is in the lead! Please check out all those sites and consider supporting them!

Update: I just noticed The Alberta Theatre Projects Blog is nominated in the Culture and Literature category! Check it out!

Remember how empowering it felt to vote in the civic election? I promise pretty much the same feeling, so vote here!! =P

Photo: Sydney Stokoe

Masked Man for Mayor!

Click the image to watch the video.

Hey, he’s upfront about his mask instead of pretending it isn’t there and puts the “casual” in business casual. What more could you want?

As for the pajama pants…well, candidates, don’t look on in jealousy because you can’t afford the bad photo op despite the undeniable comforts. That’s what Twibates are for: debating and campaigning in pajamas. Striped, polka-dot, or Pokemon pajamas. Aren’t you tired of wearing suits and cowboy hats? I don’t know why you wouldn’t participate given the chance!

(As an aside, if any of the candidates, aldermanic or mayoral, send me a picture of themselves in Pokemon pajamas, they’ll have my vote on the spot.)

Cross posted from CalgaryPolitics.com.

Kensington’s Night Out

Kensington is one of my favorite places in the city, so last year when my family was looking around for a new place to live I was thrilled we were considering Sunnyside. So many unique small businesses, great coffee shops and restaurants right by the river, a short walk to downtown, SAIT is just up the hill and the University of Calgary is a 7 minute C-train ride away. Having lived in five wards in the past 10 years, I can safely say that Sunnyside, in Ward 7, is my favorite residence so far.

Last summer I worked at a small food business in Kensington that unfortunately had to leave that location because the lease increased. I worked the closing shift – which was 3-7pm.

It’s unfortunate that many local businesses in Kensington can’t even stay open past 5 or 6pm without losing money or at least without their staff being bored to tears. I understand everyone took a hit during the recession, especially small businesses – but we’ve all got to bounce back somehow.

That’s what I want to talk about right now – shopping, especially in Kensington. It’s a great place, but sometimes I feel the streets aren’t as populated as they should be. There are advertisements on the C-train to “Get Back to Style” in Kensington, but how can you get back to style when nothing is open in the evenings? I’ve bought clothes from American Apparel solely because they are the only store open past six pm. In fact, they’re open until 9, which is amazing.

However, I’m usually the only one in American Apparel that “late” in the evening. I understand that many small businesses will lose money if they stay open later while only a few customers trickle in. I spent my closing shifts last summer more alone than not as well.

Well, what do we do? I’ll tell you what I’d like: Kensington’s Night Out.

It may ring a bell if you’ve heard of Fashion’s Night Out, an event that started two years ago in New York City. The second annual Fashion’s Night Out happened a few days ago on Friday, September 10th where retail stores in NYC – and around the world – stayed open until 11pm, with events featuring designers, models, and musicians etc. The idea was to get people excited about fashion – and most importantly – to buy things.

Is it successful? According to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, yes.

“The numbers are in, and it’s clear that Fashion’s Night Out was a tremendous success,” Bloomberg said. “Thousands of New Yorkers attended the events in all five boroughs, supporting the city’s retail and fashion industries, and helping a worthwhile cause. It’s sure to be an even bigger event in 2010.”

Positive results are trickling in from this year’s FNO as well.

I’m not recommending a full-blown Fashion’s Night Out ordeal in Calgary. That sounds way too highbrow and expensive for me – maybe someone else can get behind that bandwagon. Something I could get behind is Kensington’s Night Out. Try the same idea with all the stores staying open until 11pm, maybe get some cool local music acts, and just have a party that encourages people to support local businesses.

I know Art Central has a similar small-scale event the first Thursday of every month where their facility stays open until 9pm and I understand it is quite popular. Perhaps more places in Calgary should try this concept out: downtown, Inglewood, Kensington, wherever!

The ultimate result I’d like to see is these businesses being able to stay open later on a regular basis. Maybe slowly over time these stores could extend their hours until customers realized that they could now go shopping in Kensington after work instead of heading to the mall. But it would have to begin with an event to kickstart Kensington, foster community, support local businesses, and most importantly, support people.

Anyways, I’m not a business, marketing or economics major. I just like Kensington. I like Kensington’s people. And I like shopping. That is all.

Image: Victoria Ask

Cross posted at calgarypolitics.com

an army of davids by glenn reynolds

I’ve wanted to order this book for the longest time now and I finally did this summer. I’m a big fan of  Glenn’s blog Instapundit and I adored the Glenn and Helen Show podcast when it was around, so I don’t know why it took me so long to buy his book An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government and Other Goliaths. I finally did, though, and it was well worth it.

If you couldn’t tell by the title, this dude is a staunch libertarian – and he does a good job of making libertarianism look pretty badass. It’s not really a political book, though. It’s more about optimism and ideas, which I am down with.

Here are some quotes from Chapter 6 I found especially applicable,

“And when ‘making’ media is cheap, and an unlimited supply of people are ‘making it,’ what happens to journalism? Something that journalists may not like: Journalism, right now, is in the process of reverting to its earlier status as an activity, not a profession.”

“….[T]he local-reporting angle is likely to be big. Most media coverage is wide but shallow. Individuals can actually outperform big news organizations when it comes to reporting on a single topic, and as it becomes easier for individuals to develop and market niche expertise, we’ll see more of that. How will Big Media respond? It’ll be interesting to find out.”

He also has chapters about  nanotechnology, space exploration, business, and how truly cool it is that free wi-fi access lets anyone work anywhere.  He’s seriously amped about technology. An alternate title could have been, “Look at all this f*cking cool stuff you can do!!!”

Which I think is awesome. As I am a blogger and have been ever since I started using the internet, it’s been fascinating to watch entrepreneurs grow and develop online, whether it be writers, programmers, advertisers, or search engines. (Anyone remember AltaVista? Hahahaha… Oh wait, it’s still around. Wow.)

whatcha say

I really like this song. Occasionally genuine emotion manages to leak through an auto-tuned voice. Somehow. I don’t understand it either. But whatever, I dig it.

this is the part where i judge a book entirely by its cover

My boyfriend and I went to Chapters the other day to find a book to read together, cause it’s a thing we do sometimes. Anyways, we wanted to find a Christian book but the dominating authors in the Christian section were Brian McLaren, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer.

I’m pretty sure many authors write books simply to fill pages and pay the bills.

Let me say something about Brian McLaren – and this is completely an opinion, just a feeling I have. He’s an asshole.

“The Secret Message of Jesus.” With this very title he claims that Jesus has a secret and he, Brian McLaren, knows what it is. Which is sort of a jerk thing to do for Christians who do have a personal relationship with Jesus, have read the Bible extensively, and accomplish amazing things without ever hearing of  McLaren.

Using the word “secret” insinuates exclusivity. The readers of McLaren’s book have thus been let in on this secret that so many have apparently missed.

Back cover: “What if many have carried on a religion that somewhere along the way missed the rich and radical treasures hidden in the essential message of Jesus?”

You can’t simply read the Bible like so many Christians have done; you have to read McLaren’s book to find the “hidden” “secret” we’ve been missing all along. It’s not about Jesus’ message – it’s about McLaren’s.

This is the part where you tell me I can’t judge a book by its cover, even though I already stated that was what I was going to do. Okay, if anyone wants to review this book in its entirety I will host it on my blog. The ‘asshole’ wordcount must be at least 7.

I’m kidding.

steve martin

You know, I really like Steve Martin a lot lately. I don’t know why, I never really was into him before, except for maybe Father of the Bride (which, by the way, is a great movie. Also Part II, actually. Both very good). But Cheaper by the Dozen (I and II), Pink Panther (I and II) and Bringing Down the House? Definite pass.

However, I did recently discover he plays the banjo (I guess I’m young cause apparently he’s been doing it since the 70′s) and bought his album The Crow for my aspiring banjo-player boyfriend – and ended up liking it quite a bit myself. Awhile back I watched Shopgirl out of the blue, which Martin wrote and starred in, and enjoyed it a lot too. It’s a drama, really, and for once no one gets chased by dogs. And then today I watched It’s Complicated, which is something like a dramedy, where Martin plays a supporting role. Again, no slapstick involving food, dogs or food and dogs. It was enjoyable and sweet. I like his subtler side.

That’s pretty much it.

I’m trying to write something once a day now, btw, so you might see random stuff like this more often.

skin

You know what I’m very okay with? This picture. This is a statue of Aphrodite in the British Museum in London. Has she been spending all her spare time at the gym? Um, no. Is she freakin’ sexy? Um, very.

Another reason I like this picture is because it’s modest. “Yes, I’m a babe, but no, you can’t look – get out of here.”

It’s not even like that pseudo modesty, like Jennifer Aniston in GQ (or any given female celebrity in any given magazine). You know the kind. “Oh…look at me and my strategically placed limbs and props. I’m naked but you can’t see anything, haha! I’m so sexy!”

And then everything is photoshopped anyways, it pretty much doesn’t count as being naked because the image you end up with is hardly your real body anymore. I guess celebrities are secure enough with their body image to take their clothes off, but not secure enough to let people see what they  actually look like without clothes. Hm.

Anyways, I’m gonna finish this ice cream because it’s delicious. Mmm….

john devore is pretty great

Image: thefrisky.com

I wish I could write like John DeVore. Why? Because he’s really funny and always writes about how awesome both the sexes are. He’s consistently like, “Damn, all women are fine, especially if they have curves and watch Sex and the City!” and then he’s like, “Being a man is the best. I may be in touch with my feminine side, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to go wrestle a shark with my bare hands today.”

I usually can’t stand to read relationship articles because they’re either preachy, boring, dramatic, or simply filled with bad ideas. I make sure to read every new article by DeVore though, because he’s hilarious and I find he usually hits the mark. If he wrote a book I would buy it in a second. He’s Dave Barry-esque, but with a practical side.

“It’s almost a narcotic effect, when one of these graceful women wraps their legs around you, holding you close, yielding and demanding surrender at the same time. It’s … sensual? Did I really just type that? Surely, there’s a more testosterone-friendly way of saying “sensual.” Like, “slow boner?” Oh, well.”

———————

Men don’t have “guilty pleasures.”  We own, nay, celebrate what’s bad for us. Our obsessions are points of pride, not shame. You’ll never see a guy wolf down a small mountain of waffles with a side of pig and squeal, “OMG, I can’t beliiiiieeeeve I ate everything! Tee! Hee!”

He’s also a guest on Red Eye, my favourite show ever, which is awesome.

Anyways, I hope he writes a book.

the isle of sled

image: sledisland.com

I went to Sled Island yesterday and Thursday night. It was pretty amazing, especially last night at Dicken’s Pub. I mean, the set list looked pretty rad on paper, but it was it was even more awesome in person. Myths, Woodhands, CEX, WhoMadeWho, and !!! created this mondo dance party by the end of the night. It was packed and people were even dancing on the stage! Woodhands played a couple songs off their remix album, CP24 and Pockets, which made me quite happy. My camera battery was dead, but bf took a couple pictures so I will post them here when I get them.

Anyways, I’ve realized I’ve hit the creepy fan stage of liking Woodhands. After the show they were selling shirts, so I went to go buy one and Paul Banwatt had this huge pile of shirts he was sorting through trying to find the right sizes for people. I felt really bad for him because people were starting to crowd around and he was still sitting on the ground sorting through shirts. So I offered to help! They later made a makeshift merch table out of one of their instrument cases. And then bf offered them a drink, but they said maybe just water, so we got them water. But they gave me a free CD and signed it! Yeah! We should all probably be best friends. Just sayin’.

The night before, on Thursday, I saw Woodpigeon at the Arrata Opera Center. It was pretty good, but it could have been better. The band itself was great, but the sound levels were a little bit terrible. This was unfortunate because as soon as I walked into the building I got really excited; the acoustics were phenomenal! Woodpigeon would sound amazing!

This unfortunately wasn’t the case. I would love to see them again at that venue with a better sound technician. I don’t think I saw very many techies there…were the bands setting up the sound themselves? I don’t know what was going on.

Besides the sound, Woodpigeon did put on an entertaining upbeat show. The band was joking around with each other and the violinist and keyboardist were having fun trying to coordinate dance moves. And they played …and as the ship went down you’d never looked finer… which is possibly one of the greatest songs. EVER. So it was a good night.

We also saw Christine Owman and savk. Bf bought one of savk’s cd’s which was a good purchase. And he’s local so maybe we can see more of his shows! I liked Christine Owman, but she was a bit odd for sure. Maybe that’s why I liked her. Bf wasn’t so impressed.

So all in all it was a good, nay, great, first Sled Island experience! I’m kinda sad it’s over. I can’t wait for next year!

sled island’s free song downloads

Seriously? Excellent. Check it out here. There’s apparently over 175 free songs to download.

Woodhands did a cover of I Kissed a Girl and I liked it. I basically love anything they do. They just yell and stuff and it’s great. (I know, my way with words is unrivaled.)

In other news I finally ordered An Army of Davids by Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit. I’ve been meaning to get it for like…3 years now, haha. I should get it next week, I hope. It’s basically about the blurred line between amateur and professional media as a result of the intarwebs. I am working on a documentary about blogging in Canada and I would love to interview him. He’s not from Canada, but he’s pretty much a god in the blogosphere. I loved their podcasts…but now they stopped doing that and are doing more video with Pajamas TV. Eh.

Also, I ordered The Bible of Unspeakable Truths by Greg Gutfeld. He’s a hero as well. He is the host of the insanity fest known as Red Eye.

Yay books! I have been reading the God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer for over a month now…I’ve been really busy, I guess. It’s really good so far though. I like Francis Schaeffer – he just dishes it out. I like my theology with a side of hotsauce, not sugar coated. That’s a quotable quote right there. Savor it.

Network (1976)

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

So says the TV prophet Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall.

The story starts when TV news anchor Howard Beale announces that he will kill himself on live television in a week. He is cut off the air and promptly fired. The day after, Beale admits he suffered a mental breakdown and would like to apologize to his viewers and say goodbye on-air, providing closure for his 11 years on the show. His boss, Max Schumacher, agrees.

However, Beale’s apology turns into a tirade about all the “bullshit” in the world. The producers are about to cut him off again when they notice their ratings have skyrocketed – and they keep Beale on-air. UBS, the station, has not been doing so well in ratings but Beale’s antics have put UBS on the map. The other tv stations and newspapers are reporting the “crazy news anchor” story, giving UBS huge publicity.

Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), the programming director, suggests that UBS should give Beale a new show; the “angry television prophet telling it like it is” could be very profitable, she argues. UBS listens to her, puts her in charge of the show’s production and soon they have the number one show on television. Each night Howard Beale goes on a tirade about different subjects and the network watches the money roll in. Slowly Beale descends into insanity while the network continues to exploit him – until his ratings drop. Now Diana will do whatever she can to get rid of Beale and replace him with another show.

This movie heavily criticizes the for-profit nature of news organizations selling out to gimmicks. UBS was a lowly station with a simple news program until Beale went crazy. Then they turned Beale’s show into a circus act – soothsayer and all – and their ratings skyrocketed. Everything about this movie is very bleak – the station is run by absolutely miserable people who only care about profit and their key to success is a raving madman.

It’s a brilliant movie, though, a must-see. It is a reminder that putting too much focus on your career, success, prestige and money can turn you into the most miserable, ugly person no-matter how beautiful your physical appearance is. It is the people and relationships that matter the most. If your personal relationships fall apart it’s only a matter of time before everything else does.

At least that’s what I took away from it.

The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti

zomg it’s a blog post about a book! Like the good old days! Yay!

Back in January, I had this undeniable urge to buy two books: Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent and The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti. I’m not a feminist at all, really, but I guess I was interested in what people were saying about gender roles and blah blah blah. I meant to write about them, but then school got in the way. Then recently, through the wonders of Twitter, I saw that CastingShade was looking for a review of The Purity Myth. “Hey, I read that!” I thought, and signed up.

So finally here is my review (don’t worry, I re-read it, I didn’t base it all off memory) hosted at the lovely blog CastingShade.

Also, be sure to check out CastingShade’s own review of The Purity Myth by Seb =)

And I will write about Self-Made Man soon, because it is hilarious.

the geriatric teenager

www.toothpastefordinner.com

via Mark Steyn:

“I see some young people in the audience,” said President Obama in Ohio the other day. Not that young. For he assured them that, under Obamacare, they’d be eligible to remain on their parents’ health coverage until they were 26.

The audience applauded.

Why?

Because, as the politicians say, “it’s about the future of all our children”. And in the future we’ll all be children. For most of human history, across all societies, a 26-year old has been considered an adult, and not starting out but well into it. Not someone who remains a dependent of his parent, but someone who might well have parental responsibilities himself. But, if we’re going to remain dependents at 26, why stop there? Why not 36? An Italian court ruled recently that Signor Giancarlo Casagrande of Bergamo is obligated to pay his daughter Marina a monthly allowance of 350 euros – or approximately 500 bucks. Marina is 32, and has been working on her college thesis (“about the Holy Grail”) for over eight years.

America is not yet as “progressive” as Italy, so let us take President Obama at his word – that, for the moment, your 27th birthday marks the point at which a boy becomes a man and moves out of his parents’ health insurance agency. At what point then does an adult re-enter dependency?

Well, in Greece, a female working in a “hazardous” job can retire with a full government pension at 50. “Hazardous” used to mean bomb disposal, and mining. But, as is the way of government entitlements, the category growed like Topsy. Five hundred and eighty professions now qualify as “hazardous”, among them hairdressing. “I use a hundred different chemicals every day — dyes, ammonia, you name it,” 28-year old Vasia Veremi told The New York Times. “You think there’s no risk in that?” Not to mention all those scissors. TV and radio hosts can retire at 50, because they use microphones which could increase their exposure to bacteria. Is column-writing also “hazardous”? It used to be, what with the significant risk of paper cuts. Takes its toll over the years.

So working life is now an ever shrinking window of opportunity between adolescence and retirement. These two happy conditions are the contribution of the advanced social democratic state to the traditional life cycle. In the old days, you were a child until 13 or so. Then you worked. Then you died. And that’s it. Now the interludes between childhood and adulthood and between adulthood and death consume more time than the main acts.

Read the entire thing.

I don’t know how some people can hang on to dependence so much when I crave independence. I greatly admire people who work hard and make a life for themselves, even if they don’t seem to have very much spare time to party or anything. What’s the deal with partying all the time anyways? I sound so uptight, but I can’t handle partying more than once a month…well, maybe once every 3 weeks. The way I see it, I’m in university, living at home, and desperately trying to figure out what my “grown up” life is supposed to look like. I want to “grow up” as fast as possible, and the way I see it, it should have happened a long time ago.

There’s the financial aspect of being an adult, but there’s also the psychological aspect. Take political correctness, western entitlement, or the lady who filed a human rights complaint against a comedian who offended her. We want our world padded and protected like a child’s playroom where there is no chance of anything hurting us. Well, let’s please all grow up. It’s a tough world, and the sooner you accept that fact, the sooner you can overcome it.

Anywho, that’s my little rant for the day.