By now you may have seen the video of the police officer holding his gun while people throw snowballs at him. If not here it is (language warning):
Continue reading “When Supergeniuses Attack”
Enjoy Some Christmas Tunage
Taking inspiration from an elderly couple singing songs and selling tapes at a Furr’s Cafeteria in Las Vegas I decided the old ball and chain and I would record some songs. The result is a mashed together version of all kinds of different experiments with mixing, jokes, original songs and other such things mostly comprised of first takes. Personally I am proud of this piece of work given the low number of takes and the fact that we were recording in a closet in our old barrio.
Good King Wenceslas
I have always thought it was a weird song. Who is Wenceslas and what is the feast of Stephen? It has a nice sound though and I hear my aunt really likes it.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/01 Good King Wenceslas.mp3″]Good King Wenceslas[/gplayer]
Still Still Still
We just wanted to try this one out.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/02 Still Still Still.mp3″]Still Still Still[/gplayer]
Winter Wonderland
Comedy Gold in my opinion. Done with a lounge style and some creative mixing to really ham it up.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/03 Winter Wonderland.mp3″]Winter Wonderland[/gplayer]
One Day and a Night and a Day
This is an original that was semi-inspired by the style of Charles Ives.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/04 One Day and a Night and a Day.mp3″]One Day and a Night and a Day[/gplayer]
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
We tried some crazy stuff at the end that I think is pretty cool with ebow type sounds at the end.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/05 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.mp3″]It Came Upon a Midnight Clear[/gplayer]
O Little Town of Bethlehem
I can’t help but think of the elderly couple singing songs at Furr’s cafeteria in Las Vegas, every time I was ever there, when I hear this one, which then leads me to think about really thick macaroni and cheese.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/06 O Little Town of Bethlehem.mp3″]O Little Town of Bethlehem[/gplayer]
The First Noel
Just wanted to try our hand at this one too.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/07 The First Noel.mp3″]The First Noel[/gplayer]
Pine Mountain
This original instrumental is named for a brand of fireplace logs but also now has reference to a mountain near Baker Nevada that is not named “Pine” but has a lot of pine cones on it.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/08 Pine Mountain.mp3″]Pine Mountain[/gplayer]
Holly Jolly Christmas
Another goofy shout out to the Furr’s band from my memories.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/09 Holly Jolly Christmas.mp3″]Holly Jolly Christmas[/gplayer]
Silent Night
We didn’t think we could get away without doing this one.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/10 Silent Night.mp3″]Silent Night[/gplayer]
What Child is This?
What the heck? Why not this one too?
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/11 What Child is This_.mp3″]What Child is This?[/gplayer]
There you have them. On to our next huge embarrassing failure.
Need of Masters
The great Ben Franklin once said, “As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” During the founding of the United States of America there was a great debate as to whether the people could maintain their liberty or whether they would become corrupt and ruin the whole thing. Many references to “Public Virtue” were made when discussing the topic. After the Constitution was written George Washington said that it would remain intact only “…so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the people.”
I have mentioned before that trying to spread freedom to different parts of the world can only be done when the people want it enough and when they have the “Public Virtue” to maintain it. Seeing many stories on the progress of Afghan and Iraqi troops I do not believe they possess the will or the virtue necessary to keep themselves free of dictators and tyrants. Have I also mentioned that each generation of Americans seems to creep closer to the “non-virtue” or rather “vice” that is apparent from the Afghan soldiers in this video?: (language warning)
I feel for any Afghan people who are doing the right things and living responsibly, because it appears they will not be able to be free because of the lack of “Public Virtue”. I also appreciate even more the Armed forces of the United States who have higher education levels than the general population of the US and have much better discipline than armies around the world. It is always like banging your head against a wall to try to get people to do what is right for themselves and their communities and countries.
Mormons, Mormons, Mormons
I got a kick out of Max Weinberg’s kind gesture, returned for Senator Hatch’s song about Hanukkah, complete with the Mormon Tappernacle Choir and it is a pretty catchy tune (Dreidel Song):
Ultimate Superpower
When asked what superpower you want, you may instantly have a favorite response ready. I will tell you right now that your answer is wimpy and wrong if you didn’t say telekinesis. That’s right the ability to move things with thought is obviously the best power anyone could ever have. You may disagree or have several questions so read on and let me convince you.
You may ask,” But what about ______ ability or super_________?” Sorry anything you put in the blanks is inferior to telekinesis. If a person can truly move anything with their mind then just about every other power is included with telekinesis. If you want to fly, you can move yourself to the sky with your mind. If you have bullets flying at you they can be moved by your mind or you can move some thick metals in front of you to block them. If you want to be invisible you can bend the light to make it so people cannot see you. If you want to dismantle a bad guy down to his basic elements, just think it and it is done. Planning a trip to outer space, make a pressurized bubble filled with oxygen. If you are feeling a little old just pump some more youthful hormones into your body and iron out your wrinkles. If some one else is sick and needs some healing just think the germs out of them or bring the broken bone particles back together. No matter the situation it can be solved by moving things with your mind.
Unfortunately most portrayal of telekinesis shows things like moving cups across tables or lifting spaceships out of a swamp. If someone could really move things with their mind they would be unstoppable.
Top 5 Albums of 2009
As the year is pretty much done and I do not foresee any good albums coming out between now and January it is time for my list of the top albums of 2009.
5. Black Gives Way to Blue – Alice in Chains – 7.2
In 2002 A few weeks after Layne Staley, the singer for Alice In Chains died, I attended a Jerry Cantrell concert which was incredible. Jerry played some of his solo material which is pretty good, but he also played some Alice in Chains tunes. To stand in and do Layne’s parts Jerry had the singer of the opening band William Duvall. I thought he did a great job. Fast forward to this year and Alice in Chains has put out another album with William Duvall now comfortably in the band. Black gives way to blue is not as engaging as the older albums but it is still good material. It is along the lines of some of Cantrell’s solo stuff.
4. Tiny Pictures – Thornley – 7.4
The former leader of Big Wreck finally came out with a new album this year. It was disappointing in some ways and has too much influence from the owner of his record label Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger. But despite it’s shortcomings it is good enough to make this years top 5. It does have many high points which help to smooth out some of the rough spots and bring the album to an overall good score.
3. There is No Enemy – Built to Spill – 7.8
At this point Built to Spill are in full stride as they just can’t help but put out good quality material, which, come to think of it, may have always been the case. Once again they do not disappoint.
2. Before the Frost/Until the Freeze – The Black Crowes – 7.9
Recorded live in a barn, this album gives you a taste of where country music should have gone rather than the garbage that it is now. It is a two disc album or rather a one disc and download the other half album. Almost everything in this album just seems to feel right.
1. The Resistance – Muse – 9.6
Of course I love this album. With it’s theme taken from the Orwell classic “1984” and the book “The Grand Chessboard” by the globalist, former Jimmy Carter adviser and current Obama adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, this album might help more people to realize that yes they are plotting on us. The music ain’t bad either, in fact it is really, really good.
Dishonorable Mention – Scream by Chris Cornell
One of the worst albums I have ever had the displeasure of hearing. The line from Weezer’s “Pork and Beans” applies directly to the once great Cornell, “Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the charts. Maybe if I work with him I can perfect the art.” This album has nasty Timbaland fingerprints all over it and any thing that might have actually sounded ok has been violated along with memories of Cornell’s former greatness. Listen to one of the worst and weep with me.
B-Roll
I was thinking the other day about how relaxing it might be to be a b-roll camera man. To just go shoot footage of people doing generic things or shooting scenery would be pretty easy. Imagine my surprise when I find this video this morning:
American Government Atrocities (that we can easily prove happened)
Tuskegee Experiment (1932-1972)
From 1932 to 1972 the U.S. Public Health Service began researching syphilis. They asked for black men with syphilis to participate in the study on the disease and it’s effects over time. Fifteen years into the experiment penicillin was widely used to get rid of syphilis. The experimenters did not stop their experiment there and then though. They wanted to observe the total course of the disease and let the men die. They did not tell the men about the new treatment options but instead just let them die. With this blatant violation of human rights staining the hands of a department of government, what is the clear answer? Another department of government of course. They created the Office for Human Research Protections. This office is now part of the gargantuan HHS.
Missouri Mormon Extermination Order (1838 – 1976)
Missouri Executive Order 44 enacted by Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs on October 27, 1838 stated that “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace”. Many Missourians had previous conflicts and complaints about the LDS church. Conflicts included the tarring and feathering of church leaders and some disputes about property. A major complaint was that Mormons had come in and changed the politics of the area by voting in blocks. After things started to get more and more out of hand with mobs attacking Mormons and several Mormons seeking retaliation Boggs issued this overly harsh and unconstitutional order. Joseph Smith, the Leader of the Mormons visited U.S. President Martin Van Buren and asked him for help with all the troubles and Van Buren’s response was, “Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you.” The Mormons had a mass exodus to Illinois to escape; leaving behind businesses, homes, farms and other valuable properties.
Slavery
Do I need to say more? Many of the founders of this nation did not want to allow slavery but the southern states would not have united with them in the new country if they made it illegal. There are several clues to this in founding documents. For example, the Declaration of Independence doesn’t include the commonly heard “life, liberty and property” listed as rights but rather “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The fact that we needed a thirteenth amendment for people to recognize the principles in the Constitution is an atrocity.
Woodrow Wilson
When most people think of Woodrow Wilson they think of a president who lived a long time ago who probably upheld the constitution to the best of his ability in the same way we imagine all the old presidents were just good guys. Dislike for presidents is usually reserved for those presidents that we have watched harm our country. Just a few of the wonderful treats that happened under good ol’ Woodrow:
- The re-segregation of our military.
- The imprisonment of thousands of people who disagreed with Wilson.
- The Federal Reserve.
- Income taxes made more easy to take from citizens.(16th amendment)
- Weakening of states powers by making senators elected by people instead of states. (17th amendment)
- Trying to get the US stuck in the league of nations.
- Wilson supported eugenics.
- And more…
MK Ultra
The details of this government program are mostly unknown. The mystery behind it is helped by the fact that in 1973 the director of the CIA ordered all documents on the subject to be destroyed. Some ex-CIA people say that the ending of the program was just a cover up and a disinformation campaign. What we do know is that MK Ultra had something to do with mind control research being done by the Office of Scientific Intelligence, officially in the 1950’s and 60’s. Agents would experiment on US citizens by administering different drugs to them and observing behavior. Many believe that the experiments were just taken to foreign countries but there is not solid proof of that, of course. It also seems there could be some connection between the Unabomber and the MK Ultra experiments.
Eugenics
This was really a progressive American dream to breed perfect humans. Following the work of Charles Darwin that you can change a species with good genes and time, many people decided this would be good to do to humans. In America 64,000 people were involuntarily sterilized because of their undesirable traits. The American practice of eugenics helped inspire Adolf Hitler and his beliefs on race and a perfect race. Many Nazis would cite American scientists in their justifications of their actions. The eugenics movement morphed into the abortion movement over time, thus they still have a way to get rid of “undesirables”.
Operation Keelhaul
From August 1946 to May of 1947 the Soviet Union had a bit of a problem with dissidents escaping and trying to live in areas not controlled by the Soviets. Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt had made a secret agreement that any Russians trying to escape would be rounded up and sent back. American and British troops rounded up Russians from Europe and sent them back to the Soviets. The Americans and British knew that the people were being executed when returned but they still had to follow the orders to send them back. British historian and author Nikolai Tolstoy described the scene of Americans returning to an internment camp after having delivered a shipment of people to the Russians:
The Americans returned to Plattling visibly shamefaced. Before their departure from the rendezvous in the forest, many had seen rows of bodies already hanging from the branches of nearby trees. On their return, even the SS men in a neighboring compound lined the wire fence and railed at them for their behavior. The Americans were too ashamed to reply.
Some people will say, “hey look at these horrible things done by the United States of America. They are pure evil.” But the fact is that these things all go against the ideas that America was founded on. These things were carried out by people who were not following the Constitution of the United States and had no interest in preserving life, liberty, property and pursuit of happiness for others.
That Lonesome Day (The Day His Face Fell Off)
In the eighth and ninth grade I had a friend who’s father had to have part of his cheek removed because he used so much chewing tobacco. Oddly enough, this friend used tobacco himself. Fast forward a few years and I was practicing with my band. My buddy started playing a nice little country song he had written and there was a paper and pen right in front of me.
[gplayer href=”http://www.everydaynormal.com/files/03 That Lonesome Day.mp3″]That Lonesome Day[/gplayer]
I went down, to the country store, to get my old man some chaw.
He’s missing twenty teeth, and half of his jaw.
I said, “Poppy can I have some dip, so I can put it in my lip?”
He said, “Son remember that lonesome day, the day my face fell off.”
He likes the taste of South Carolina, running through his lip.
He doesn’t like any other flavor, than that Red Man dip.
He puts it in and swishes it around, his teeth and gums have all turned brown.
I just remember that lonesome day, the day his face fell off.
On that sad day we were outside, working on the crops.
Papa fell down and he said to me, “My hearts a fixin’ to stop.”
I said, “Pa speak to me, tell me what I can do.”
He said, “Son get the Red Man, and give me one last chew.”
I just remember that lonesome day, the day his face fell off.
I’m with Stupid…but for different reasons
Keith Olbermann recently came the closest he has ever come to saying something intelligent since he stopped annoying me on Sports Center. While he touches on a viable solution the road he took to get there was wrong. He says we should leave Afghanistan and bring the boys home.
We have been in Afghanistan for around 8 years now and what do we have to show for it? Not much. The heroin trade is still thriving, the terrorists keep coming, our guys keep dying and we do not have Osama bin Laden’s head. The sacrifice of our soldiers over there has not been for naught though. Many key terrorists have been captured or killed and the fight was taken to their doorstep instead of in the homeland. But as we sit now it is just a bad position to put our troops in. We should unleash their full power and obliterate the enemy from off the map or we should bring them home. Since we are now bringing Navy SEALs in for court martial because one of their prisoners had a fat lip it might be safe to say that they are being hampered from using their full force. In this case we should pull them home. To say that we need the country to be stable and the people to be free before we leave is a nice dream but will not happen. The founders of our country had a concern that the people of this country might not be “fit for liberty”. I propose that most people in the middle east are not fit for liberty and have need of masters. They are too far in vices, ignorance, anger and hatred to be fit for self government. Until the people who are fit can grow in numbers and overtake those who are not, there will never be a free and non-corrupt government over there and we should check ourselves in those areas too, of course.
Where Olbermann goes astray, this time, is in his insistence that the generals and the pentagon want the war because it is good for their business. He even goes so far as to say that it makes the generals “happy” when their soldiers “suffer”. While the military industrial complex can be a huge problem, I do not believe that generals are “happy” when service men and women are harmed or in danger. He makes a decent point about credibility after the disgusting Tillman debacle, although he is attacking McChrystal and it is not fully clear to me who is to blame for the lies about Pat Tillman. Then he makes the very accurate connection between what happened to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan before their collapse and the U.S. today. He also gives us the obligatory attack of Sarah Palin, which is very blatantly out of place and obviously in there only because he wanted yet another jab at someone he hates. You don’t have to subject yourselves to the torture of watching this video but here it is:
There were some other things that Olby said that amused me. First off, he said that Obama was greeted by a “Three Mile Island of an economy”. Three mile Island was an easily contained, quickly defused and overly reported incident. The current economic situation we find ourselves in is much larger, more dangerous and grossly under-reported, which is quite the opposite. He also states that Obama took a “biblical flood of finance” and turned it into a “cloudy day”. I feel sorry for people who watch this man to be informed. They know nothing of how the economic damage that was predicted to be the bad road, if no taxpayer money was used for stimulus and bailouts, has actually been surpassed with the bailouts and stimulus packages. They also know nothing of the ridiculous amounts of debt we have heaped upon ourselves which could very easily collapse our country.
The second amusing thing was his insistence that “We cannot afford this” referring to the Afghan war. This is amusing to me because he supports every other waste of taxpayer money under the sun and the only area he thinks to cut back is military. It’s just a little glimpse of his priorities.
In short I don’t really agree with him except in the fact that we don’t want our troops to be hanging out over there. Where I part with him is that I believe they should be swiftly destroying our enemies. If they are just going to be targets then let’s get them home.