Every day I get up, make myself a nice fresh brewed cup of coffee and then go to my study to read the latest in politics, general news and pop culture. Every day I start out with a decent attitude (aka my normal skepitc/pessimistic attitude) and every day I get angrier and angrier as the day progresses. For example, here is a sample of things occupying my mind today, in no particular order:
- my childhood friend's death last week (causes of death still not released but it was described as sudden and tragic)
- my beautiful cousin's health and what she must be going through, how strong she is and how much I wish she knew she was my idol and how much I love her
- my wonderful friend's health - because she is not using a condom while having sex with her HIV positive boyfriend
- The TSA and that new porno scanner (which isn't really new but new to me)
- How the fuck Sarah Palin can possibly be even considered as presidential material - which leads to
- How the US of A became a cesspool of stupidity, ugliness and rampant despair and how I can help my friends who live there
- How the fuck and when the fuck we are ever getting rid of Stephen Harper - which leads to the useless Liberals
- The fact that I need to update my Deviant Art profile
All of this leads me to - the people that stalk my blog to find out shit on me and the horrible souless lawyers who whore themselves out to the highest bidder.
Now Ive decided I am going off to update my Deviant art profile, or start a new Flickr one? I don't know. No one reads this blog anyways so I am always talking to myself.
More later - because I have a lot to say
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Anorexia glorified on America's Next Top Model
I admit that I watch ANTM faithfully. Mostly for the sociological aspects, and to see if my theories on the fashion industry hold true. But this season Tyra has outdone herself. Season 15 started off with a lot of attractive girls. Of course there are the stereotypes Tyra likes to play to in all the seasons - the nerdy geek girl, the Autistic or socially awkward girl, the curvy girl (one with actual breasts), the "plus" sized girls, the pageant girls, the ghetto fabulous girls, the blond girls, and last but not least the foreign born but now American Russian girls.
Let's get things out of the way shall we? First, the blond girl almost never wins, CariDee (bless her heart) is an exception. The plus size models will never win, I'm not sure why they even bother having them on this show. It isn't what the fashion world is looking for in and Tyra is not extending herself here, she knows this to be true. Se is simply trying to play "diverse". Second the pageant girls, they never win. They are consistently told their poses remind them of pageants. The truth is that they know these girls have been in pageants and they penalize them for their own perceptions, not the reality. Ditto with anyone who has a dnacer background. Told they pose as dancers and that isn't good. Truth be told if the judges had no idea of their backgrounds they would find the poses thrilling. The blonds, always too "vapid" or too "pretty in a porn way" whatever that means. These pretty girls with curves are told over and over again that to make it they have to tone down the sexiness, and some of these girls bind their breasts. It's fashionable to be ashamed of having curves, yet the sexiness is encouraged in almost every photo shoot. So what is going on here? My theory is that Tyra needs these various types to make it appear she is diverse, knowing full well which types can't win. This is the basis of the show. Punish the girls for being who they are. Tyra is a sadist and I don't believe the hype that she actually really cares about young women.
The ghetto girls, - almost anyone with an unpolished English accent, mainly women of colour but sometimes white girls. The lesson here is that if you come from a poor area then you deserve to lose. You are not polished enough, you are not classy enough. The single moms? All kicked off, regardless of how good they are. Why? Well because they are single mom's and can't possibly be a model and have kids. It is really though all about punishing woman. Let's move on to the Russian girl, undoubtedly the prettiest girl, who takes great photos, but this girl can never win. Ever. The honour must always go to a full blooded American girl. No outsiders will be tolerated in Tyra's world. Tyra is anything if not predictable.
This season we were treated to the usual cast as outlined above only in addition we had two women who clearly were suffering from sever anorexia nervosa. Have a look at Exhibit A - Ann.
In the picture above, Ann has absolutely no muscle definition. Her skin is hanging onto her bones, yet this photo was picked as top photo of the week. Is there any man out there who thinks jutting hip bones and no definition are sexy? Is there anyone besides the few woman hating men in fashion who find this attractive? And instead of helping poor Ann, they have elevated her body dimorphism to the front stage, as something to be proud of. Congrats Tyra - you have shown little girls the world over that they too will have to look like sticks to get into fashion.
Tyra goes on to say that it is unfair that Ann be called anorexic when in her opinion this is Ann's normal body. Right Tyra! In what world do you operate?
To make matters worse, Ann could do no wrong for she won best picture 5 shows in a row, best in Top Model history. How is that for reinforcing anorexia is the way? It is not Ann's fault, and I don't wish to punish her. But Tyra, she should know better. When Miss Jay put his hands around her waist he could easily touch his fingers. This is by no means healthy.
How is this for hot?
yet Ann continues to win, despite the fact that she clearly has an issue with her body. Tyra sent another girl home who looked exactly the same way! Stating that she needs to deal with her "eating issues". So why keep Ann? What is Tyra on about with this push to get the thinnest most unrealistic woman to win? It certainly goes against all her talk about the fashion industries effect on women's body issues doesn't it? One can only guess at her motives, although she says Ann is just naturally so thin she has no body fat.
Clearly there is something seriously wrong in Top Model land when being an anorexic will get you praise and a possible win. My only conclusion is that Tyra is a hypocrite who is in it for the money and is willing to sacrifice women to the alter of extreme thin worship. Shame on you Tyra! And Ann, while you are a sweet girl, I hope you do not become the next winner, for that will send an extremely bad message to women who already have enough pressure on us to be thin, young and beautiful.
Let's get things out of the way shall we? First, the blond girl almost never wins, CariDee (bless her heart) is an exception. The plus size models will never win, I'm not sure why they even bother having them on this show. It isn't what the fashion world is looking for in and Tyra is not extending herself here, she knows this to be true. Se is simply trying to play "diverse". Second the pageant girls, they never win. They are consistently told their poses remind them of pageants. The truth is that they know these girls have been in pageants and they penalize them for their own perceptions, not the reality. Ditto with anyone who has a dnacer background. Told they pose as dancers and that isn't good. Truth be told if the judges had no idea of their backgrounds they would find the poses thrilling. The blonds, always too "vapid" or too "pretty in a porn way" whatever that means. These pretty girls with curves are told over and over again that to make it they have to tone down the sexiness, and some of these girls bind their breasts. It's fashionable to be ashamed of having curves, yet the sexiness is encouraged in almost every photo shoot. So what is going on here? My theory is that Tyra needs these various types to make it appear she is diverse, knowing full well which types can't win. This is the basis of the show. Punish the girls for being who they are. Tyra is a sadist and I don't believe the hype that she actually really cares about young women.
The ghetto girls, - almost anyone with an unpolished English accent, mainly women of colour but sometimes white girls. The lesson here is that if you come from a poor area then you deserve to lose. You are not polished enough, you are not classy enough. The single moms? All kicked off, regardless of how good they are. Why? Well because they are single mom's and can't possibly be a model and have kids. It is really though all about punishing woman. Let's move on to the Russian girl, undoubtedly the prettiest girl, who takes great photos, but this girl can never win. Ever. The honour must always go to a full blooded American girl. No outsiders will be tolerated in Tyra's world. Tyra is anything if not predictable.
This season we were treated to the usual cast as outlined above only in addition we had two women who clearly were suffering from sever anorexia nervosa. Have a look at Exhibit A - Ann.
Tyra goes on to say that it is unfair that Ann be called anorexic when in her opinion this is Ann's normal body. Right Tyra! In what world do you operate?
To make matters worse, Ann could do no wrong for she won best picture 5 shows in a row, best in Top Model history. How is that for reinforcing anorexia is the way? It is not Ann's fault, and I don't wish to punish her. But Tyra, she should know better. When Miss Jay put his hands around her waist he could easily touch his fingers. This is by no means healthy.
How is this for hot?
yet Ann continues to win, despite the fact that she clearly has an issue with her body. Tyra sent another girl home who looked exactly the same way! Stating that she needs to deal with her "eating issues". So why keep Ann? What is Tyra on about with this push to get the thinnest most unrealistic woman to win? It certainly goes against all her talk about the fashion industries effect on women's body issues doesn't it? One can only guess at her motives, although she says Ann is just naturally so thin she has no body fat.
Clearly there is something seriously wrong in Top Model land when being an anorexic will get you praise and a possible win. My only conclusion is that Tyra is a hypocrite who is in it for the money and is willing to sacrifice women to the alter of extreme thin worship. Shame on you Tyra! And Ann, while you are a sweet girl, I hope you do not become the next winner, for that will send an extremely bad message to women who already have enough pressure on us to be thin, young and beautiful.
Captain the ship is going down!
Capitan, the ship has gone down! Laser beams ready. It's been awhile since I have posted to this blog. Not for lack of things to say, for I have many things to say, but because this blog is being watched by nefarious people for nefarious reasons and I don't take kindly to threats of using my words against me in some twisted little exercise aimed to discredit women from speaking out against violence done against us. So...I hereby declare that you have not managed to cow me into silence. You may have won this round (if by won you mean you walked away free) but you have not broken me, or my spirit.
I wanted to write about so many issues that are of so much importance to me, many of them sensitive, trigger worthy and anger inducing. Of course, I will also write about great things - art, music, friends, laughter, the brighter side of life. Right now though I am a little more than pissed off at life. For one - it is cold outside. Very cold. Second, I was fired from my job. Fired! I haven't been fired from a job since I was a teenager. The reason for this firing? Well, let's just say that a person can only stand to be bullied and humiliated for a brief period of time. There is NO merit to the saying that if you verbally beat down your employees and instill fear into them that they will be more productive. They will not. They will leave, or write you an email explaining why your actions are unacceptable, then get fired. It isn't going to matter how much you pay the next person to do the same job as long as you don't change a thing. But that is no longer my problem.
Now I am stuck in the bad position of having to look for yet another decent paying job and somehow explain what happened at my last two jobs. Great for me huh? Funny thing is, I am not allowed to explain anything, so once again they won and I lost and there is NO recourse. I have to make up lies, and I hate lying. Especially when I did nothing to warrant being in this position. Who will take me on as an employee? I don't know, but I hope someone will just interview me, see I am a good hard ethical worker and hire me.
One thing I refuse to do is dummy down my resume. If employers are not interesting in anyone with higher education than they are not the people I want to work for. I busted my ass for my degrees and believe me, as a young single parent I can guarantee you that I have worked much harder than many many people to get these Degrees. All day today, applying for jobs. Hoping to hell I get at least one phone call and very few recruiters. I prefer to deal directly with companies. I present well in interviews so I have that going for me. Okay, so onward and upward. I have this new goal - apply for at least 20 jobs a day - starting today (done!) and continue on until I get something that doesn't pay 12 - 16 an hour. That is barely manageable. Really.
I wanted to write about so many issues that are of so much importance to me, many of them sensitive, trigger worthy and anger inducing. Of course, I will also write about great things - art, music, friends, laughter, the brighter side of life. Right now though I am a little more than pissed off at life. For one - it is cold outside. Very cold. Second, I was fired from my job. Fired! I haven't been fired from a job since I was a teenager. The reason for this firing? Well, let's just say that a person can only stand to be bullied and humiliated for a brief period of time. There is NO merit to the saying that if you verbally beat down your employees and instill fear into them that they will be more productive. They will not. They will leave, or write you an email explaining why your actions are unacceptable, then get fired. It isn't going to matter how much you pay the next person to do the same job as long as you don't change a thing. But that is no longer my problem.
Now I am stuck in the bad position of having to look for yet another decent paying job and somehow explain what happened at my last two jobs. Great for me huh? Funny thing is, I am not allowed to explain anything, so once again they won and I lost and there is NO recourse. I have to make up lies, and I hate lying. Especially when I did nothing to warrant being in this position. Who will take me on as an employee? I don't know, but I hope someone will just interview me, see I am a good hard ethical worker and hire me.
One thing I refuse to do is dummy down my resume. If employers are not interesting in anyone with higher education than they are not the people I want to work for. I busted my ass for my degrees and believe me, as a young single parent I can guarantee you that I have worked much harder than many many people to get these Degrees. All day today, applying for jobs. Hoping to hell I get at least one phone call and very few recruiters. I prefer to deal directly with companies. I present well in interviews so I have that going for me. Okay, so onward and upward. I have this new goal - apply for at least 20 jobs a day - starting today (done!) and continue on until I get something that doesn't pay 12 - 16 an hour. That is barely manageable. Really.
Monday, December 7, 2009
16 - Zoloft Smile
Computer crash ate my post - damn it!
I had been saying how I had lost my passion for music. Now it's coming back and this is the first band I want to blog about/review/listen to and spread the word about.
How it started for me: I made a mixed CD awhile back with the song Damone from the band 16 off the album Zoloft Smile. This is sort of funny because this particular album was released in 2003. Anyhow, this tune seriously kicks ass. It has an amazing groove to it, a hard bass beat and sounds just like sex on the rocks would sound - a little angry, rhythmic, and full of groove. (Cripes, now I have Shakira in my head - Hips Don't Lie - damn you Danzig!).
http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=18573 (click me to buy me)
I thought for certain this would be another band that ended up split up and long gone but nope, they have a MySpace page (see link above) and have been signed to Relapse Records, which is seriously a big deal. I realize Relapse is usually the home of the extremely heavy (for some) but hey, give the label a break, they signed Alabama Thunder Pussy didn't they? (R.I.P ATP - we loved you!), and they have a roster of good bands so don't be afraid you stoner rock fuzz lovers, check the MySpace page out and you just might like them.
So, back in 2003 when Zoloft Smile came out they had already been playing for a decade. They are still playing. Yep, it apparently takes years between releases but that's either a sign of people collaborating from a distance, lazy band dudes, or perfection (could be all three). One reviewer describes them as "extreme music, angry and raging". I'm not so sure that's how I would describe them because they are not grindcore - thank the freaking goddesses! but more like hard rock with a metal edge. And to be perfectly honest, I bloody well hate grindcore. It sucks. It's way to loud, you can't hear the vocals and the crowd? Hello fat guys in black T-shirts, where did you all come from? They're on tour right now with eyehategod, whom I consider to be much heavier. You can check out Jeb's review here:
http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/63k01.html
And the tour dates are here:
Oh hey, that worked out well!
Okay so, are these guys sludge? I'm not so sure about that either. I mean sludge is slower, doomier, a little like molasses on pancakes, if you know what I mean. 16 are pretty freaking heavy, but not in a death metal way. The vocals are fairly clear, which personally I love, because who doesn't like to know what they're singing to? I'm listening to their new stuff now on MySpace and they still have it, and yeah, I think Jeb was right - these dudes are angry and this is mosh pit anger music. The thing I like is they haven't strayed at all from their earlier albums. I could get into this show easily. Eyehategod? Not so much, although I know they are talented. I tell you, I would only last a few minutes in front row with a bunch of moshing shirtless idiots making the show non-female friendly (which I think is the moshing idiots purpose). We all know hard music attracts mainly dudes so dudes who mosh, listen up, we females want to go to these shows without having your sweaty stupidness all over us and I think the band guys might appreciate more smiling, long hair flowing front row girls eh, you dunces.
Anyways, solid band, good riffs, cool vocals, great lyrics and yeah, some groove and some anger. Here is the video for Damone, which IMO is their best tune ever (granted I still have a lot to listen to from 16).
I had been saying how I had lost my passion for music. Now it's coming back and this is the first band I want to blog about/review/listen to and spread the word about.
How it started for me: I made a mixed CD awhile back with the song Damone from the band 16 off the album Zoloft Smile. This is sort of funny because this particular album was released in 2003. Anyhow, this tune seriously kicks ass. It has an amazing groove to it, a hard bass beat and sounds just like sex on the rocks would sound - a little angry, rhythmic, and full of groove. (Cripes, now I have Shakira in my head - Hips Don't Lie - damn you Danzig!).
http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=18573 (click me to buy me)
I thought for certain this would be another band that ended up split up and long gone but nope, they have a MySpace page (see link above) and have been signed to Relapse Records, which is seriously a big deal. I realize Relapse is usually the home of the extremely heavy (for some) but hey, give the label a break, they signed Alabama Thunder Pussy didn't they? (R.I.P ATP - we loved you!), and they have a roster of good bands so don't be afraid you stoner rock fuzz lovers, check the MySpace page out and you just might like them.
So, back in 2003 when Zoloft Smile came out they had already been playing for a decade. They are still playing. Yep, it apparently takes years between releases but that's either a sign of people collaborating from a distance, lazy band dudes, or perfection (could be all three). One reviewer describes them as "extreme music, angry and raging". I'm not so sure that's how I would describe them because they are not grindcore - thank the freaking goddesses! but more like hard rock with a metal edge. And to be perfectly honest, I bloody well hate grindcore. It sucks. It's way to loud, you can't hear the vocals and the crowd? Hello fat guys in black T-shirts, where did you all come from? They're on tour right now with eyehategod, whom I consider to be much heavier. You can check out Jeb's review here:
http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/63k01.html
And the tour dates are here:
| EYEHATEGOD & -(16)- LIVE IN LOS ANGELES | Los Angeles, California | ||
| Sinister Noise Club | Rome, Italy | ||
| Bronson | Ravenna, Italy | ||
| United Club | Torin, Italy | ||
| Dauntaun | Milan, Italy | ||
| PMK | Innsbruck, Austria | ||
| Arena | Vienna, Austria | ||
| Rosenkeller | Jena, Germany | ||
| Hafenklang | Hamburg, Germany | ||
| La Zone | Liege, Belgium | ||
| Les Passagers Du Zink | Besancon, France | ||
| Gaswerk w/El-Thule | Winterthur, Switzerland | ||
| Les Caves Du Manoir w/El-Thule | Martigny, Switzerland | ||
| KAB | Geneva, Switzerland | ||
| MARYLAND DEATH FEST W/ ENTOMBED, PENTAGRAM, ETC... | Baltimore, Maryland | ||
| Hellfest Clisson France w/ KISS, Godflesh, Rwake, Arch Enemy, etc... | Clisson |
Oh hey, that worked out well!
Okay so, are these guys sludge? I'm not so sure about that either. I mean sludge is slower, doomier, a little like molasses on pancakes, if you know what I mean. 16 are pretty freaking heavy, but not in a death metal way. The vocals are fairly clear, which personally I love, because who doesn't like to know what they're singing to? I'm listening to their new stuff now on MySpace and they still have it, and yeah, I think Jeb was right - these dudes are angry and this is mosh pit anger music. The thing I like is they haven't strayed at all from their earlier albums. I could get into this show easily. Eyehategod? Not so much, although I know they are talented. I tell you, I would only last a few minutes in front row with a bunch of moshing shirtless idiots making the show non-female friendly (which I think is the moshing idiots purpose). We all know hard music attracts mainly dudes so dudes who mosh, listen up, we females want to go to these shows without having your sweaty stupidness all over us and I think the band guys might appreciate more smiling, long hair flowing front row girls eh, you dunces.
Anyways, solid band, good riffs, cool vocals, great lyrics and yeah, some groove and some anger. Here is the video for Damone, which IMO is their best tune ever (granted I still have a lot to listen to from 16).
Discovering new music
After having been blogging about music for 9 years (1999 until early 2009) I started getting lazy and completely unmotivated. The passion for music seemed to have gone. Not entirely but almost. No longer was my stereo on 11 cranking out new music that I had heard other's speaking of, or bands that had cool sounding names. No longer did I scour the Internet and websites like stonerrock.com or hellridemusic. I didn't even want to participate in my own forum anymore.
I pondered a lot - why did this happen? Is it me or is music just getting boring? Am I going to ever get my love for music back? Was it the pressure of maintaining a website? Was it depression after realizing if I don't participate my site won't live? Probably all of it and more. I just got really tired of reviewing endless demos, trying to hook up interviews, trying to generate revenue to keep the site afloat.
It was hard enough to discover and realize that my once amazing website no longer was what it was. I had changed the entire look and feel (well, someone was paid to do it) and I lost all ability to easily upload reviews, interviews and music. That was the starting point, then the music died.
Now, taking trips to far away places and abandoned mills, industrial spots and so forth has rekindled that love. Not all the way but I just a jump for joy when I heard Air's new album was out. So I knew, music is still in my blood.
So here I am back here at Blogger, letting whoever comes by this page know - I'm back! Expect some music reviews (my terms, my choice), expect to find in your face honesty about the music I review here. Expect also to see new bands with funny names you may never of heard of before. And don't get all freaked out because it isn't the latest drivel on the radio - because it never will be. That shit gets enough press from those who are paid to do so. I'm not here for them. I'm here for you....
You being the indie band from somewhere, Universe. It is your music I want to hear, promote, get into more. So this is for you guys who were with me from the beginning until now.
Cheers and see you in the posts.
The blog I linked to above is pretty damn cool and they have rare music up so have a visit, check around and rediscover your inner teenager.
Rock on!
I pondered a lot - why did this happen? Is it me or is music just getting boring? Am I going to ever get my love for music back? Was it the pressure of maintaining a website? Was it depression after realizing if I don't participate my site won't live? Probably all of it and more. I just got really tired of reviewing endless demos, trying to hook up interviews, trying to generate revenue to keep the site afloat.
It was hard enough to discover and realize that my once amazing website no longer was what it was. I had changed the entire look and feel (well, someone was paid to do it) and I lost all ability to easily upload reviews, interviews and music. That was the starting point, then the music died.
Now, taking trips to far away places and abandoned mills, industrial spots and so forth has rekindled that love. Not all the way but I just a jump for joy when I heard Air's new album was out. So I knew, music is still in my blood.
So here I am back here at Blogger, letting whoever comes by this page know - I'm back! Expect some music reviews (my terms, my choice), expect to find in your face honesty about the music I review here. Expect also to see new bands with funny names you may never of heard of before. And don't get all freaked out because it isn't the latest drivel on the radio - because it never will be. That shit gets enough press from those who are paid to do so. I'm not here for them. I'm here for you....
You being the indie band from somewhere, Universe. It is your music I want to hear, promote, get into more. So this is for you guys who were with me from the beginning until now.
Cheers and see you in the posts.
The blog I linked to above is pretty damn cool and they have rare music up so have a visit, check around and rediscover your inner teenager.
Rock on!
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