Damn! I completely forgot I had a blog. Well, I've decided to make a list of what I consider to be the best bands in the country. You must understand that I make no assumptions about bands that I have not seen. I haven't seen them so I can't rate them. So that being said, this list can more be seen as the bands that I would consider among the best no matter how good any other band I may see is. If that makes sense. So here goes.
Old Crow Medicine Show (how could I not include these guys?)
Belleville Outfit (based out of Austin)
No BS! Brass Band (how can anyone from Richmond leave them off a list of best bands?)
The Hot Seats (another Richmond band)
Carolina Chocolate Drops (I've only seen these guys in videos but the first time they're in Richmond I'm there)
Umphrey's McGee (no explanation necessary)
Popebear (I'll admit that I'm biased on this one, but that's not gonna change my opinion. They're the best.)
Meshiya Lake (she performs with the Loose Marbles and the Little Big Horns)
That's all I can think of right now. I'll possibly (though not likely) update the list at some point or other. But if you are reading this and see any bands mentioned that you haven't heard of you should check them out.
Changing History
If you could change one historical event, which event would you choose, and how would you change it? Why would that change be for the best?
Changing history is not something to be undertaken lightly. There is no real way to know what might result from even the most seemingly insignificant change. Consider if merely the wall color had been different during the Cuban Missile Crisis. What if the walls of the White House had been an aggressive color such as yellow, orange, or red. Would the outcome have been the same, or would we all be bits of radioactive waste right now. If even such a small change has the potential to make such a drastic effect on the course of history, then how can we even consider large changes?
But of course it is always possible that even the most glaring changes could result in very little noticeable effects. If Columbus had never found the Americas, for instance, what would the world be like now. I would be inclined to think that it would be very much the same. Some European was bound to find America around that point in history. That time period was one of great exploration by European powers, and it is highly unlikely that Columbus, even if he failed, would have been the only one to venture far enough west to find the continents that we now call America. With that being said there seems little point in trying to make a change in order to create a specific course of events.
Take for instance the Holocaust. How would one go about trying to prevent the Holocaust? Is there a single event that could possibly prevent such a horrible tragedy? Perhaps if Hitler had never existed things would have been different. But there are no guarantees. Much of Europe was extremely anti-semitic at the time. It is entirely possible that even without Hitler some other ruler would have implemented much the same policy. Another question that is raised by eliminating Hitler is World War II. Would it have even happened. Would it have been worse, better, much the same? Without German participation in the war, it is quite possible that it would have been a showdown between the United States and Russia. If so would there have been a Cold War afterwards? And without a Cold War would there have been a space race, or the development of the atom bomb?
Since there is no real way to know what the outcome would be, the only real purpose in changing an historical event can be for experimental purposes: to find out what would happen. For this reason I would choose to eliminate Hitler's existence. This would be a very interesting change for many of the reasons listed above. It also brings up the question of individual impact on the world. Hitler could be considered one of the most influential men of the twentieth century, but would his non-existence really change anything significantly? It is possible that all of the major events that we are familiar with would have occurred with some other maniacal dictator leading Germany. But it is also possible that the scenario described above in which the Cold War never happens could be the outcome.
These are only two of the infinite possible outcomes of changing this one aspect of history. Each on is equally as likely as the other despite how drastically different modern life would be based on the different paths. So the real lesson here is that there is no real point in changing an historical event. There is no way to ensure that the desired outcome will result, and even if it does there is no way to know how that might change the rest of history up until this point. That is why I would chose not to change history even in the most minor way, but if I had to make a choice I would make one that I thought would have the most experimentally interesting possible outcomes.
Changing history is not something to be undertaken lightly. There is no real way to know what might result from even the most seemingly insignificant change. Consider if merely the wall color had been different during the Cuban Missile Crisis. What if the walls of the White House had been an aggressive color such as yellow, orange, or red. Would the outcome have been the same, or would we all be bits of radioactive waste right now. If even such a small change has the potential to make such a drastic effect on the course of history, then how can we even consider large changes?
But of course it is always possible that even the most glaring changes could result in very little noticeable effects. If Columbus had never found the Americas, for instance, what would the world be like now. I would be inclined to think that it would be very much the same. Some European was bound to find America around that point in history. That time period was one of great exploration by European powers, and it is highly unlikely that Columbus, even if he failed, would have been the only one to venture far enough west to find the continents that we now call America. With that being said there seems little point in trying to make a change in order to create a specific course of events.
Take for instance the Holocaust. How would one go about trying to prevent the Holocaust? Is there a single event that could possibly prevent such a horrible tragedy? Perhaps if Hitler had never existed things would have been different. But there are no guarantees. Much of Europe was extremely anti-semitic at the time. It is entirely possible that even without Hitler some other ruler would have implemented much the same policy. Another question that is raised by eliminating Hitler is World War II. Would it have even happened. Would it have been worse, better, much the same? Without German participation in the war, it is quite possible that it would have been a showdown between the United States and Russia. If so would there have been a Cold War afterwards? And without a Cold War would there have been a space race, or the development of the atom bomb?
Since there is no real way to know what the outcome would be, the only real purpose in changing an historical event can be for experimental purposes: to find out what would happen. For this reason I would choose to eliminate Hitler's existence. This would be a very interesting change for many of the reasons listed above. It also brings up the question of individual impact on the world. Hitler could be considered one of the most influential men of the twentieth century, but would his non-existence really change anything significantly? It is possible that all of the major events that we are familiar with would have occurred with some other maniacal dictator leading Germany. But it is also possible that the scenario described above in which the Cold War never happens could be the outcome.
These are only two of the infinite possible outcomes of changing this one aspect of history. Each on is equally as likely as the other despite how drastically different modern life would be based on the different paths. So the real lesson here is that there is no real point in changing an historical event. There is no way to ensure that the desired outcome will result, and even if it does there is no way to know how that might change the rest of history up until this point. That is why I would chose not to change history even in the most minor way, but if I had to make a choice I would make one that I thought would have the most experimentally interesting possible outcomes.
boring
I have decided to save all of my college essays to this blog. Since it was originally intended as a way for me to keep a portfolio of my work, I might as well keep my more directed work as well. So if you don't want to read college essays you should probably ignore the posts labeled VCU.
Poem for the Night People
I sit here in my bed, waiting for the sleep
That does not come to take me to the land
Of dreams, and so I write
A poem about the butterflies
I sometimes see as I walk down the street.
They're many colors.
Not a single one that I can
Easily recall. I know
That brown is not the color.
If that was the case they would be moths,
But these are butterflies,
Vibrant in their majesty
Creatures of the day.
If they were moths,
I'd recognize them.
I know my kin.
I see them all the time
As I lie awake at night
Thinking about their cousins,
Vibrant in their majesty
Creatures of the day.
That does not come to take me to the land
Of dreams, and so I write
A poem about the butterflies
I sometimes see as I walk down the street.
They're many colors.
Not a single one that I can
Easily recall. I know
That brown is not the color.
If that was the case they would be moths,
But these are butterflies,
Vibrant in their majesty
Creatures of the day.
If they were moths,
I'd recognize them.
I know my kin.
I see them all the time
As I lie awake at night
Thinking about their cousins,
Vibrant in their majesty
Creatures of the day.
Words, Words, Words
Words are meaningless
If meaning is a less
Than worthy word.
Its heart is full
Of idle tricks and turns.
Nothing is certain.
No word has the power
To stay the same.
No word can hold its meaning
When it feels the test of time.
If meaning is a less
Than worthy word.
Its heart is full
Of idle tricks and turns.
Nothing is certain.
No word has the power
To stay the same.
No word can hold its meaning
When it feels the test of time.
ultrahightechsupermultiuniversal
Bits in space and time.
Are we finite?
Are we on or off?
Or are we as we are?
We are surely something.
That we are is sure.
But is our being,
Being who we are,
Part of a greater being?
Or being as we are,
Merely our own being.
Are we finite?
Are we on or off?
Or are we as we are?
We are surely something.
That we are is sure.
But is our being,
Being who we are,
Part of a greater being?
Or being as we are,
Merely our own being.
I wrote a book
It's done. I just finished the process of publishing a book. Its a compilation of many of the poems on this blog and can be found for purchase on lulu.com. http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/death-and-life/8561375 You can also download a pdf version for free from Lulu.
why?
writing words here now is wrong
jobs told stories of hard lives and short breaths
as the fumes lift you away
and falling the world seems so real
but not the short things
change as the wind varies with caterpillars
that seem to go on forever and
the sentence never ends
the song never ends
the lyric never ends
the word never ends
the sound never ends
the noise never ends
it all goes on before it
stops
the trees are not green
why do they say it
brown water don't drink and eat
the seafood covered in ice cream and a cigar
the whole thing is just fucked up
why
why
why
don't think just think
eating small birds doesn't make sense
so what's the point of it all
is the end near or far in the pink
gummy bears with green ears just eat it
it won't hurt you
there is nothing to fear
ignore the man behind the curtain
ignore the curtain
without a curtain there can be no man behind it
but don't forget the painting
it must have cost at least fifty cents
maybe even a dollar
why didn't you just buy the lighter
you can't torch a bowl with a dumb painting
and it doesn't even look good
but if we put the apple sticker on it
maybe it will look better
no
faces carved in stone change with the weather
radiant smiles turn to blank stares
it all just fades away into nothing
but it never ends
nothing never ends
jobs told stories of hard lives and short breaths
as the fumes lift you away
and falling the world seems so real
but not the short things
change as the wind varies with caterpillars
that seem to go on forever and
the sentence never ends
the song never ends
the lyric never ends
the word never ends
the sound never ends
the noise never ends
it all goes on before it
stops
the trees are not green
why do they say it
brown water don't drink and eat
the seafood covered in ice cream and a cigar
the whole thing is just fucked up
why
why
why
don't think just think
eating small birds doesn't make sense
so what's the point of it all
is the end near or far in the pink
gummy bears with green ears just eat it
it won't hurt you
there is nothing to fear
ignore the man behind the curtain
ignore the curtain
without a curtain there can be no man behind it
but don't forget the painting
it must have cost at least fifty cents
maybe even a dollar
why didn't you just buy the lighter
you can't torch a bowl with a dumb painting
and it doesn't even look good
but if we put the apple sticker on it
maybe it will look better
no
faces carved in stone change with the weather
radiant smiles turn to blank stares
it all just fades away into nothing
but it never ends
nothing never ends
Weather
It seems as though your plans
to sit outside all day
have washed away.
The drip and drizzle wouldn't be
so bad but wind and cold
have taken hold.
Weather is a fickle thing.
Rain and snow and sleet and sunny days
that hold you in their fist and squeeze.
Until you scream out.
Too cold! Too hot!
Too dry! Too wet!
We cannot end this strife.
It must be won,
else losing we shall lose our life.
to sit outside all day
have washed away.
The drip and drizzle wouldn't be
so bad but wind and cold
have taken hold.
Weather is a fickle thing.
Rain and snow and sleet and sunny days
that hold you in their fist and squeeze.
Until you scream out.
Too cold! Too hot!
Too dry! Too wet!
We cannot end this strife.
It must be won,
else losing we shall lose our life.
A delicious idea
My dad told me today that I should put together a review of fried chicken joints in town. After thinking about it for a couple of seconds, I realized that this was an excellent idea. Now I have an excuse to eat as much fried chicken as I can. It may take some time. And I can never be sure that I have finished this task. There could always be some little hole-in-the-wall that I don't find. But I will do my best to eat at as many places as I can and figure out some way of judging them so I can find out which is the best. On second thought I might just go eat a bunch of fried chicken and never write anything, so I guess this post has no real purpose. But there is a chance that I will remember to write about them. So I make this statement: there could be reviews of fried chicken in the future, and I will most definitely be eating some fried chicken in the future. That about sums it up.
Right now my favorite is Church's. That could easily change, though. I haven't tried many local places. Most of my experience is with chains. Right now the judging is really between KFC, Popeye's, and Church's. In that order. There are other places but it has been too long for me to remember what they were like. I've had those three recently enough that I feel I can make a reasonable comparison.
Right now my favorite is Church's. That could easily change, though. I haven't tried many local places. Most of my experience is with chains. Right now the judging is really between KFC, Popeye's, and Church's. In that order. There are other places but it has been too long for me to remember what they were like. I've had those three recently enough that I feel I can make a reasonable comparison.
we'll have another sentence before we get to the now
It's been a long time... Whatever that means, I mean it with an emphasis on the meaning of meaning. Now that we've weeded out the swine who can't understand basic English syntax, we can get down to the real business at hand. Of course it would help if we knew what that business was, but unfortunately that is not to be. On a side note, never put the not between the to and the be. It's okay to boldly put only one adverb there. As it turns out, the real business at hand is to give me a hand with my business. That sounds wrong. Maybe we should just call the whole thing off. Or we could start businessing our hands for real. No that sounds wrong as well. What I meant to say is 'I'm in the business of real hands.' I can get you a decent pair, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg. Now I'm wearing out the cliches faster than a Tijuana hooker. Talking of Tijuana hookers they sure know how to give you a hand with your business. Let's get our minds out of the gutter here and start thinking of important matters, although I'm not sure how anything can matter if it's not important. The important thing is to remember the matters we are discussing, whatever they may happen to be. And since we are going to remember them, we'd better start discussing them. Otherwise it would be a waste to have remembered them. Of course I have no recollection of said things or matters, no matter how important they may have been going to be. Ah-ha, bet you weren't expecting that. I don't even know what tense it is. Definitely perfect continuous, possibly present or future. I'm thinking present perfect continuous, but the to be at the end is throwing me for a loop. Oh what I wouldn't give to be at the end of this jumble of words, but sadly it is not to be. There sure is a lot of being in this particular whatever-it-is that I am writing at this particular time. All the particulars seem to be in order, but I can't say the same of the participants. It really doesn't seem like you are even trying to understand what I'm saying. Of course I could just be saying nothing in particular, in which case you may be understanding me all too clearly. We can't have that, you ungrateful bastards. I'll show you what happens when you try to understand what I'm saying. Nothing good can come of it. I swear by the god in whom I don't believe. Stop it! Stop it right now! I can feel you this instant, desperately trying to understand this strange convolution of perfect English syntax and grammar, but it won't work. There is no sense here. All the trains have departed. There will be no law and order. There will be no death and destruction. There will be no elephants. Okay maybe there will be a couple elephants, but not too many. We don't want them crowding up the place. And we can't have any more than one octopus, because then we'd have octopodes. Ha, this damn spell-checker doesn't even know fucking English. Trying to tell me that the plural of octopus is octopuses when anyone in their right mind would know that because it comes from the greek the correct plural form is octopodes. Now I'm just jabbering on, so I guess I will come to the end right about... No I was just fooling we'll have another sentence before we get to the now.
Sheep
I've been thinking about free will. Not the grand metaphysical kind. I don't really care about that. There's nothing I can do to change that. Whether all of my actions are determined by fate or whether I can choose my own destiny, either way there's nothing I can do that will make it the other way. No the free will that I have been considering is on a much more intimate scale. I'm talking about manipulation. There is a interesting trend in our society, at least it seems to me, to praise free thought and open discourse. And even to pretend that we have those things. But just because you think you are assessing the facts yourself, coming up with your own analysis of them, and making your own opinions does not mean that you are. I would argue the exact opposite. The more you think you are doing these things the less likely it is that you really are. It is very difficult, in a society like ours, where the money flows freely, to really get all of the facts. Now I'm not saying it's any easier in any other type of society. I haven't lived in any other type of society, so I really can't judge anything other than what we have. But just think on this: in order for any type of research study to be done it has to get funding. Where does this funding come from? It comes from people who are interesting in knowing the results of the study. And why are they interested? It tends to be the case that those interested in the results also have a vested interest in a specific conclusion being reached. Now it doesn't really matter how unbiased the scientists are. The scientists doing the research can have absolutely no bias, but the study will still be biased. This is because the people funding the research will pick and choose researchers who happen to be finding evidence to support the interested party's conclusion. The end consumer never gets all of the facts. It would be impossible to relay all of them. That is why we rely on intermediaries, the media, to pick and choose the important facts. The problem comes when we delude ourselves into thinking that we are the ones making informed decisions. It is not possible to make a truly informed decision when you do not have all of the facts. So what should we do you might ask? Most people do not have the time and/or knowledge to research all of the facts for every decision they might have to make or every conclusion they may have to come to. But some people do. That is why the media was created in the first place. What we need to do is accept the media and allow it to fulfill its purpose. In this modern age of the internet and all that stuff, everyone wants to think that just because they can write out an opinion means that they can make a truly informed decision. That is what I am protesting in this essay. I think the only truly informed decision to make in this day and age is to not try and make your own decisions. There are people out there who spend all of their time studying and researching things in order to make informed opinions, and they are perfectly willing to share those opinions. Find someone who you trust to make truly informed opinions, and then trust them. To use a metaphor, the majority of our society are sheep, who have been suckered into believing that they are shepherds by the real shepherds who have found that it is easier to control the sheep by creating this illusion. But there really are some good shepherds out there. So I have decided to accept that I am a sheep. I don't want the responsibility of being a shepherd. I can accept the fact that I just don't have the initiative to make truly informed decisions for myself. So I have made what seems to me the only logical decision. I have decided to consciously be a 'sheep' and have found a 'shepherd' that I trust to make informed conclusions and I will be relying on her judgments from now on. This shepherd is Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now. Of course I reserve the right to decide later that this was a bad idea, but for now it seems like the right course of action. I must point out that this is mainly in regards to politics, the economy, and other things related to those. I will still be making my own opinions regarding personal matters like music, food, etc because I feel that I can make informed decisions about those things on my own. So I guess this is sort of a call to action. Wake up from your delusions and either start making truly informed decision, opinions, and conclusions, or find someone you trust to make them for you. Stop pretending that you can keep yourself truly informed in your spare time. You can't. Staying informed is a full time job, and even then some people can't do it. Ok, that is all.
Book Review
I just finished reading a very interesting book. It is written by one of my close friends, but never fear, my assessment of the quality has only been slightly biased. It really is a good book. I stand by that statement 100%. It's a fun, easy to read book. Its taken me a while to finish it, but that has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. I've just had a lot of other shit going on to distract me. Every time that I had a chance to sit down and read some of it, I found it very engrossing. Definitely the type of book that you don't want to set down. It's a very cool take on a thriller. The reason that it's so engrossing really doesn't have much to do with the real world plot. It's a metaphysical thriller. You could say that the plot is about a fight for control of earth, but despite being the source of most of the action, that is really only a side plot. The true plot takes place in other dimensions and other planes of existence and I would say in the mind of the reader. A lot of the plot is what I would call forced thought. It doesn't actually happen on the page, but rather what happens on the page forces your mind to consider things that are the content of the real plot. This is really cool in my opinion. So anyway the book is called AlphaBetaPocalypse by Sam Sobelman. It's for sale on Amazon or Lulu.
Monotony
I think I need a change of pace. Monotony grows dull. The mind grows dull. See, proof that my mind is growing dull. I can't even write two sentences without using hte same phrase. I need some excitement. I think I might try polyphasic sleep. My biggest problem is the cold. Being up at night is only interesting if you get out and about. Seeing everything deserted is half the fun of it. Maybe going out in the cold will be good. But it's essential to bundle up. Sometimes I get the shivers because I ignore the fact that I'm cold. Sometimes I'm so absorbed in other things that I don't consciously ignore it, I just don't even realize it. But there's a sure cure for them. Get a couple thick blankets and curl up in a ball on the bed with them snugly wrapped around you. After a couple minutes its nice and cozy, but then its really tempting to fall asleep. That's why I'm concerned about trying the polyphasic thing in the winter. But I guess it would be better to start now and if I can't do it give up. That way I wouldn't have to adjust twice if I can do it in the summer but then have to switch back in the winter. Of course if I get a real job I probably won't be able to do it. I don't really want a normal job. I can't stand having so much monotony. I like to be able to just up an do things when I feel like it. But of course right now I'm at the other end of the monotony problem. I have so few set things to do that I end up just lazing about and getting bored. I want to travel. I love traveling. When I'm traveling I'm never bored. Even on long bus, plane, or train rides. I love being around new people. It's so interesting to see how different people behave, to hear how they talk. That's one of my favorite parts of traveling. I'm always picking new and interesting expressions of speech from people that I meet. I love words. There are so many ways to put them together. And especially with English there are so many uses for each one. I'm always my most creative when I'm traveling. There's always something new to inspire me. It could be something someone says, or a tree that I see, or an event that I witness. Of course it is possible to treat the everyday in this manner as well, but that takes so much more effort. It is so easy to just fall back into monotony, and lose track of all of the interesting things that go on wherever you are. That's what's so great about traveling. It forces that excitement on you. You can't ignore it. As a very lazy person that is very nice. When I stay in one place for too long I become complacent, I forget to see all of the wonderful chaos that is everywhere. It's a constant struggle to avoid falling into a monotonous order that makes life so boring. And all too frequently I fail in that struggle. But at least I know where my failings are. Accepting the problem is the first step in fixing it. I'm just not sure where to go from there. Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure it out.
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