geek news and gonzo politics
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Here’s a short punxploitation film (if that makes any sense) made back in 1995 by the members of Rancid. Like most indie/short films that I have seen (which is a pretty fucking thin list) it doesn’t seem to really go anywhere, however it’s still an interesting experience for just being a hobby film done by two of the most important figures in post-1980’s punk back when they were poor as dirt. Interesting side note: Tim Armstrong, Rancid’s frontman and billed here as “Transplant Kid,” would indeed later start a band called the Transplants as a rap/punk satellite project featuring Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
I am only recently coming out of a long phase of resenting Rancid for all of the compromises they have made with mainstream music in their last few projects. When I first got into Rancid I was very heavy into the punk ideals and thought that they were the closest a band could get to making massively appealing music without betraying their punk ethics. I felt ripped off when I saw them and their various solo/side projects rubbing elbows with the likes of Good Charlotte, Pink, and Kelly Osbourne.
Nowadays I’m not so hung up on the punk ideals (I’ve found other ideals to be blinded by) and I can no longer deny how good the music they make allows me to feel. Their records Life Won’t Wait and Let’s Go! have some of the most upbeat, empowering jams this side of The Ramones. I can forgive them for courting the evil mainstream music beast, after all they are in there forties by now and at that age it probably becomes less about being the starving artist and drawing lines in the sand and more about keeping your chosen profession fresh and relevant. Besides, by hanging out with all of the teenybopper poseur bands they are opening up a whole new generation of kids to the real shit. And to be fair, Tim Armstrong has given a lot of his peers a chance to be recognized by signing them to his Hellcat label and promoting them.
So pleased am I with the band once again that I even gave their latest effort, Indestructible, which I had previously laughed off, a chance - and really enjoyed it! I mean, how can you deny a song like this:
Wes Lowery: "Sid & Na... by Mike Rutschky on January 1st, 2008
Wes Lowery: "Sid & Nancy is the perfect allegory of America's influence on anything beautiful".
Currently looking for social n... by Mike Rutschky on January 2nd, 2008
Currently looking for social network that shares audio files like Flickr shares photos and Scribd shares documents.
Like a Heifer to the Slaughter by Mike Rutschky on January 21st, 2008
Velvet goldmine- baby's on fire
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A 12-year old American girl who experienced the horrors of war first hand while visiting relatives in South Ossetia lets it slip on Fox News that it was the Georgian soldiers that put her in danger, not the Russians. This throws a spanner into the works of the Fox propaganda machine which seems obviously more interested in demonizing the Russians than objectively reporting both sides of the story. I love how the girl’s Aunt calls Fox out when they try to shut her up.
UPDATE (8/17): Looking back, it seems more than a little remiss not to acknowledge how terrible the Russian government is, especially for this latest atrocity (actually, as the young girl’s aunt states, the Georgian government was the aggressor when it initially attacked South Ossetia)(Oh, but the Russians pushed for a Georgian strike on South Ossetia because they needed an excuse to enter the country and discourage democracy… ah fuck, who the shit can keep up with this?). However, from a journalistic standpoint FoxNews completely fumbled the ball. Why would you interview people from South Ossetia, a region within Georgia that opposes the Georgian government, only to choke when they announce where their loyalties lie the ugly truth of who started the conflict? The journalistic thing to do would have been to objectively cover their side of the story. This is, after all, a 12-year-old girl from California who saw the conflict *first hand* from a different side of the fence. Fox just comes off looking like propaganda peddlers who need to perpetuate the same “Good VS Evil” absolutes that people like Bush and McCain use to scare Americans into xenophobic rage. To use a line by Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, they want you so angry, foaming at your mouth in your living room, that they can send everyone to war… somewhere else.
And now, according to the notes on the video from it’s YouTube page, Russia has something to say about Fox’s reaction as well:
Russia Today Reports:
Moscow has accused an American TV network of bias after a channel broke off from a live interview with victims of Georgian violence in South Ossetia. A 12 year old girl and her aunt were describing how Russian soldiers saved them from the Georgian attack — but were bizarrely cut off after just two minutes. The incident has sparked huge controversy over the issue of media impartiality, with Russian government officials calling it a violation of journalistic ethics.
Fair. Balanced. Orwellian.
And our own Presidential candidates are more than tickled to turn this disaster to their advantage:
Yeah, that pretty much sums up our situation. I am tired now; my head is beginning to bruise and leak from trying to comprehend all the various ways in which my species disgraces itself. If anyone is still awake after reading this I will recommend a fun activity: look up the word “bellicose” in a dictionary and physically feel yourself becoming smarter than our President. I always get a kick out of that.
Tusko, the Amazing Balls-Tripping Elephant by Mike Rutschky on January 8th, 2008
The following was sent out in a MySpace bulletin by Disinformation, and is a hilarious excerpt from Mark Pilkington's Far Out: 101 Strange Tales From Science's Outer Edge
FAR OUT 086: Tusko's Last Trip
The annals of science describe thousands of noble experiments monitoring the effects of recreational drugs, from alcohol to tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis extract), on animals including monkeys, dolphins, pigeons and spiders.
Better Than Sex by Mike Rutschky on December 29th, 2007
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open your arms to capitalism by Mike Rutschky on January 27th, 2008
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