Show: Enslaved and Dimmu Borgir

I almost missed this but thanks to an unlikely coincidence I was reminded to get my ass up to Norther Lights in Clifton Park. The venue was smaller than I was expecting. In the center of the room was a large rectangular bar surrounded by maybe 20 feet of standing floor on each side with the stage in the front. And, get this, the bar served Dogfishhead 60 minute IPA for $6 a solo cup which paired nicely with progressive black metal.

The opening band, Dawn of Ashes was interesting. They played a sort of fun blackened GWARish metal complete with costumes and breakdowns aplenty. They were definitely fun live, but I'm afraid I can't with good conscious recommend them. Here's their myspace in case curiosity strikes:
http://www.myspace.com/dawnofashes

The second opener is considerably more well known, Blood Red Throne. Even though these gents weren't clad in hellish costumes they embodied brutality and evil much more accurately. This band is all about harsh blasting, slightly blackened, death metal. Most of what they did tended to blur together in constant bludgeoning speed, but there were a few memorable solos to be enjoyed, so I was content:
http://www.myspace.com/bloodredthrone666

Enslaved was up next and I was indeed giddy. There's something about seeing a band in person for the first time after watching countless interviews and the infrequent music video, something that makes my time spent admiring music seem worth it. As far as their performance it was exactly what I was expecting, expertly choreographed, expertly executed with a stage presence that was honestly menacing. Grutle Kjellson was especially impressive as the frontman. His vocals although obviously not leveled any higher than normal fought with the already overwhelming guitar tone, which in this sort of music is rare and I can only image how much damage he's dishing out to his poor vocal chords. I certainly appreciate his sacrifice in any event. Here's a taste, but I highly recommend all their albums especially their most recent Axioma Ethica Odini:
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved

Dimmu Borgir has been taking a lot of flack lately, and I can see why. Their focus has shifted over the past few albums toward an orchestral-centric sound, which means they're moving away from guitar-centric much to the fans' chagrin. Live however, a band has an obligation to play the old with the new and it was the old that captured my attention, especially a couple tracks off of Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia; one of the guiding albums in my metal education. And even though the rest of the material wasn't nearly as memorable, it was still solid fucking metal and the band was tight. There was a lot of focus on the light show and the lead even needed a break for a costume change, which I thought was rather silly, but overall a good end to a good night. Here's some Dimmu:
http://www.myspace.com/dimmuborgir

Movie: Night of the Living Dead

Traversing the strange realm of the zombie flick, I was led here by very reliable sources of guidance. I had not known until now that this was the film that defined the genre and after sitting through Dawn of the Dead, I was skeptical. However, as anyone should know the skeptic in me is often wrong and after the final scene of this cult classic I was skeptical no longer.

I first started watching the 30th anniversary version with over dubbed audio, but as soon as I was told that the original was available on IMDB I switched over. There's something wrong about a film from the late 60's having perfectly produced synth work as the soundtrack. The original soundtrack is much more haunting, but anyway.

The aspect of this movie that stood out for me was the script which is full of the most memorable quotes of any horror film I've ever seen. In fact a few of them I had heard before at the beginnings of Death Metal and Grind songs, as those musicians are apt to use such things in their compositions.

Here's a few:

Johnny: They're coming to get you, Barbara, there's one of them now!

Newscaster: It has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to life and committing acts of murder. A widespread investigation of funeral homes, morgues, and hospitals has concluded that the unburied dead have been returning to life and seeking human victims. It's hard for us here to be reporting this to you, but it does seem to be a fact.

Ben: Don't you know what's goin' on out there? This is no Sunday School picnic!

Johnny: Hey, come on, Barb. Church was this morning.
[pause as lightning is seen]
Johnny: I mean, prayin's for church.
Barbara: I haven't seen you in church lately.
Johnny: Well, there's not much sense in my going to church.

Dr. Grimes: In the cold room at the University, we had a cadaver, a cadaver from which all limbs had been amputated. Some time early this morning, it opened its eyes and began to move its trunk. It was dead, but it opened its eyes and tried to move!

Newscaster: All persons who die during this crisis from whatever cause will come back to life to seek human victims, unless their bodies are first disposed of by cremation.

Field Reporter: Chief, do you think that we will be able to defeat these things?
Sheriff McClelland: Well, we killed nineteen of them today right in this area. The last three, we caught them trying to claw they're way into an abandoned shed. They must of thought someone was in there, but there wasn't though. We heard them making all kind of noises so we came over, beat 'em off and blasted them down.

Sheriff McClelland: Good shot! OK, he's dead; let's go get 'im. That's another one for the fire.

Another quality worth some explanation is the perspective the modern era has toward this film. There are obvious scenes of racism and sexism throughout. I think the most shocking for me was when Ben slapped Barbara across the face because she was freaking out. I understand that in movies back then when a woman broke out into "hysterics" a man would hit her. This doesn't happen very often in modern cinema and I'm thankful for that, and I'm not about to say anything condoning such a response, I'd just like to say that I appreciate the shock value of such a scene.

One more interesting aspect having to do with how dated this film is was the use of radio as the source of updates on the zombie outbreak. Just hearing the words spoken by a fearful newscaster describing what was happening was so much more powerful than if it had been a tv station reporting on pictures of what they saw. Little devices like that make the imagination run wild and I wish modern horror at least attempted to take advantage of them more often.

Anyway, I now understand why this film provoked a movement and I'm glad I finally experienced it.

5/5

Book: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Wandering the rows of fiction in B&N, buzzed on caffeine, keeping an eye out for girls hovering around the Murakami section, this jumped out at me. I should say the newer addition with the movie tie-in jumped out at me, but fuck that. I reached down, pulled out the original and fanned through it for a minute wondering if watching the movie first ruined any future enjoyment I might have. As with most trips to B&N this trip was motivated by impulse so I carried it to the checkout and drove home on a new avenue of self-inflicted depression.

I'm not sure if the general public knows about this story. If I recall correctly, the movie did rather well, but I can imagine the subject matter having somewhat of a polarizing effect on hopeful audiences. Just in case the story isn't known I'll describe enough to convey the mood.

The Road is about a father and his son, both unnamed, traveling toward the ocean. The world around them is burned, decaying and cold. Everyone they knew is dead, and many of the remaining survivors have resorted to cannibalism in order to stay alive.
The story documents their journey as they attempt to live as good men, finding food where they can, finding warmth and avoiding survivors who no longer have the capacity for mercy.

Given I'm not a novelist, nor do I ever plan to be, so I'll leave the technical commentary to those better educated. What I can comment on is how it made me feel.
And, quite simply this novel made me feel awful. Empathy was pouring out of deep wounds cut with paranoia, loneliness and desolation. And if you know anything about me, you'd know that I quite enjoyed it.

There were so many heart-wrenching scenes. I've heard criticisms of repetition, but they're unfounded. Each scene of loss builds on the last, each step they took was toward a conflict of whether or not to live. And the father, a man of great strength always chose to keep going, and tried to instill the importance of the fight, the fire of survival, in his terrified son.

A few scenes are going to stick with me for a while and I'll describe two for my own future benefit, but please stop here and go buy the book if this sort of thing interests you. The man and his son happened upon a farm house, seemingly vacant and a possible source of forgotten nourishment. Within the house the man finds a cellar and descends with his son eager to find food, but what they find are people, stripped, emaciated and unclean, chained to walls and steel mattresses begging for help, gasping in terror. And they had to leave them there, food for cannibals, helpless. Truly horrifying.

The other scene worth mentioning is one that hit me on a personal level. When I was in grade school, my father came down with an illness that brought him near his own demise. There was a day before he was admitted into the hospital when he asked for me to listen to him. He simply wanted to tell me that he loved me. This jarred me as a teenager, I was filled with sadness and hate and... it was hard. So toward the end of the story when the father is speaking his last words to his son, trying to convince him to keep the fire alive, to keep going without him, I was there with him. It was a profound moment for me, so I owe you some gratitude Mr. McCarthy. That's the sort of emotion I live for because pain reminds us how fragile and beautiful life is.

Anyway, buy the book, enjoy it, if you can; if you can handle being dragged through mud and ash and fire and loss.

5/5

Movie: Fallen

I've said before that the only benefit of centuries of religion is artistic influence. What I never personally understood was why there aren't more great films about satan and his demon hordes. There are countless ancient stories to lift and adapt, yet movies about the devil are perpetually campy and shallow.

There are exceptions however, like Fallen. It would be harsh to call this one campy, but it rides the line; I'd be more apt to call it modest. The story follows a detective who is introduced as the valiant hero in a serial murderer's capture. The killer is executed, but unfortunately for Detective Hobbs, the killing doesn't stop.

Before long Hobbs discovers that what he's been chasing can't be described in terms of the physical world and his valiant nature transcends his title as detective into a new role as a crusader.

This isn't a perfect movie; there are weak bits. Hobbs' brother played a pivotal role but was portrayed awkwardly. We never find out much about him other than he's a father and slightly mentally handicapped. A little more character development with him and the emotion Hobbs felt toward him would've been more believable. And this is definitely subjective, but a little more time with Embeth Davidtz's character would've been appreciated. I've always had a thing for her, one of the rare modern examples of glamour. Her and Saffron Burrows... But she's not in this movie so I'll get back to the point.

Overall Denzel did a great job bringing life to the script and there are a few very memorable scenes, especially the final battle between Hobbs and a demon. Highly recommended for a unique portrayal of evil of a biblical nature.

4/5

Movie: The Shining

The Shining is a staple for any decent Halloween movie marathon and a film that I've loved for a long long time. Every scene is literally dripping with horror, from subtle beginnings of a child's delusion and his innocent, understanding mother to bold foreshadowing of the hallway flood of crashing waves of blood, going so far as revealing the climax of the film in one of the first scenes; the plot is so rich and complex, so multi-dimensional and cyclic. Given the story is from Stephen King, so yes, it's wonderfully developed, but it's Kubrick's atmosphere and such a wonderful casting job that brings this movie to the top of the horror genre.

A mandatory film for foggy halloween nights.

5/5

Movie: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Second movie of my horror marathon, and a supposed classic that I've never seen before. What can I say about this one... Hmmm. This might be an example of a movie that should be respected for getting the ball rolling, but not one that will stand in my mind as a great horror film. I can sum up my sentiment with this: It was just too goofy. The characters, especially the Captain America soldier guy, were goofy. The conflicts (driving freight trucks in front of the entrances?) were goofy. The music was painfully goofy.

The gore was good, I thought they did really well with what they had at the time and I certainly cringed during a few chomping scenes, but damn were the zombies themselves really goofy. They just painted green makeup on them and had them stumble around... I know, I know, this was before the whole 28 days later running zombies revelation, but man...

You could dive into the interpretive side and say "Well, the stupid slow zombies are a jab at middle-class america." And I'm sure there are many similar satirical elements going on here. It's fairly clear that the fact that the zombies gravitated toward the mall was a pretty big statement about how mindless most of the people are who shop there, but I think any comments of genius or visionary should be left to... well... not George Romero.

The one part that struck me as really interesting, but much too short-lived was right after they conquered the mall as a zombie-free zone and realized there was nothing really to do. So they wandered around and watched tv and tried on fur coats etc... Triumph against the zombies is kind of a bum deal when you realize you can never just resume your previous life.

Overall Meh... too Goofy.

2/5

Movie: [REC]

So I've setup a little horror movie marathon for myself to combat the long stretches of time in between reading and pacing. First on the list was [REC]. If I recall correctly it was some IMDB list that led toward this. I had known little about it other than it was the original film that inspired an american rehash called Quarantine, which I'm pretty sure bombed, but the existence of an american rehash generally means the original is worth seeing. So here we go...

The movie begins with a cute spunky girl, the host of a TV show titled "While you're asleep," or something like that, on her way to a fire department to report on the nightly activities of fire fighters. She begins by interviewing a few of them asking what their job entails other than putting out fires and as the night progresses she grows impatient wanting a spectacle of sorts to report on to make the show an especially good one.

At this point it's fairly obvious the writer/director has a good sense of anticipation which is a relief because this is one of the make or break qualities of any horror film. The people involved really have to show restraint and hold off on the shock until that sliver of time right before boredom and then lay it on thick.

The call finally comes for the firefighters to pack up and deploy to an apartment complex where a woman is reported as being trapped in her room. As the story develops relationships are formed rather quickly between the reporter and the firemen. When they arrive on scene more characters enter the mix, the tenants of the building gathered in the lobby, waiting impatiently. They explain that not only is the woman alone in her apartment but that she'd been screaming wildly and uncontrollably.

I'll stop there with the description of the story because any good horror film should be experienced without any prior knowledge of the surprise. I can say however that tension escalates very quickly after the introduction of the conflict.

A quality that stands out for me is the strength of the characters. This film is a short one and we only know a few of the characters for a short time, but they were colorful enough to be memorable; and not overstated beyond an honest reflection of how a person would act in such a situation of chaos.

As far as how scary it was, there was one scene that really got me. There were many moments of sudden shock and the film should be commended for that, but the one scene that stood out for me I'm almost embarrassed to say. I'll describe it without much detail: The cameraman is peeking into an attic panning around slowly in a circle. You know something is going to happen, I mean, it's a dark attic, something's going to pop out and I was just waiting patiently. But, man, when it happened I went cold and stiff all over. I think I may have yelped a little in horror. It was a good moment for me.

Anyway, if you like horror movies and aren't thrown by subtitles, this is definitely worth the ride.

5/5

Illusion

It's natural to feel lost. We're spinning about the universe hurtling toward empty space, alone and sometimes afraid. We can create illusions for ourselves, believe in love, believe that someone/anyone is capable of understanding us, believe that our goals are important, worth the investment of time. We need to hold on to personal illusion to help us believe we have some importance as an individual. Without this there's nothing to live for because the universe is too big to care. I'm no more important than the stink bug that wanders around my apartment looking for crumbs. We both live and die, we both will eventually decompose and be forgotten.

My illusion is abstract in that it only presents itself after interpretation and is only found in dark corners caked in dust and cobwebs. Places like the comment portion of the song Alberto Balsalm by Aphex Twin on youtube:

i just imagine someone trying to make music...and they play the intro...no one digs it so there is a pause...then some random chick hits a table with her waist and that noise is made...then it all comes together :D

Lmfao, I can kinda see that, too, now that you mention it.

tripping on acid, my friend said to get this face out of here, so i made it my background....great shit

Lmfao, epic.

this might be the best comment ever made on youtube

I must agree with you, sir. Quite epic.

This, together with On, are probably my favourite tracks by him. This one has such a deep melancholy sadness to it, but still manages to sound uplifting in the strangest way. Like witnessing the end of the world while knowing you've still managed to save your porn. At least that's how I feel.

I feel that too, looking over the precipice and thinking, "Hey, at least I tried."

At least I'm trying...

Book: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Obeying a slight craving for the post-apocalyptic, I stumbled upon this supposed classic of the genre. I initially chose it because of the stark contrast between this and my trip with Dawkins through atheist regions. Although the plot was unknown to me before purchase, the illustration of a shrouded monk walking through fire under circling vultures was enough to tip me off to a strong religious element.

The book was written at the height of nuclear paranoia in the 1950's and the author's personal fear and lack of faith in humanity is clear from the get go. The story takes place in a world where nuclear destruction had occurred and in retaliation the surviving uneducated waged war against the people who were responsible, bringing civilization back to the days of candle light and religious dominance.

The novel's story revolves around the monastery of Saint Leibowitz. Leibowitz is revered for beginning a movement of preservation of literature during the retaliation against modern education and that is the purpose of the monastery, to seek out and preserve technical literature of any kind.

Although the monastery and its penitent monks are the focal point of the entire novel, the story is broken into three parts; The first being a re-creation of the dark ages, where the monks could only preserve the scientific documents but couldn't understand or interpret any of them. Irony oozes liberally from the pages when thinking about what these monks were trying to achieve, to return civilization back to modernity where religion is no longer a way of life but rather a crutch, and they do it with such devotion. Brother Francis is the main character in part one and he's described as a pitifully meek and obedient follower but with such heated passion toward the cause of the monastery of Leibowitz. While praying in seclusion in the desert, as was the thing to do when called upon to do it, Francis stumbles upon an old fallout shelter containing evidence of Leibowitz's existence including a shopping list, which he treats like ancient scripture. He's then visited by an enigmatic character; an old man who at first gives the impression of a loon, but hints at a greater wisdom. This character is somewhat of a mystery throughout the novel, an observer of events likened to the biblical Lazarus and is seemingly immortal. I won't get into full detail of the following events other than to say Francis is hurtled into a national conflict that shows two clear sides: those who want to understand and return to modern civilization and those who don't.

Part two of the novel describes a time when science is just starting to take hold. The tension between the primitive and the modern is magnified and an interesting theme is present. When modern civilization has already occurred and a lot of the literature has been preserved, it would naturally take a lot less time to return to modernity. However, this accelerated speed of scientific progression would do nothing but amplify social tensions and that is exactly what these chapters depict. Brutal tribes of cannibals, simple monks and scientists all fighting for power and what they consider to be the way of life. On a critical note, of the entire novel this was the intermission, the bridge that was obviously important to the narrative, but not quite the page turner that I wanted or expected.

Part three brought an immediate end to my slight boredom with previous chapters. The setting is a second modern civilization, far beyond present time when colonies had been formed on the closest habitable planets in the galaxy and earth finds itself on the threshold of a second nuclear holocaust. It's interesting how Miller goes about finding a story within these settings. He seemed intent, especially in this part, to approach certain controversies and flesh them out with colorful arguments on both sides but showing a reluctance to form an opinion either way. The argument that dominated the final chapters of the novel was euthanasia. An entire city was blown completely off the map and millions were dead, the wounded survivors had to deal with the grim realization that radiation sickness is often incurable and leads to a harsh and painful death. The argument was between a doctor and the head of the monastery. The doctor had the responsibility of deciding which victims were beyond medical care and were to be given the choice of assisted suicide as an alternative from a brief painful existence. The monk was trying as hard as he could to convince the doctor that assisted suicide was wrong and it is these people's destiny to die painfully, to rob them of that is to spit in the face of God and his plan for human existence. Obviously I sided with the doctor, but the argument was presented in such an unbiased way that a religious person would have obviously agreed with the monk and never given it a second thought.

Overall this was an immensely interesting and thought provoking read. It certainly dragged in some parts, but those pages served to raise the tension until the finale which was very satisfying and at the same time unsettling when some time is taken to reflect on our own civilization.

5/5

Movie: Robin Hood

This one doesn't deserve as much depth as I usually commit to movie reviews. Damn movie was a waste of time... But not for the reason I remember so many people saying, which was, "The movie started at the wrong spot, who cares about why Robin Hood became the prince of thieves?"

I for one was legitimately interested in seeing a prequal to the story I've seen several times before, the setup to a period of civil unrest when the townsfolk decided they've had enough and struck back.

And that's exactly what I got. The story was intact, everything was explained thoroughly and it led right up to the main event by the time the movie was over. The problem, and I can't imagine how this wasn't painfully obvious to a master like Ridley Scott, was that there was no focus on the characters at all. This was a movie of information, an introduction that rushed toward the main event. I felt no emotional attachment to anything, people died and I didn't care, seemingly emotional exchanges took place, but with no weight or concern. The film was a big tease with no depth, and not a single satisfying moment.

That and the deliberate casting of a bunch of A-list actors and actresses who obviously had no on or off-screen chemistry makes this an abomination, a over-hyped hollywood disaster.

1/5

Fucking Glenn Beck

I'll probably take this down at some point because I don't want to even give recognition to this fake. I just want to briefly point out the characteristics of a compulsive liar.

1) A compulsive liar gets off on lying

2) He makes grandiose statements to get attention from the gullible

3) He gestures toward symbols which meant something to someone at some time, rewriting the meaning of said symbols to adhere to his personal agenda

4) He conditions the tone of his voice and adds dramatic pauses in his speech mimicking emotional expression

5) He makes reference to a single historical truth and then attaches lies to it to give the illusion of education

Glenn Beck is a compulsive liar. This video oozes of trained acting and practiced queues of decisive intention. His intention has nothing to do with this country, or the idea conservatives covet as patriotism. His intention is simply to enjoy lying, to enjoy the attention his fallacies attract, to create conflict where there might well have been prosperity. He is leading people, leading sheep, toward mindless aggression, hate and inhumanity.

Book: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

It's about time I got around to reading this, with the reputation it has as the definitive reference for modern atheism. Generally speaking I'd rather spend my time reading fiction, but the irony of stumbling upon this book for $1 at a church sponsored book sale was too much for me to ignore.

The first thought I had while turning the first few pages was how similar his written word was to his spoken word lectures. He somehow infuses the same tone in each, a tone of patience and charm, but with bold sometimes tongue in cheek statements interspersed to grab the attention of his audience. I immediately understood that this wasn't going to be an unbiased reference, but rather an emotional and passionate presentation of why religion is ridiculous. This is the source of my first criticism. Being an atheist, I don't need to be convinced that faith is irrational, but for someone looking for a book to lead them away from faith, The God Delusion may seem too abrasive, too matter of fact. Dawkins has no patience for believers of any sort and wastes no time discrediting anyone with any belief in the supernatural, from noted scientists to poor farmers of the mid-west.

To go even further, Dawkins even turns his back on agnostics. He has the personal belief that agnosticism is a cop out, an easy answer to a difficult question. He says that if evidence were to be presented of the supernatural he would have no issue judging the evidence objectively and changing his mind, but since no evidence exists it's ridiculous for agnostics to hold out hope and believe in something undefinable, it's more logical to be an observant, open-minded atheist.

One of the major topics that stood out for me was an in-depth explanation of the anthropic principle. The principle basically says that if we're here to observe the universe, then it would make sense that certain universal constants were perfect for life to exist and to evolve to the point of cognition. This explanation is followed by several theoretical explanations for how other universes might have failed at producing cognitive beings. Either this universe is just one of many in a long timeline of universes going back to infinity, or existence is based on a multiverse model in which an infinity of universes exist all at once and we just happen to be existing and aware of one that was perfect for human life. These are really interesting topics to think about and discuss and I'm glad Dawkins spent some time explaining it all with several references to sources of related theoretical science.

The argument that I sometimes bring up in conversation when talking about the "benefits" of religion is that it presents morality in a fun, colorful way and that if society did away with religion, some accessible moral construct would have to fill the void left in religion's absence. After reading the applicable chapters on this topic I'm going to have to reassess my opinions slightly but not completely. Dawkins makes the argument that it's not the bible that is responsible for the moral construct taught to children, it's the interpretation of the bible by biased ministers. If it was the bible directly, morals found in the Old Testament would teach children to kill and seek revenge and make sacrifices etc... The New Testament is considerably more PC, but still not a good guide of moral responsibility considering the views of homosexuality and women's rights. Dawkins thinks that morality shouldn't be the product of literature, but rather based on the success of a society. It's a very utilitarian view to think that you shouldn't kill, not because someone told you not to but because it's obvious that killing reduces the chances of the survival of a society. This leads to another criticism though. Morality is extremely complex and oftentimes the right decision isn't as black and white as kill or don't kill. It takes a very involved construct to explain all of these moral issues and there needs to be something to replace all the adapted stories of the bible; stories that nowadays hardly have any resemblance to the original scripture, but would not exist if not for religion.

The next topic worth talking about is, in my opinion, Dawkin's most controversial argument. He states very clearly that bringing a child up under a religion they had no power in choosing is more abusive than sexual assault. You might ask why he would make such an insanely ludicrous statement and it is basically a response to all of the sexual assault cases committed by priests. He says that sexual assault, while horrible and scarring, is nothing compared to the reinforcement of the idea that the supernatural exists. He describes how grown men and women are tortured by the possibility of the existence of hell, experiencing horrible nightmares and severe depression because they feel they very well might be doomed for an eternity.
On this point I can see why Dawkins made the argument but that doesn't make it a tactful relation. Sexual assault is horrid. Bringing up a child in an environment where the only motivating factor is fear is horrid. Neither is more horrid.

However, after setting a somewhat sour, unsettling tone for the last portion of the book, Dawkins comes back to what he's most passionate about, which is the idea that Atheism is the only path to reason, and that there is no gap that needs to be filled if religion were to be abandoned. Arguments have been made about the wonder of religious art, but people too often forget that artists are wonderfully imaginative. They don't need a book to tell them what to write or paint or compose; they'll always find a muse and a subject. I sort of wish Dawkins spent a little more time talking about mortality, because it's the issue I've spent the most time grappling with. But, he believes no gap is left by religion here because of the idea proposed by a simple quote from Mark Twain: "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it." It's a refreshing way to look at it, as long as you can accept that your existence is a speck, a molecule, an unremarkable blip in infinity.

Overall a fun, entertaining read. I would certainly recommend The God Delusion to any atheist or even any believer who was on the fence. But the myriad God-fearing people out there would do nothing but wail and curse which will cost you a point Dawkins. I'll be waiting for an example of atheist literature that actually tries to approach convincing believers to reassess their beliefs in a tactful, effective way for such a book does not yet exist.

4/5

Christopher Hitchens update

Situations like this test the resolve of atheists everywhere and make us question whether or not there's anything we can do. I'm filled with hope for your eventual victory over cancer Mr. Hitchens, but understand wholeheartedly that it is your personal strength that's going to be the variable. Luckily, I know there are few men stronger.

Music: Questioner - s/t

I've been without words, distracted, busy, frustrated with 2010 for some reasons, excited for others. One of my major concerns is for the music of this year. As I said in a previous review, metal music at large had betrayed me with poor offerings one after another for about 6 months... So I dabbled elsewhere, into the avant for a while, but found little that was comparable to the album that sparked my interest, that redirected my attention. So I'm back with an album, and oh boy... what an album it is.

Questioner, previously known as Isthmus, were unknown to me. And they have a very small presence in a commercial sense. All I could find was a myspace and a bandcamp website where you can download the album for a modest price. After sampling the first 30 seconds of the first track I immediately went for my wallet. Giving the album a full spin I can honestly say my gut instinct on music is still as sharp as it ever was. (mind you this only concerns music that i might enjoy, as for anyone else my instincts generally fail miserably)

At first I wanted to describe each part of the album but that's not feeling right. I want to approach this as one entity because that's the perspective the composition lends itself to; so I'll describe the tone of the album. Questioner flows organically, but not in the sense that it's warm or comforting, in the sense that it's raw, unassuming, maybe a little rough around the edges. In a world where crystal clear production reigns, Questioner is deliberately muddy, but not to any detriment. The slightly mid-range heavy mix gives every nuance a sort of subtlety, a hint of modesty. The percussion is aggressive and seems to be the leading instrument with the guitar following close behind with a touch of reverb. The second spin is revealing minor tonality, but the resolutions are a little confusing. There's a lot hope in this which means they're taunting the listener with a few temporary resolves into the relative major. This approach gives Questioner a really nice emotional balance having sorrowful intervals resolved by big complex rhythm sections. I hear a bit of death metal, a bit of blasting black coming together in a nice posty blend of metal goodness.

Please let this be the turning point of 2010. Please.

5/5

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio : Introduction

I love how classic literature prepares the reader, either with in-depth descriptions of the setting or clearly explaining the purpose before embarking upon the work; as if it's a scholarly approach, not leaving any detail of context to question. In this particular case Boccaccio spent most of the introduction describing the face of the plague. The details are grim and more graphic than what I was expecting. For some reason I assumed a writer from this era was going to present the ravaging sickness with a sort of distant optimistic view, but Boccaccio cut right through to the nerve, first illustrating the gory symptoms of the plague then going into depth on the response. He describes for instance the beginning of the sickness when two priests would knock on the door of those afflicted and carry the dead out one by one, to several priests and servants being dispatched to not only go to the houses reported but be prepared for any other dead they happened upon, to the ultimate depravity of mass death, mass graves, covered with a thin layer of soil; entire towns wiped out, all worldly possessions abandoned.

Then Boccaccio describes the survivors, the few who watched society crumble around them. He introduces a small group of them individually, ten in all, and it becomes obvious that these are the people that are going to act as the driving force of the work. After doling out responsibilities to sustain them for the next ten days, Boccaccio constructs a machine of storytelling. Each evening all characters are to narrate a story based on a certain theme, except for the first night, which is open to each narrators discretion.

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

I stumbled upon this while searching for inspiration to write some music. I was specifically looking for literature from the plague era about the plague era and quickly realized there isn't a whole lot to be found except for a handful of iconic works, this being the supposed most influential work of that time. From what I've read about the Decameron, it's influence might extend far beyond the European Renaissance. The work is presented as a series of 100 Novellas grouped into 10 days, each having a particular theme. It's going to take me a while to get through considering my inexperience with Renaissance literature but I'll be posting updates along the way with some commentary, and possible thoughts for how the story could fit into a musical context.

Oil Spill

When asked to describe the massive mile long underwater oil plumes now lurking in the Gulf, Samantha Joye, an expedition leader from the University of Georgia responded with this:

It's an infusion of oil and gas unlike anything else that has ever been seen anywhere, certainly in human history.

Bacteria are breaking down the oil's hydrocarbons in a massive, microorganism feeding frenzy that has sent oxygen levels plunging close to what is considered "dead zone" conditions, at which most marine life are smothered for a lack of dissolved oxygen.

I generally don't post about current events, but that description struck me as important, also horrifying.

Here's a link to make a donation:

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Threats-to-Wildlife/Oil-Spill.aspx

Also Here: http://www.healthygulf.org/

Debate: Is God Great? Christopher Hitchens v. John Lennox

I've seen a few other debates on whether or not a god exists and whether or not it's good for society to believe in something beyond themselves. And the more I watch and the more I read about this subject the more it seems like a useless effort.

It is my understanding that once a person decides to believe in a god wholeheartedly, no statement can be made to disprove their belief. When someone chooses to accept anything upon faith, they are assuming the existence of something without any physical evidence. And that assumption leads to the conclusion that it is possible for anything to exist. They effectively open their arms to the supernatural. To combat this ideology the only avenue for the faithless is to disprove, individually, the things that the believer has taken to be true based on faith.

Now the faithless may make an honest effort toward this end, but human imagination is infinite. If you prove a fact based on evidence that was previously explained with faith, you haven't disproved God. All you've done is shed light on a small corner of reality that was previously shrouded in darkness. To expand on this image, to disprove God the faithless would have to shed light on the universe, the infinite universe, every aspect of it. We would need to see everything that exists and be able to explain why it exists. The very definition of the infinite universe makes this impossible.

So... What are we fighting for? Hitchens is under the impression that the believers are dangerous because they use their faith to justify evil and gives myriad examples to support his opinion. He thinks that abolishing religion world-wide would cause people to be more enlightened and generally less-violent, less deceitful.

I disagree with this opinion by equating faith to ignorance. (as an atheist i can do that :p) In a society you inevitably have varying degrees of enlightenment. When one person understands something clearly that another person does not, that information can be used as a weapon. Information can be distorted and presented in such ways as to reinforce the intentions of the enlightened, whether they be good or evil. An atheist is no more honest than a believer. The terrible aspects of humanity will always be present, greed, selfishness, bigotry, the lot of it. There has never been a society in the history of the world that was devoid of these problems and I doubt there ever will be. Therefore religion is no more dangerous than the existence of privileged information. Evil men will do evil things with whatever tools they have at their disposal.

You also have the nasty problem of death. Any atheist who is appreciating their life is not going to want to die. He is going to be terrified of the thought. It is very likely that during their final breath surrounded by loved ones, his eyes will go wide with frightful anticipation, with horror as the darkness comes into sight, as the light around him grows dim and even though biologically we're engineered to feel euphoria in the moment, as long as his mind is operating normally he is going to be fully aware of what is about to happen.

To contrast this, the religious have no fear of death, or at least they shouldn't, because the after life exists and death is just the beginning to an eternity of existence. Any religious person who fears death needs to reevaluate their faith immediately. I see this as a distinct advantage because death then takes on the identity of "the next step." I would argue that a society who believes this is going to be more prepared to die, is going to be less desperate when faced with it, less willing to commit atrocities out of blind fear and aggression when death is imminent.

But again you can immediately say that because of this, the religious might place less value in our life on this planet and may be more willing to commit atrocities even when death is not imminent. On and on.

It's easy to say which side of the argument is more enlightened. It's difficult to say which side of the argument is better.

So the conclusion I always arrive at is, why are we wasting our time trying to convince the other side? The thinkers should be busy thinking, finding new ways to uncover the universe and the believers should be busy imagining what could be waiting for them beyond the universe. Whichever side gives you more peace in your personal existence is the side you should be on, but there's no reason why it has to be a competition.

Ronnie James Dio, 1942-2010

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."

- Wendy Dio

First Pete, now Dio...

Worst year for metal ever...

Book: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

This was exactly what I needed after 2666. It is very unlike me to go into a novel without knowing anything about it, but I find myself appreciating surprises more and more these days. Needless to say after reading a couple other Murakami's I had an idea of what I was in for: Surreal dream-like excursions grounded by the self-reflection of interesting characters. Lucky for me, within this short description a lot can happen and Hard-Boiled certainly had enough surprises to keep me interested.

The plot develops around one character, (a name is never given) who makes a living organizing the data of scientific experiments in his mind; known as a calcutec. This skill, one he was trained for with various brain surgeries, comes at a very high risk because the setting is a world in which information is fought over constantly. The ability of being able to absorb a seemingly infinite amount of data and organize it into a usable form would obviously be very valuable to either side of these data wars.

From that description, this might seem like a sci-fi novel that would fit nicely between Asimov and Dick, but not quite because this is only one of the two stories introduced in this novel.

The second is set in a town completely isolated from the outside world by a giant wall. In this town there is a gate keeper who removes the soul of anyone entering the town and watches over beasts that roam within the town, a dream reader who absorbs dreams from the skulls of dead beasts, a librarian who minds the library and assists the dream reader in his duties, and a retired colonel who keeps the dream reader company at home with words of wisdom and games of chess. Next to the town, but still within the limits of the wall, is a forest which is forbidden to the townspeople and would cause harm to them if they passed through it. Within this forest are people forbidden from the town for having refused to give their soul to the gate keeper.

Right?! Wow...

The two stories alternate with each chapter of the novel. At first they seem completely unrelated as if you were reading two different novels, but with each chapter another parallel is formed that bridges the gap between them. The subtlety and patience used doing this is unbelievable. There were so many times during this book when I'd be reading along not paying any attention to the alternate reality, but during a pause to take in all the detail, images from the alternate reality would come rushing to me as if from my subconscious, which was the obvious intent of the author; to blur the gap between conscious and subconscious minds and show that one can be lost in either.

Highly recommended for those who like sci-fi, those who like fantasy, and those who just like to think.

5/5

Fairwell to Beer

It's time to accept reality. I am allergic to beer...

After all the Imperial Stouts, the Hefeweizens, the rich Porters, it's time for me to say goodbye.

I conducted a test to confirm this horrible conclusion. Last night, a night like any other, I sat down to a movie with a few Sam Adams Summer Ales and with each sip I experienced the inevitable truth; the pounding headache, the eventual nausea; symptoms I've been feeling for years but have refused to recognize.

Tonight, to confirm that it was indeed the beer and not alcohol in general, I bought myself a liter of Jack and had a few servings mixed with coke (probably 6 or 7 shots worth) leaving me in my current state, which is drunk, but with no headache, no turning of the stomach, no feeling of impending doom.

Granted this change in my body chemistry was gradual. Some times were obvious, other times would instill a feeling of hope that there was some other cause to my ailments.

But, no. This is definitive. This is my goodbye to beer, a hobby that kept me guessing, kept me interested, but became too painful to endure.