Culture

May 06, 2007

Politics

Warning:
Crazy rant below.

You have been warned.

I know most aren't used to this kind of post but I somehow feel like ranting:

So Obama is getting my vote as of this moment. (http://www.thedailybackground.com/2007/05/05/cnn-plans-to-release-upcoming-debate-footage-uncopyrighted)
It has been an interesting race to get my vote so far in this early portion of the upcoming elections. So far I have been going for the Clinton/Obama vote instead of the Obama/Clintonvote. You can consider me to be under the sucker for the "2 for 1 vote" (Hillary and Bill) category which seems to be popular these days. (With plenty of good reason of course, seeing that we are in deep shit and need all the help we can get. A ex-president that is focused on greater good and international unification is definitely needed. Whether it is for personal ambition or for honest humanitarian reasons is somehow not important right now given how desperately it is needed. (Funny how politics works, right?) Added to that, the reasoning that Obama could always be elected later is an understandable tactic that folks are contemplating. But that is counting chickens before they hatch, right? My trust in my fellow Americans does not allow me to plan that far ahead.

Anyways, the latest word is that Obama was first to call for the Presidential Debates be released under a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons a progressive copyright organization and methodology. Though it should be noted that it does not mean absolute free rights. Obama is definitely a Harvard Law School boy. I used to work there and even though I was not even a student, even I can say that technological and copyright laws are the big thing right now in the world of law. So much so that the "greatest law school in the world" (Top three, definitely.) is putting a lot of resources towards establishing this -- ie. the Berkman Center. This all makes tremendous sense seeing how much the internet changed the world in such a short amount of time. It is so easy to not realize how much it actually did. The availability of Information is a concept that cannot be understated.

Well, the Berkman Center definitely features some of the coolest and most important people right now: Charlie Nesson, Jonathan Zittrain and John Palfrey. (Big up to Phil Malone -- one of the few genuinely kind faculty members I have worked for -- a lot are fucks.) There is a reason why one of the greatest music blogs in the world right now belongs to a relative to a faculty member. (Another big up to Wayne and Wax.)

Ok, back to my original attempted point: Obama now permanently strikes me as the most up to date of the candidates. (Big kudos to Edwards on that too, by the way.) Not that there is any competition from the Republicans. Too be fair, I used to like McCain many moons ago. It is funny how time will reveal what a fucking wreck of a man you really are. Those bafoons aside, I think I can actually fully lean towards the Obama side. I always liked him (as much as you can like a politician) but now I think I can vote for him on for the Democratic Primary now. It is nice to be able to put personal values above politics, even in politics.

This all fits into music in that all these new copyright laws brought on from the internet will pretty much determine the path for art in general from now on. We are in the 'declaration of independence' phase of these laws and as people who appreciate music (and art); it is important for us to follow this closely. It is in our best interest. The only thing I can add to this is this statement: I would never buy a painting without seeing it. Should I buy music without hearing it first?

After reading this, I must apologize for being from Massachusetts.

Go Sox!

Posted by Fran at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 07, 2007

THINGS OF NOTE

An article by the country's premiere food journalist Michael Pollan on the life process of steers that are slaughtered for food in America

A profile of documentary filmmaker Errol Morris

A telling of the meeting of filmmakers Andrei Tarkovsky and Stan Brakhage with the unlikely one coming off as insane.

An abstract of the history of the typeface Helvetica.

Posted by Fran at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 03, 2004

Same as it ever was?

i know the last thing you need is another bullshit rant from me about politics but i really need to blurt something out. this is so fucking awful. millions and millions will suffer because of the consequences of this election. our country will be put back 25 years because of the new supreme court appointees. we have no choice but to wait for these idiots to die before we even have a chance to initiate an attempt at change not to mention the steady downfall of the UN and the freezing of civil rights. oh, and those terrorists. you know, the real ones. its not just the election of the president. the balance of power in the senate and house are still in the grasp of the republicans. this is a firm showing of where the intentions of the country truly lay. the fuckers even made it personal with daschle. its not just a case of the ignorant voting for dubya. the new england mentality of educational superiority as an excuse is wearing thin. if we cannot comprehend that we must share our humanity with people from all aspects of life and beliefs we are doomed to what is happening to the middle east. albeit a prettier version of it. if this isn't a late snooze alarm call for the dawn of the new age of civilization i don't know what is. we must put these ignorant, self indulgent, and ultimately amoral beliefs out for good. religion cannot rule our country. yes, we did ultimately get rid of slavery and soften various social injustices but we did it with blood. we can't afford to do that in this day and age. it seems easier to move to europe where people are some 20 years ahead of us culturally instead of staying in a nation that i have little respect --and thus allegiance too. a good friend of mine asked what i did to help kerry out. other than vote, you probably know my answer. i will definitely donate money in the next election and do my best to get that douche bag mitt romney out of office. i will also offer to pay for giving obama steroids in order for him to take on arnold. besides that, i am out of ideas. i am very overwhelmed right now.

i would gladly trade the Red Sox victory for this one.

--cause, they'll win next year anyways.

Posted by Fran at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)