mushinnoshin

so here we go;

sorry I haven’t written much here lately. I have no greater excuse than simply not having been in the right frame of mind.

Well. Don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’m here. And it’s Saturday night, after Christmas. It’s been a decent one. Thursday with the dad, brother, and brother’s family, at Granny’s house, which Dad has now inherited. I think I hit a home run with the Fart Machine I gave my nephew. And another, with a most politically incorrect documentary in which the esteemed civil libertarian boundary-pusher Larry C. Flynt chronicles the accomplishments and exploits of an Alaskan pin-up queen gone rogue. We’ll leave the rest to your imagination or google-fu.

Saturday, pizza, party, and presents with the sister and her husband, which rocked. Never doubt the badassedness of four fresh diced jalapeños and a smattering of mushrooms taking a Digiorno to the next level, especially when you wash it down with a steady flow of a brew-kit bitter and a back supply of the same brew-kit’s dark ale. We backed the food with the Mr. Hankey’s Chrismas Classics dvd, and the beer with Weird Al’s videos dvd, which culminated in the main event of Christmas at Ground Zero. Then to the living room for presents, with Koyaanisqatsi muted, just for the visual, and the TSO playing on on the PC/stereo. Good Times. As far as the gift, my & my sister and I have this long running calendar gag, and I won’t bore you with the details but I think I rocked it this year.

So then today I guess is xmas for me. Cleaned up from the party, then spent the day in lazy, beer-sipping play and exploration. I finally opened up the School of Rock dvd that’s been sitting on my coffee table for months. I can’t tell you how much I love the hell out of that movie. It’s stupid, it’s sappy, but goddamn it it rocks and I love it. Of course I’ve seen it too many hundred thousand times on TBS, so I didn’t need to watch it, but watched it with the commentary from Jack Black and the director, then went back and just watched the “one hell of a rock show” chapter. Man, for a stupid movie song, they nailed it. Just enough Yes, Kiss, Bowie, and Floyd all mixed up and dished out over a plate of AC/DC — fuck yeah. And yes, I fucking cry every time when Turkey Sub struts up to the mike and belts out loud and clear how happy she is to be who she is in a glorious declaration. And though I’ve got my issues with the keyboard kid — I would have liked to have seen a little less Rick Wakeman, a little more Ray Manerik with a helping of Jon Lord (that just would have been more rock and roll to me) — I understand better after the commentary that yeah, Wakeman was probably the perfect archetype given the actor/pianist’s true to life classical upbringing and utter unfamiliarity with rock. And even still I did always like the somewhat-Wakemanesque, but almost more Come Sail Away-era-Denis DeYoung sounding portamento-drenched monotimbral solo he does there. My kinda shit, actually.

Had an awesome dinner (yellow saffron rice, with red onions, fresh jalapeños, and mushrooms, well seasoned and sautéed with a Morningstar Veggie Italian Sausage, if you give a damn), then put on Naqoyqatsi, another dvd I’ve owned for a while but been waiting for the right time to watch. Except that I still haven’t watched it, I’ve just been listening as I typed this post. Well, it *is* Glass, it needs at least one listen by itself without the visual.

And it just ended. Guess I should grab another beer and watch it for real this time.

After stumbling to the computer this morning, as coffee medicated a mild hangover from a kickass shindig the agonyzer hosted with his partners in crime to celebrate their success in a damn fine production of A Christmas Carol — my firefox went batshit and commandeered my morning.

Long story short, over the course of maybe a half to a dozen page loads, the thing just ground to a halt. It wouldn’t respond within the page or in the menus. It acted like took control of X, or at least of KDE, by seeming not to let you switch to a different window, but it was actually just slow, and once switched, you could move between all the *other* windows and terminals with ease. One thing it did leave me was the ability to close the program from the corner ‘X’, and it closed quickly and cleanly. I’d relaunch — no alerts, it was a clean close and didn’t believe itself to have crashed — and as the tabs from the previous session opened, it crawled to the same condition.

Repeat several times, closing out all but the standard dozen or so tabs I keep open 24-7, which I know aren’t likely to have any out of control scripting — no change. No change in safe mode, or after using safe mode launch to restore some program defaults. Try an apt-get upgrade (think “Windows Update”) on the system (running debian testing on a pretty old amd xp-1700), and a dist-upgrade (think “Windows Service Pack”). These installed a new enough firefox that I had to upgrade some plugins. Finally an install –reinstall on firefox, err, iceweasel. Rebooted after each of the last three. All without making a lick of difference.

Exasperated, I closed all the aforementioned always-open tabs, restarted one last time — and everything worked like a champ. Of course I immediately reopened all the same standard tabs, without a hitch.

So it doesn’t seem to have been the pages, but something with the browser’s cache of information about and controlling one or more of the tabs and their content.

As far as the awesomeness goes — well it *was* pretty impressive how consistently firefox reproduced my session tabs, through all those ups and downs and upgrades and even the reinstall. Even if it did suck that it had to reproduce whatever the hell was wrong in the process.

The Opera last night was packed, so the fundamentals of the economy must be strong!

weirdness

everything is just — unsettling. I’ve got a nice buzz on — partly vodka, partly oxycodone.

But I should be nearly unconscious, which as you can see, I’m not.

It’s been a weird and shitty week, as you are aware.

tomorrow, things should start to get back to normal. I suppose I’ll go back to karate, though that’s going to be an ordeal unto itself. It’s times like this that I really wish classes were on Tuesdays’s — the drama of being Monday sometimes makes it harder than it needs to be.

The doc wants me to start physical therapy tomorrow. I don’t know that I can afford it. Besides, i think that encroaches on sensei’s territory.

I’m not sure that I want to go back to karate. I *will*, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not sure I want to. It hasn’t really been *fun* for a very long time, and I’m mostly fueled now by having the goal, and by not wanting to fail. Which is a poor motivator when you lose the will to give a shit about anything.

Which I haven’t *entirely* lost. But it took a severe blow this week.

Somehow, last night, on the way out of the Schermerhorn after hearing a masterful performance of Verdi’s Massa da Requiem, I sliced the fuck out of my finger. I have no idea how, i just felt a throbbing and noticed I was bleeding. The gauze on my finger now does as much if not more than the booze to make this typing difficult.

By the time I noticed my finger bleeding, I had bled a good bit onto my sortof-white pants. So I did a whole dance to wash the pants and get the blood out before the stain set. Meanwhile I played with Genghis Kat. Then I pulled the pants out of the wash, and there was all this new blood on them! Shit, the cat got my wrist. Gotta wash the pants again. So much for being green and efficient.

Saw a trailer at the Belcourt today for a movie about Genghis Khan. Haven’t decided if I should let the cat see it. He’s already mean enough without giving him any ideas. Yet, he really should know his roots.

Boarding Gate is sort of a stupid and pointless thriller. But the scene where it all goes down? Fucking HOT. And I’m not even into any of that shit. [Heh. Ridley says basically the same thing. Only he says it much better, of course.]

Jon Stewart was excellent Friday night. As I said to Kate, “not 80 dollars worth of good, but still very good. Easily 50 dollars worth of good.”

Disturbing, retarded, racist screeds about fearing an Obama presidency on the grounds of not liking gangsta rappers? Yeah, I was a little shocked to see one on the Nashville Gothic board of all places. I thought goths were supposed to love all things black.

Remind me to buy a back yard compost bin

Bah. I’ve had Carmina Burana on in the background and it’s over. Seems like a good excuse to pour another drink. Let’s try to make this one stiff enough to knock us the fuck out.

Seems to help get you out of my head.

As you know, I’ve been following a trail of breadcrumbs back through the pantheon of late twentieth century songs which aspired, in fact demanded under no uncertain terms, that the artist|performer, the audience, or both, are currently or soon-to-be engaged in either the act of rocking, or the process of getting rocked, most frequently by the collective “we”, though nearly as often by a third party to whom the song is saluting or otherwise praising (e.g., “the kids”, “those people with whom I share some common interest, hobby, or activity”, or possibly, “you”.), on some occasions with the intent of reaching or propelling the subjects of said rocking towards some goal, destination, mental state, or realm of a multicultural afterlife mythology, frequently and notably the Christian “Hell”, and not infrequently in a manner which might be likened to severe weather conditions.

To that end, this weekend’s entrant, Dio — We Rock. An excellent contender I think. Of course I can laugh at it too, but then I also think music does need more comedy. Hey, it worked for Gilbert & Sullivan.

(Actually, I bet a metal band really could do a righteous version of Pirates. It would have to be a band with a wicked sense of humor. Perhaps Jaz Coleman conducts the Trans-Siberian Orchestra with guests from Faith No More, Tool, and Primus, featuring Rob Zombie as Major-General Stanley, Spinal Tap in the Chorus of Pirates, and Geoff Tate as The Pirate King? Word. Suck on that, Johnny.

Anyway, back to Dio. Well, whatever he or his band’s particular merits, they get a place in my library mainly for having headlined one of my top 3 concert memories. Number one of course was lollapalooza one. I don’t know offhand what show would be #3, so whatever it is, it might actually be #2. But this was a helluva show — Dio, Megadeth, and Savatage. Dio on the Dream Evil Tour, Megadeth on the very week that “So Far So Good..” came out, and Savatage (the band that would become the TSO) on their breakthrough, umm, masterpiece? :)

And Dio (“god” in Italian) upside down spelled “devil” — what more does an angry teenage buddhist need?

PS: I just want to say how terribly funny I think it is that from this angle, the Devil seems to be doing his best SpiderMan impression.

PS two, and, three:

PS four: now I’m not going to argue that Zeppelin is just a blues band or anything like that — but try and tell me that it was anyone but Sabbath who invented heavy metal and you’re asking for a fight.

You might remember that a few weeks ago we discovered that Phil Valentine needs gay marriage to be illegal, because government permission is the only thing keeping him from giving in to his cravings for a lifetime of hot bovid lovin’. Well Phil, if you get a chance, tonight’s your last chance to see the TN Rep perform Edward Albee’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, which might help you understand why it’s a bad idea, whether or not the government approves.

Personally I thought the play was very funny, though I have trouble reading too many questions of philosophical import into it, aside from the simple value of forcing the audience to ask questions they’d probably just rather not ask. Wikipedia on the other hand mentions that the point may have something to do with finding the “limits of an ostensibly liberal society”, but I have some problems with that perspective.

First, because no matter who or what the man’s adulterous companion was, the fact is he betrayed his pledge to his family. While one might argue for an acceptance of open relationships as being a liberal value, betrayal — violating a trust that has no agreed allowance for polyamory — most certainly is not. One can perfectly well condemn the man without even addressing his particular fetish and still be genuinely “liberal”.

Second, the question is greatly clouded by the character’s seemingly sincere belief that he and the goat were “in love”. The outright absurdity of this premise, combined with the scene one references to the man’s declining mental state, paint a picture of a man in need of psychological (and possibly medical) help, and the manner in which his illness is manifested is irrelevant. If you want to discuss whether liberalism must allow for bestiality, you have to start with a character of sound mind, who clearly understands what he’s doing.

I suppose one could ask whether a liberal should have compassion, rather than condemnation, for the man and his illness. And I would say certainly. But even at that — well, the family’s reaction is still quite understandable given the devastating bomb dropped upon them — we must have compassion for them as well. This leaves Ross, whose reaction and attitude I agree can be condemned under this interpretation — but the simple explanation that he is a singular asshole seems more likely than the extrapolated presumption that most liberals would behave the same.

As to the unaddressed question itself — absent betrayal, and given a person of sound mind — must liberalism regard bestiality as acceptable? I would have to suppose the answer becomes dependent on the next question of animal rights, yielding three possible answers. One who recognizes no rights in animals has little left to condemn. One who recognizes animal rights has to then ask whether they believe the animal, umm, likes it. Personally, since I — at the risk of using what could almost be construed as a triple-entendre — have no dog in the hunt — am quite content to leave the question unanswered. But Phil, if you want to understand whether your goat fetish is immoral, these are the questions you’re going to have to address.

People’s Branch is doing Death and the Maiden. It’s really very powerful, go see it if you can.

Of course part of the message is “torture == bad” — so Republicans may want to skip it.

On a side note, the play is loosely based on the happenings in Chile under the Pinochet regime — a regime with some notable connections to and influence from “libertarian” Milton Friedman. I point to this not to damn Friedman necessarily — I do recognize that sometimes we are presented with utilitarian choices between evils, and that he may well have worked only within the framework presented in order to effect the best outcome possible. But the consequence of taking a utilitarian position is that you must always be judged in accord with that position, which history can only do if the facts remain front and center.

Anyone want to go see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tomorrow (Sunday) night?

I’ve got a two-for-one email coupon for tomorrow night’s 6:30 performance, if anyone wants to go halves on it.

Next time I go see a production that kicks as much ass as Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I’ll try not to wait until the final performance, which renders unhelpful to you my reporting of its awesomeness. Aww, well hell it’s not like you ever take my advice anyway.

Still, since I recently went through and loaded up my calendar with the new seasons of a few of the local orgs, here’s a brief on what I think will be some highlights.

• People’s Branch Theater, responsible for the aforementioned Hedwig, have three shows left in their season. I love this troupe and look forward to all three.
• October 5-13, ACT1 is doing “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” at the Darkhorse. ACT1 will also have three more this season, though I haven’t heard of the other three.
• It looks like the TN Rep is going to have a fantastic season, which will include:
  • Edward Albee’s The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia? (you may know Albee from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
  • Steve Martin’s The Underpants. I love me some Steve Martin, and I saw this one performed at the Darkhorse a while back, which had me in stitches. So I’m very much looking forward to seeing the Rep’s take on it.
  • Oh, and they’re kicking things off in October with The Crucible.
• I don’t typically pay much mind to the Broadway musicals, but this year TPAC’s got Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in January, Monty Python’s Spamalot coming up in February, and 12 Angry Men in May.
• Speaking of music, Vanderbilt’s Great Performances series has a couple of good ones lined up. Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu-Man returns to Nashville in February, and the Kronos Quartet is coming in March.
• And speaking of chamber music at Blair, Alias has another great season lined up, which kicks off Oct 4 with some tasty Shostakovich.
• Of course, Shostakovich in February and March are just two of the Nashville Symphony performances I’m looking forward to this season. Coming up just next week will be a great one for noobs, with our renowned “music advisor” Leonard Slatkin stepping in to give us Beethoven’s Fifth.
• My many Irish friends might be find their curiosity piqued by a couple of Celtic special events on that list, including a performance by the Chieftans. Of course Irish music without a pub and a Guinness may be like… well, bluegrass without a honky-tonk and a Pabst, but still…
• Lastly we can’t forget the Nashville Opera, who’s entire season also looks enticing, although the one I’m anticipating most is Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. (What can I say, it’s a Sideshow Bob thing)

So, yeah, it’s going to be a good season. I’m either going to have to get a raise, or start making some hard choices… Well in any case at least with all this advance notice, maybe we can avoid all the usual bickering and fighting over who gets to go with me to these things :)

Saturday night I find myself at TPAC, enjoying the intelligent highbrow comic stylings of Paula Poundstone in a performance benefiting the Nashville Public Library.

Sunday night I find myself at the Exit/In listening to the trashy fetish-charged disco industrial of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.

Yup, I’m a study in contradictions.

Well, Miss Poundstone was fantastic, she kept me and the rest of the Polk theater in absolute stitches for nearly 3 hours. And seeing as she’s been on my shortlist of top celebrity crushes for a decade or so, I naturally couldn’t pass up the chance to meet her afterward and get an autograph. Shame that I couldn’t actually say any of the numerous quips that I conjured up while waiting in line, any one of which would have been infinitely more memorable than the ‘uhh… hello’ that I managed to get out, but there ya go…

Anyway, Paula, on the off chance that Googling yourself ever happens to bring you here, do know that I wish I had pointed out that they really would need you in that bomb shelter. I mean sheesh, if bombs are falling everywhere and the whole world is going to hell, people are absolutely going to need a good laugh. An e-commerce website? Not so much : )

The Thrill Kill Kult on the other hand was less awesome. I mean they were OK, but… Well actually I’ve never been a huge fan — they’ve got a couple of good songs, but mostly the schtick runs a bit thin after a while. But I’d never seen them, and they do have one really fantastic song — of which my old band used to do a ripping cover — called “The Days of Swine & Roses”. So all would have been well had they played it. They didn’t. Bastards.

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult – The Days of Swine and Roses

I’m not having any luck with that embedded last.fm thing on this machine, but I’ll throw it out there anyway, maybe you’ll do better. I’ll just say that any song with a sexy female voice chanting about “Christ-ian Zom-bie Vam-py-res” has my vote :)