Deleting your social networking site profile...

...looks easy, save one. Facebook. With all the beacon crap that's been going on, I'm not surprised.

And a semi-amusing but moreso unsettling account of one Facebook deletion.

Breathing

In discussing the diaphragm muscle, the book Trail Guide to the Body (an excellent anatomy book for anyone who focuses on or is interested in the musculoskeletal structure) contains a sidebar which reads: "The heart is directly affected by the motion of the diaphragm. As the heart's fibrous pericardium is attached to the diaphragm's central tendon by ligaments, the heart literally rides up and down on the diaphragm as you breathe. The yogis were right - breathing can massage the heart!" I would add Taijiquan and any other meditative or "conscious breathing" exercise to this, in addition to the old standby aerobic activity. We often don't think about our breath, myself included, so we often don't consider that we might be able to breathe "better." Breathing massages the heart, and assists and is tied so many other important bodily functions that it can also help relieve stress. Dr. Andrew Weil describes three good breathing exercises each with a different purpose.

Larry Wilmore...

...is hilarious! And brings the awkwardness of race relations to the fore with his comedy. Another writer (like Paul Mooney) who wrote for the show In Living Color who is getting more of his due.

Environmental Blog Action Day

Things you can do:::

-Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or washing the dishes. It shouldn't be constantly running.

-Take shorter showers.

-Wash your clothes in cold water. The hot water does not kill germs (it must be absolutely scalding to do so), the detergent and dryer do that. It saves the power that would heat the water.

-Drive the speed limit. Fact: doubling your speed of travel increases by the power of two the wind resistance, using far more gasoline. Also, no need to accelerate quickly--this also burns needless gas. Using the two-second rule when behind another driver will save you from hitting your brakes and gas so much, and a smoother ride makes for better mileage. Mea culpa on some of these, but it's good to keep them in mind! It is my opinion that only those who drive sensibly are allowed to complain about high gas prices.

-Walk, bike, or use public transportation more. Also, if you are able-bodied, park in the first available spot--no wasting gas driving around to find the closest one, plus the walk is *not* that far!

-Plant some trees.

-Take nature walks--the beautiful world we live on is here for us to enjoy and interact with! Indulge! Learn about plants, birds, types of clouds, constellations. The more we engage with our surroundings the more aware we are of our place in the wider scheme of things, among many other things like fresh air and peace of mind.

-Plenty more things, but I've overstayed my welcome!

-Addendum, and another mea culpa::: turn your computer off when you're not going to use it for a few hours. It draws a lot of power.

Sure...

..you could take the Political Compass test, but even more interesting is the "Iconochasms" quiz--I find #18 particularly telling (w/r/t how history was written), and there are some that can be rather jarring. It shows me how multifaceted and contradictory us humans can be.

Boredom...

...is not universal.

Live music viscera (with overuse of the word "viscera")

I saw Swans on their final tour in 1997 at Irving Plaza in NYC. It was a mesmerizing experience, and I left the venue quite numb and overpowered. They played oppressive music that night that you had to submit to that night, though not all their music is like this. Also on the bill were Low, whose music I didn't yet know. I enjoyed how, in the face of Swans lunkheads jeering them, they continued to play, but even slower and quieter. They were supporting my now favorite album of theirs, The Curtain Hits the Cast. I've seen Godspeed! You Black Emperor twice, with the pretty build-up of the first song of disc one on Lift your skinny fists... overpowering, but in a euphoric way. Interestingly, the intensity of the song was lacking the second time I saw them, thus diminishing the euphoria for me. I feel fortunate enough to have seen Arab on Radar once before they broke up. Absolute dumb, spastic-yet-practiced fun! I'm sure I laughed a few times and was smiling for their whole set; so entertaining to see the band do their lurching dances to their music and to hear the composed, cutting cacophony of the songs with the demented drum machine drumming and stupid lyrics and vocals. These have all been great live music experiences, all working to get to some viceral level. But seeing Whitehouse live in NYC November 3rd, 2005 was an experience in a class of its own. Sure, it was viceral—how can having two middle-aged British guys yelling at you over a wall of finely-hewn noise (they call it "power electronics") not be? But it was far more ENGAGING as a live music experience than the others listed above. The lyrics, while filled with curses and "offensive" to some/many, come off as confrontational, but in a way that URGES you to respond. When William Bennett repeatedly asked the crowd how many of us believed in ROCK AND ROOOOLLLL! (Yes, an actual song by Whitehouse) he received a lackluster response from the crowd, which played perfectly into the last line of that song he spoke, "You should learn to stand up for what you believe in." (Or something similar.) It was the most entertaining part of the set for me in the traditional sense. My friend and I got into the set even more through mimicking Philip Best's "Whitehouse pose" with the elbow jabbing towards your feet and a tight fist pointing at the ceiling, with some backwards body lean for effect. I can't forget the addition of the wordless open mouth, making the pose all the more primal. Not all songs were barrages of noise; one or two were just a single pounding drum, but without the comfort of a techno reference point. By the end of the set, they were shirtless and were raising their straight arms above their heads, tracing a semicircle with each hand as they reached up. How could this not bee seen as a euphoric gesture? Their very last track was Movement 2000, a big block of thick, weighty noise that has a wonderfully paradoxical sense of "nothing is changing" within it, yet it conveys a compulsively propulsive force. This felt like a final purification—-you could tell it would be the last track of the night, and this knowledge wasn't a letdown-—moreso a closure (and opening!) that felt right.

Whitehouse's set that night left me feeling cleansed and rejuvenated. It is tough to tell what exactly contributed to this, though I like to think that the set was crafted by Bennett and Best to build up to such feelings. In comparing this experience with the others mentioned above, I feel that Whitehouse create visceral music that allows you to PARTICIPATE in exploring and peeling away layers of yourself that you have built up over the years. To call these layers artifice might not be exactly correct, but it wouldn't be far from the truth. You have to be willing to come halfway to this-—Whitehouse will certainly not lead you by the hand—-it is a challenging (in all respects) prospect, reflected in their lyrics (which will turn some listeners off immediately). Being an active participant in your own visceral response to live music gives one a feeling of agency. This is quite empowering, compared with being a spectator to visceral music which requires submission from the listener. Whitehouse act more as guides than authority figures, though at first glance they might seem to be the latter. I still enjoy listening to the other bands listed above, though with different ends. I will continue to listen to Whitehouse and explore my psyche through their work. And this will be ongoing—-possibly never-ending-—work, because we are such complex creatures.

Addendum::: A friend of mine pointed out that it may come across that I think Whitehouse are the pinnacle of all visceral live music I've experienced. This is not the case--they are the pinnacle in the specific realm of live music I discuss above, building agency and strengthening the spirit, as opposed to squashing it like, say, Swans, who are the pinnacle of that realm. And for balls-out fun visceral live music, Arab on Radar are the pinnacle. However, Whitehouse are far more interesting on a variety of levels, and it is this reason that led me to write on them from the vantage of live experience.

The Jena Six

If you are an American, you should read this.

Explicit content only

*Only* the swears from NWA's "Straight Outta Compton." Riotous!

My Crow Hills pics

A recent acquisition of mine was a nice little point and shoot digital camera. My primary subject so far has been the Crow Hills area of Leominster State Park in central Massachusetts. Please take a look!

"Samedi the Deafness" by Jesse Ball

What follows is a review of Jesse Ball's recently-published novel Samedi the Deafness.

I will spare you specifics about the book, as this is well-covered elsewhere on these interweb-tubes. Another motivation for this is because I wish for each new reader of Samedi to discover the story on their own terms as much as possible. I was looking forward to reading this novel by the poet Jesse Ball ever since I saw it was to be released. Once I got my hands on the advanced reader's copy, I paused my reading only for sleep and eating. It can go by quickly if you aren't careful to savor it, yet you don't feel as if the book is whipping you along. At the same time, the wonder and preciousness of each moment comes through in the book. The story feels like a distinct character, as if it has it's own life and agency. You come across little wisdoms uttered by the characters which initially feel as if they are meant to remain within the realm of the book, but as the book seeps into you you start to wonder which ones might function well outside the pages. And there are deeper wisdoms here, stretching across pages and sections of the book, which take longer to seep in.

The imagination present in this story is inspirational, as it is not a separate entity but the well up from which the story is drawn. Scenes from the book are still swirling about my head. I say this in contrast to another author whom I enjoy, who blurs the line between reality and the sub-/un-conscious (imaginary?), thus making reality feel unstable and foggy. This is enjoyable on its own merits, if you enjoy such a challenge. Ball's work is assured in its vagaries and imagination, which imparts a confidence (in both senses) on the reader rather than a fog, bringing its own challenges to the reader and reinforcing the reader's suspension of disbelief.

Samedi is a good introduction to Ball's fiction writing style, which has a feel akin to prose poetry. There is talk of another of his novels being released sometime in 2008, which promises to delve deeper into imaginative realms. His other publications are worth your time, including a collection of poetry, March Book, and a collection of short stories/prose poems about an atrocious couple with a stirring joie de vivre, Vera & Linus, written with poet Thordis Bjornsdottir.

I urge you to explore the website for Samedi the Deafness, which includes audio of the author reading excerpts, videos produced by the author, and promotional materials for the populace to spread the word about Samedi. The Flash plug-in is necessary.

Amen

"The truth is that anything in excess (or under the right circumstances) can harm or kill you, from exercising to drinking water. Hyping minor threats only serves to confuse the public about which threats are truly urgent and which are insignificantly remote."

Edward Gorey + Star Trek = Whoa

A scan of an old article about Gorey, with a mention of how he watched Star Trek. Worth reading the whole article, and the cartoon the author creates is fantastic!

http://shaenon.livejournal.com/48834.html

R.I.P. Daniel Hansson

I just learned that the CEO and main visionary of the Swedish company that makes my favorite hardware synths, Elektron, died in a car accident. He was 33. I was initially surprised at how shaken up I am by this, but it makes sense because they were a small company who cared about their customers and would go above and beyond to help users of their products. Plus, their synths inspired creativity and allowed one to stay away from a computer (if one wished) to make electronic music. For all these reasons and more I've felt a personal connection with the synths and by extension those who made them. I'm am glad that the company will continue on, though I couldn't imagine it not doing so for any reason.

Revelation!

I'm totally convinced that kids who watched Inspector Gadget grew up to enjoy or at least appreciate death metal because Dr. Claw was an excellent example of the "Cookie Monster" style of metal vocals, while Mad Cat did the metal-style scream. You know it's true.

Another "duh" moment

I'm listening to The Cure's "Disintegration" and realizing just how much some of these songs made an impression on me when I was younger. Though the radio songs from the album are damned good, I absolutely adore Plainsong and the title track. Untitled is a fine track as well. There must be a counterpoint for me after listening to The Cure, because me reaction to their music is to float away into a fluffy-clouded region of my mind that is pretty but not entirely comfortable. Maybe this is why I also enjoy music such as Swans and Whitehouse, because their music is aiming for a viceral reaction, sometimes bodily or even primal. However, this is completely on the other side of the spectrum and an ideal would be a music that is grounding which can be found somewhere in between brutal and pretty music.

A Crow Hills challenge

Today I wanted to challenge my paralyzing fear of heights, so I drove to Crow Hills to walk a portion of the Mid-state trail. This section asks you to scramble up a steep, rocky incline to get to a more level trail, but this more level trail passes by the Crow Hill ledges, favored by many local and faraway rock climbers. I had stood at the foot of the main cliffs before, and I was fucking terrified just standing below them! However, my time on the trail above them was not as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, it was nerve-wracking being on a trail whose edge sloped down 6 or 7 feet to a precipitous plunge, and my heart was beating a bit faster than usual, but I did not feel terrified--a pleasant and confidence-building change of pace. It was a very odd experience to be looking down on ponds that were not very far away, and to see the land just drop off, leaving only the very tops of trees in the line of sight--I would never use the word majestic or other such hyperbole, or feel like I needed to recreate the experience tomorrow, but it was an accomplished feeling.

I explored a bit more on the plateau that is Crow Hill, and found it covered with trees and shrubs, as well as a few poorly-trodden paths. I followed one to what seemed like the peak of Crow Hill (though this is difficult to determine), and enjoyed the strong breeze that somehow worked its way unimpeded through the trees around. Not much of a view from there to other places, but there was a good amount of moss and lichen to make for a shorter viewing experience. I even saw a milipede, which was about 3 inches long. I stayed the hell away, though close enough to check it its locomotion. Very cool-looking, though creepy with such a plated armor about it. Verminous critter. I had some trouble exploring Crow Hill, cos the (unofficial) paths turned into nothing at certain points, but eventually I found my way back down. I then set out to find the swamp I spied on Google Earth, which I have deduced must be the source for a stream I love to visit. I trudged through undergrowth for a good amount of time and came back, only to find a path leading to the same area. I checked out this path, and decided that it would be best explored at a later date.

"Embedded"

Probably one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time:::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SBR8XmE4PA

Watch the trailer and see the movie if it is in yr area!

A "The State"/"Stella"/"Reno 911"-related movie!

http://www.thetenmovie.com

Inaugural

After much deliberation and--let's face it--hemming and hawing, I've decided to start a blog. Before I describe the sorts of things I envision including here, I'd like to talk about the blog's title: it is the name of a song by Todd Jones under his Brown Moth moniker. Originally, I was going to use another song title of his, "Chocolate Jimmies White Ice Cream," due to my interest in the layers of meaning one could draw from it and the issues brought up by the questionable associations of the word "jimmies," along with the imagery of something of substance covering a larger mass which lacks substance (note it is white ice cream and not vanilla!) But I gave another listen to the album from which these two titles are taken, and realized I should use the title of the song that I like the most! You can't beat the imagery of the words "Mongoose Sword," either. It helps that I enjoy martial arts movies and that my first decent BMX bike was a Mongoose. I want to make this blog more about what I like on a larger scale than solely about what I find intellectually interesting, like the unused song title, though let me be clear that I enjoy both songs on more than one level.

As this blog grows, I hope to include quotes I like from friends, family, and folks I've never met; ruminations/me thinking aloud in writing; links to plenty of other sites; and stuff I find amusing and/or curious. I won't be likely to turn this into a window into my soul or any such thing--in fact, I may comment on that sort of thing at some point--but you're likely to find me writing about subjects which compel me, such as music, body work, and any other miscellaneous detritus that floats its way into my life.

So please come back and visit occasionally, or do up the RSS/ATOM thang for updates as they happen.

Respect and appreciation to those who got on me and inspired me to start this up, directly or indirectly.