Social Media? Schmocial... Schmedia

My summary when I think of Twitter and 90% of its users [think impersonal, if ur mah friend ur kewl must be 1/10 shooting star ;D]:

News / Famous people / "Famous people" / News about famous people / Buildings, just the buildings (no people) / Places I don't go / Organizations I don't actively support / GOOD MORNING OH HI LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME LOOKATME ‪#‎ImOnTwitter‬ ‪#‎bored‬ ‪#‎SpendAllMyTimeOnElectronicDevicesBeingSocialButSocialIsInAirQuotes‬

My summary of most Facebook users' experience:
+What they think, "Time to go and find some new information about the world and all of my friends in it!"
+What they do--skim headlines, look at a (minority) of people's activities that are more fun (than being on facebook) and feel envious, and OH A PICTURE OF A DOGGIE.

That said, I don't mind social media, despite the daily droll most people put themselves through on such sites, I think they have an over-arching power to raise awareness and unite opinions through linking the masses on issues of importance. We have access to more accurate information than ever before, even if our political systems can't keep up with how quickly our values and beliefs are evolving into a well-tempered, active thinking community.

A Brief Reflection on Nostalgia, Memory, and Knowing Yourself

"I remember when I used to be really into nostalgia..." --Demetri Martin

Brooding angst +Blissful happiness = Brooangst + Blissappiness = Brooanblissness?

Shifting through some old documents, I found a series of quotes I wrote down some six or seven years ago from music I was listening to when I first started college at Willamette. Only band names and a few key lines proved enough for a one-way ticket all aboard the nostalgia train. It's as if I can see a different me through sub-recollection of feelings projected, just through remembering music by Weezer, Tiger Army, Modest Mouse, Cake, and Bad Religion--among others--where just the band name takes my mind back to when I had the words and music floating through my (in)famous headphones (pic, above) constantly.

"If I can touch it,

I can destroy it,

if it's imaginable to some degree,

I can become it,

like a hungry turning vortex that just flickers to existence,

consuming bits and pieces until I'm finally extinguished"

(Marked, Bad Religion)

Songs tap into mental cavities we sometimes can't feel genuine in accessing for ourselves, and (good) songs offer an external perspective to what's internal, granting us another lens through which to see our feelings and thoughts. With music as a personal experience, we can think of (good) music as a personified commentary on the self. This is why we constantly relate ourselves to situational lyrics we hear, it's a way of looking at yourself through music. Do this enough, and you will build a subconscious image of yourself through music. Remembering the nostalgia of that 'you' constructed through music is what I'm talking about.

"Message read on the bathroom wall says, 'I don't feel at all like I fall'

And we're losing all touch, losing all touch, building a desert"

(Custom Concern, Modest Mouse)

Deep thoughts filtered through flippant moodiness, it's so readily apparent you can smell it.

  

Memories are vessels of success, regret, and randomly accessed images, all in disorganized snapshots that can render pictures of an emotion and will be seen under the scrutinizing lens of Hindsight20/20. For this there is no proper response, though an appreciation of how far you've come and generating a scope of growth are recommended. If you find something warm, hold onto it in the moment, past and present.

"As soon as your born you start dying

So you might as well have a good time"

(Sheep Go to Heaven, Cake)

Just imagine: you could be having this much fun finding yourself.

I feel like most people don't make time for memories, there is always something in front of them that needs more focus, and it can be unsettling to look back. However, doing so is how you continue to know yourself and gain perspective.
Take time to be you--most people are too scared to.
For a while, stay quiet and still.
Leave the electronic behind, go outside, and walk off the beaten path.

"It burns like a fire in the night

a glow that rises and becomes the starlite

Under the trees, in the night

You'll find it there

In the space between heartbeats

Where the whole world disappears"

(Forever Fades Away, Tiger Army)

I've have yet to find myself, but in this place is the closest I get.

PSA: You never know where or when nostalgia may happen to you, so always be prepared to quell the OH SHI- with a few deep breaths of things far gone, and also make time to languish in the warmth of positive past reflection, being happy just to have lived a life worth remembering.

"In fact we didn't know what we were doing half of the time

We were so sure of ourselves and drove a long way through life

Memories make me want to go back there, back there"

(Memories [how perfect], Weezer)

NEWS (Editorial): On Gun Violence and the Illusion of Representative Democracy

I can't believe this was the sentence that happened in my head reading through the news in the morning, it's disheartening, alarming, and enough to make you spit:

"How many school shootings do we have to have before something is seriously done about gun violence in America?"

That was what popped in my head going over a recent summary of shootings: 13 school shootings in the first 6 weeks of the year 2014 alone, that have in total led to 28 deaths since the Newton shooting in December 2012. (via the Guardian US)

I fear hearts have gone cold to the issue; the violence has become a commonplace staple of media in recent times, desensitizing listeners when "another school shooting" comes up.

Am I saying we need to pass legislation immediately, such as Australia did in 1996? No, I'm not even advocating that far (though it'd be nice). I am still stunned to think that this (the least effective of all time) Congress couldn't even pass measures to prevent the purchase of assault grade firearms without background checks for fear of what it would do to the next election cycle.

Politics have become so polarized and invested in private interest that they can no longer do what's right, even when 92% of the country agreed to a need for change because what we see now is that the will of the people has little to no effect on the representative body of government past what is deemed important for elections.

Even with outpouring support for altering gun laws, the watered down bills that came out had been so altered with frivolously added provisions (such as an abusive "anonymous" revision in agriculture paid for by Monsanto) that the final result was no change to help prevent firearms from entering in the wrong hands.

Quite the contrary, gun sales increased from the hype around the legislation.  Now there are more guns out there and we are no closer to managing who might use them. This is a failure of bureaucracy that can only be seen the result of political infighting and mutually beneficial corruption.

I wish there was some better note to end this on, but this has been a failure by no other other words, and it should make people more wary of the role they believe their opinion plays in the game of governance.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/12/school-shootings-newtown-study-gun-violence?CMP=

NEWS (Editorial): Is This Really News? And Random Celebrity had an Affair with the Apocalypse Tomorrow!

That above headline seems like the sort of thing media outlets are writing constantly nowadays. It's hard to tell what is to be considered real news anymore, when my top 3 headlines from what are thought to be reliable news sources (Time, Washington Post, New York Times) are about Flappy Bird, a lady imprisoned for "trolling herself" (read, actually impersonating others and making slanderous/lewd remarks to family members), and a wine that cats can drink.

"Hide yo kids!"

Sure it's a bit humorous, but headlines like this are being written as clickbait, a vile new word, where websites just write whatever will make you go there to get you click, and in addition their spinning the content of the news to make it sound more incredible or interesting than the true story is.
I think it was last week that MSNBC interrupted a former congressman speaking about the NSA to bring "breaking news" of an over-famed teen being an imbecile.

News is being overwritten, and it's all starting to remind me of that old "E!" channel (entertainment news) that used to run 24-7 gossip blips.
Add in some of the just plain false headlines from photoshopped photos passed off as real and we start to need a news channel to review all the other news channels to know what to believe now (And they are Cracked and The Daily Show, most definitely). Even when major media gets railed as fools, they are still getting attention.

Fox & Friends reported that the LAPD were going to purchase $1billion dollars in jetpacks. Their source for this outrageous breaking story? The tabloid paper "Weekly World". Wow. No wonder it sounded so silly.

Between the never-ending battle for ratings and clips views, there's also an escalation of the severity news intoned by news. What FOX headline doesn't end with "... and will destroy America!" at the end. I think they're popping more dolts a day, just to illicit some crazy response, as the channels still masquerade as serious news, but the people are starting to realize the difference.

I know there are many more reliable sources, like (un)surprisingly PBS, and a number of decent news blogs out there, but the majors that get the most coverage are really failing to bring a greater range of domestic stories and international coverage.

We'll see where the trend takes media, however I'll still be here to post what I feel is worthwhile for folks to know.

NEWS: On Increasing Minimum Wage, and the Crafted Illusion of Job Loss

NEWS: Is it any small wonder that the richest people yowl high-pitched complaints at (also rich) politicians about not raising minimum wage? But try and see past the single example of McD's, and think more broadly on why this idea of raising minimum wage comes off as contentious in the first place.


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/raising-the-minimum-wage-a-mcdonalds-killer-not-a-mcjobs-killer/283638/

This new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has economists saying the claims of job loss are over-inflated, which comes as no surprise when you think of who stands to lose out.

Here's a hint: it's just the top business people with the most money, who'd rather keep things as they are instead of adjusting to inflation and the current demands on the poorest of the poor in modern society.

However, the crazy, absolutely insane part is that these avaricious yet monetarily influential people concoct a false debate around increasing the minimum wage, funding and inflating findings of falsified studies, getting pundits to rail on about the negative repercussions that will hit small businesses (what is a small business? Answer: an undefined buzz word). Then the media riles up _people who think they are middle-class_ and *convince them to shame the poor, minimum wage workers* who are much closer to them then they are to wealthy CEOs.

Now with studies like this one out of Illinois, they should not be able to play the "jobs" card when refusing to increase worker wages. Hopefully this will reduce it more to the obvious--the pernicious greed and resistance of change (to adapt to inflation or progress with society) that is keeping wages so low for many full-time workers.

As if a global corporation like McDonald's couldn't find a way to make up for treating their employees to just a partial share of the massive profits the company makes.

This gentrification of ideas about the poor being lazy and not moving up because of lack of hard-work--primarily supported by anecdotal evidence--is the most backwards of arguments. Look at the United States GDP, CEO wages, and lowest paid worker wage comparisons and how wildly they differ from other countries. Yet, political rabble-rousing has people convinced that one of the richest countries on Earth will fall apart if they pay their lowest income workers--who often work a lot harder than the people that shame them--a decent living wage. Some of the states that 'go red' on debates like this have the lowest contributing incomes and the most widespread hunger problems. It's as if so many who perpetuate the debate don't realize they are being fed spoonfuls of bullshit, and still take it as an excuse to feel elevated above other people.

Sadly, even if those who echo whatever they hear from biased sources on job loss with the increase of minimum wage COULD BE converted to think more broadly about the social issues of the poor as seen from this economic viewpoint, IT STILL wouldn't make a difference when you consider how little an influence the ideas of the citizenry have on modern politics.

To do this, it would still take a massive dethroning of private business's money in politics, though at least a study like this narrows their available excuses for not endorsing doing the right thing, compensating their workers more significantly for their contribution.

I hope that through small bits of progress in states insisting an increase the in lowest paid wage, it will reign in big corporation to work more within their means on a level that values the workers that are churning out the profit for them, as well as diversify the market for up-and-coming other restaurants to play in the game.

NEWS: Former Virginia Governor and Wife Accept 140,805.46 in "Gifts." This is What They Should Have Got Instead!

NEWS: Former Virginia Governor and Wife Accept S140,805.46 in "Gifts"
Subheadline: Grroossss.

Pictured Above: Rich Assholes.

==Read on to the bottom to see how I would have got with 140k in bribery!

Even America is no stranger to corruption. Recently compiled data shows that it is lower here than in other countries, because openly accepting bribery isn't a posh thing to flaunt. In nations with higher rates of corruption, like India and Mexico, you may need to bribe low-ranking public officials just to receive basic state services in a timely manner. There are still deals here in the States behind back doors, both legally and illegally, that link the corporate business world to the political sphere.

This recent case is more extreme than a few slipped bills, and will hopefully bring some focus to how business and politicians play the game of getting rich and staying in power while the needs of the people the serve are ignored.

The former governor and his rich-ass wife though... this is just... boring. They accepted bribes from a wealthy businessman's political leaning in the form of, just, stuff. Dresses, shoes, purses, and a bunch of golf gear. It is *difficult* to spend that much money on things. These were just trifles with name brands, and makes me despise the pointlessness of the brand market even more, as buying anything from "top" brands is nothing more than some sort of masturbatory ritual for the super rich.

And these were some boring rich people.

IF IT WAS ME, and I was eventually going to be indicted over getting free stuff, I would have done *way better* with my wishlist.


First off,
+BALL PIT: 20'x20'. I'm going to need, say, 30,000 balls. Oh yeah!
...dang, that's only $4,300. Still got $135,700 or so left...

+LIFE TIME SUPPLY OF NUTELLA: That's about 1,000 jars of the stuff = $5,250
...haven't even broke below 130k (*are you kidding me!?*)

+ZORB BALL TEAM SUITS: Ten "Zorbs" = $15,000

+LEVITATING HOVER SCOOTER: Built by Hammacher Schlemmer, maker of Roombas = $17,000

+JETPACK: $20,000 for a high-functioning model, when hovering everywhere gets to be somewhat of a snooze.

+A FREAKING TANK: Fully-armored, no ammunition, working order: $60,000 with your International Tank Driver's license.

+A SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL ENCRUSTED HELLO KITTY FIGURE: To put on the dashboard of the tank = $8,000

I still have about $7,000 left over...
42,000 FEET OF BUBBLEWRAP: Est. $6,800~

And that's STILL enough money to go to an elementary school and buy a donut for every kid there.....


LET'S REVIEW: I now own a 400'sq. ball pit, a lifetime supply of Nutella, a full team of Zorb! suits, a levitating hover scooter, a jetpack, a FREAKING TANK, crystal Hello Kitty, about 8 miles of bubblewrap, AND I STILL bought donuts for children, making me better than these two people.

IN SUMMARY: *Fuck these guys*, if you're going to be corrupt and takes lots of money, at least make it exciting.

THE BEST 58 ROCK SONGS

THE BEST 58 ROCK SONGS

an entirely biased list of resonant personal favorites

from the alternative and Japanese rock scenes*

by Brent Danley Jones

      I've been working on a project where I compile the rock music that for me stands out as "best" from style to sound, energy to feeling to nostalgic feelings of lust and loss. I encourage you to start to write a list of your own, for whatever musical taste you have, as an expression of what music means to you.

　　ロック・ミュージックしか聞けない僕はTOP58リストを書きました。

       One of the few areas I'll ever express strong opinion with little compromise comes from my preferences in music, particularly rock. This list is not documenting the pinnacle of all musical creation, nor is it saying songs outside the list aren't worthy. Through many years of killing my ear drums, these are the songs--for me--that have swayed my taste ideals in rock music, creating memorable lyrics and music I'll never grow tired of hearing. This symposium of songs pulls from my two heaviest influences: the 90's alternative rock scene and its logical derivatives, and the Japanese rock scene--the two of which are very closely tied in style and sound. I could have these 57 on repeat without skipping and drive for nine days straight.

*they are _mostly_ rock songs, in that two are dance-techno driven, and another is atmospheric instrumental. Find 'em and win a not-prize!

      First, the English songs, listed.

      Then, the Japanese songs, listed. 日本語の歌は、英語の後で書いてあります。

       After that is the master list split with both languages.

   Following those, there are honorable mentions of bands and albums that stand out as a unit. Lastly, a small list of recommendations, so you too can hear the best sounds, creativity, and energy that music has made.

      THE BEST, in English

 

Shimmer - Fuel

Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Ninedays

Fearing the Weekend - The Scene East

Orange Shirt - Discovery

Look At Us - Sabrina Paris

Memory - Sugarcult

Motorcycle Drive-by - Third Eye Blind

One More Time - Daft Punk

Leaving Light - Talkdemonic

Sasafras Roots - Green Day

Only In Dreams - Weezer

Promise - Eve 6

Laundry Room - The Avett Brothers

Just Like Heaven - The Cure

More Than A Feeling - Boston

Debaser - Pixies

Feeling This - Blink 182

Banditos -The Refreshments

12:51 - The Strokes

Elevate Me Later - Pavement

Looking For A Cure - Planet Smashers

A Favor House Atlantic - Coheed & Cambria

God & Suicide - Blitzen Trapper

On the Bus Mall - The Decemberists

      THE BEST, in Japanese

 

Hikari, Saikou - amazarashi　光、再考

Made. Jyounetsu Mix - Mass of the Fermenting Dregs　まで。情熱ミックス

Underground - High Voltage

Hello - Supercar

Yoake no Uta - Eastern Youth　夜明けの歌

Love Song - Sambomaster　ラッブ・ソング

99.974‪℃‬ - Tricot

Jack Nicolson - Bloodthirsty Butchers

Kore Kurai de Utau - Handsome Kenya　これくらいで歌う

Hybrid Rainbow - The Pillows

Boku no Suki na Kimi he - Sambomaster　僕の好きな君へ

Koyoi no Tsuki no You ni - Elephant-kashimashi　今宵の月のように

Ride on Shooting Star - The Pillows

Ai toka Yume toka Koi toka Sex toka - samezame　愛とか夢とか恋とかSEXとか

Planet Magic - N'Shukagawa Boys

Melodic Storm - Straightener

Runner - High Voltage

Kage no Hito - The Mass Missile　かげの人

Skeleton Liar - The Pillows

Niji - Ellegarden　虹

Chii sa na Koi no Uta - Mongol800　小さな恋の歌

Squall - Mongol800

Thank You My Twilight - The Pillows

Kono Mama Jya, Kono Mama De - The Mass Missile　このままじゃ、このままで

Shirushi - Mr. Children　しるし

NO - Negoto

Funny Bunny - The Pillows

She, Her - Noodles

Migite - Ellegarden　右手

Tsumasaki - Oreskaband　爪先

Morninglow - Heavenstamp

Scarecrow - The Pillows

Condom wo Tsukenai Kono Yuki wo Aishite yo - samezame　コンドームをつけないこの勇気を愛してよ

Hey Lucifer - Smelly Sox

      THE BEST 58, of Music All-together, Ranked

BEST SONGS EVER (English & Japanese)

1 Shimmer - Fuel

2 Hikari, Saikou - amazarashi

3 Made. Jyounetsu Mix - Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

4 Semi-charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

5 Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Ninedays

6 Underground - High Voltage

7 Hello - Supercar

8 Yoake no Uta - Eastern Youth

9 Fearing the Weekend - The Scene East

10 Love Song - Sambomaster

11 Orange Shirt - Discovery

12 99.974‪℃‬ - Tricot

13 Look At Us - Sabrina Paris

14 Jack Nicolson - Bloodthirsty Butchers

15 Memory - Sugar Cult

16 Motorcycle Drive-by - Third Eye Blind

17 Kore kurai de Utau - Handsome Kenya

18 One More Time - Daft Punk

19 Hybrid Rainbow - The Pillows

20 Boku no Suki na Kimi he - Sambomaster

21 Leaving Light - Talkdemonic

22 Koyoi no Tsuki no you ni - Elephant-kashimashi

23 Sasafras Roots - Greenday

24 Only In Dreams- Weezer

25 Ride On Shooting Star - The Pillows

26 Promise - Eve 6

27 Laundry Room - The Avett Brothers

28 Just Like Heaven - The Cure

29 Ai toka Yume toka Koi toka Sex toka - samezame

30 Planet Magic - N'Shukugawa Boys

31 Melodic Storm - Straightener

32 Runner - High Voltage

33 Kage no Hito - The Mass Missile

34 Skeleton Liar - The Pillows

35 Debaser - Pixies

36 Niji - Ellegarden

37 More Than a Feeling - Boston

38 Feeling This - Blink 182

39 Chii sa na Koi no Uta - Mongol800

40 Squall - Mongol800

41 Thank You My Twilight - The Pillows

42 Banditos -The Refreshments

43 12:51 - The Strokes

44 Elevate Me Later - Pavement

45 Looking For A Cure - Planet Smashers

46 A Favor House Atlantic - Coheed & Cambria

47 Shirushi - Mr. Children

48 NO - Negoto

49 Funny Bunny - The Pillows

50 She, Her - Noodles

51 Migite - Ellegarden

52 Tsumasaki - Oreskaband

53 Morninglow - Heavenstamp

54 God & Suicide - Blitzen Trapper

55 Scarecrow - The Pillows

56 On the Bus Mall - The Decemberists

57 Condom wo Tsukenai - samezame

58 Hey Lucifer - Smelly Sox

Honorable Bands

Envy - The Japanese Post-rock kings of pain, fury, and elation. No stronger performing group I've ever seen. Listening to their songs is not enough, but a night spent with Envy on stage will never be forgotten.

Explosions in the Sky - Not one song can define this expansive instrumental tour in melodic beauty and powerful energy out of West Texas.

Foo Fighters - The most defining rock group. At the middle of rock and all its formations, Foo Fighters forms the base and center of what I consider to be the purest form of solid rock.

The Offspring - The band responsible for blending pop, rock, and harder sensibilities into one of the most successful, listenable brands of rock still very unique to the group. A true titan of music.

Green Day - The most formative group for me, the first I *cassette* I ever owned. Even though the years brought change, so much music started from these three guys singing coyly about the life in front of their blurry eyes.

The Barenaked Ladies - The first band I ever considered myself a fan of. The right mix of musical sensibilities and light-hearted good spirit.

Honorable Albums

Welcome Joy - Cave Singers
Hot Fuss - The Killers
LP - Discovery
Self-titled - American Football
All Day - Girl Talk
Endless Fantasy - Anamanaguchi

You Need to Hear This: A Mini Playlist to Take Home

 

Fearing the Weekend - The Scene East
Jack Nicolson - Bloodthirsty Butchers (esp. video on youtube)
Kore Kurai de Utau - Handsome Kenya (esp. video on youtube)
Hikari, Saikou - amazarashi
Orange Shirt - Dsicovery
Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Ninedays
Laundry Room - Avett Brothers
Looking For A Cure - The Planet Smashers
99.974‪℃‬ - Tricot  (esp. video on youtube)
All Day - Girl Talk (Album)