An album by album inventory, review & commentary of my music library. This will take a while.

Friday, August 18, 2006 Allright/Not Quite

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The Secret Of Glen's Tomb - Interscope - 2003

Still in its cellophane. This was a freebie from one of our MD's at KAOS. It still has the post-it on it that he commented "(this album is actually good!)". I liked the guy, and respected his taste in music, but I was never moved to open in it up.

The Apples In Stereo - The Discovery of A World Inside The Moone - SpinART/Elephant 6 - 2000

I really like this album. My fave is "I Can't Believe" which leads off Side Two. I imagine there is a vinyl version somewhere, but perhaps they were just being funny. I was talking about music with a friend in college who was into Slint, and he was calling some band "bubblegum". I whipped out this CD and put it on, saying "no, this is bubblegum". He listened for a minute, and then looked at me and said, "You really like this, don't you..." "Yes," I replied, a bit sheepishly.

Arab Strap - Two Songs From Monday at the Hug & Pint - Matador - 2003

I got this as a giveaway at their show with Bright Eyes at the Showbox in Seattle. It's a little 3 inch cd, which I really like. I often mused if I ever put out an ep, it would be on these little cds. I'll play anything if it's one of them. I have a copy of the full length of this somewhere. Nothing strikes me particularly about either of the songs.

It's already in full swing, but the official Grand Opening of Camp Suzanne is tomorrow - Saturday, August 19th. Starting at 9 am, attendees will be back at the gate of Fort Lewis, at Exit 119 (the location of the Watada rallies). We will be out there all day, with signs like "Support Suzanne Swift," "Don't punish rape victims," and "Command rape = treason."

At 7 in the evening, a candlelight vigil will commence, accompanied by statements sent to us by Suzanne Swift and her mother, Sara Rich, as well as an update on the progress of Camp Suzanne.

Currently, the organizers are putting this together on personal funds, which are lacking to begin with. Attendees are encouraged to bring candles if they have them. Also, donations of food and water are most appreciated, and are welcome any time of day. Camp Suzanne will be outside Fort Lewis at Exit 119 every day from 9am to dark, until a permanent campground can be secured.

Enough is enough. The era of this country tolerating rape and sexual assault in the military just ended. Now it's time for us to make sure they get the message.

With Love and Justice,
Wally Cuddeford
Swift Action Network
suzanneswiftaction@yahoo.com

Silent Hill is coming out on DVD Tuesday. It's based on the first game in a series of the same name.

Assuming most here probably weren't creeping themselves out on the PSX, I'm going to operate under the assumption that nobody will care how true to the game the movie stayed (the answer is "for the most part.")

The movie is a good horror/suspense. There was only one exchange where I thought the dialogue was beginning to reflect previous video game adaptions (for recent examples see: House of the Dead, Doom, Resident Evil: Apocolypse.)

In fact, off the top of my head, I would say Silent Hill is the best film based on a video game to date. This wasn't a difficult feat to do, but at least Silent Hill has set a new bar which is respectable (easily topping Resident Evil.)

I also would say that if you want to stay a head of the Halloween curve, go as Pyramid Head (because really, going as Mario and Luigi isn't new. At least go as Raccoon Mario to create a hint of originality.)

But yeah, if you're looking for a movie to watch next Friday or Saturday night and are into horror movies with an actual plot that actually forces you to pay attention and use a little bit of brain power, check out Silent Hill.

Wearing orange foam earplugs to muffle the nearby thunder of relentless automatic weapons fire, a grizzled man with SS lightning bolt tattoos on his forearms pulls a little red wagon loaded with rifle ammunition. Carefully picking his way through the teeming crowd, he passes table after table laden with machine guns, gas masks, combat knives, war memorabilia and bomb-making guides. The man sheds his camouflage tactical vest to reveal a worn black T-shirt emblazoned with a Totenkopf, the Death's Head symbol of the Waffen SS. Then he parks his wagon to join a huddle of shoppers surrounding a hard-faced spokeswoman from Valkyrie Arms who's extolling the virtues of the Olympia, Wash.-based arms maker's new product, the Valkyrior 556 Rotary Gun.

...

""We just shipped a load of these babies to civilian security contractors in Iraq for convoy protection. When I go to sleep tonight, I'll dream of towel heads splattering all over the place."

"We need to ship a few to the border and start splattering Mexicans," he says."

""When municipal, township, county, or local area law enforcement agents attack or seek to confine or control the U.S. Militia or its individual members, those agencies should be totally eliminated in the initial attack," the handbook advises. "Do not allow any law enforcement agents to escape. Kill them all.""

Shelley Webber and Jeff Brigham were there. So was Tom Crowson, candidate for Thurston County Assessor. I had the opportunity to speak with him. I asked him whether or not Bush has lied to us about the war. Mr. Crowson said that he didn't think Bush has lied to us, or mis-led us, in regards to the war.

In my educated understanding of the run-up to the war, I am aware of several instances in which Bush and his administration peppered the public and congress with information that was inconsistent with the truth. In fact, lies and deception have become a hallmark of this executive administration.

So, where is the reality disconnect for OSOTers like Brigham, Crowson and Webber. Is it that they can't see the truth, or that they don't want to?