Thought of the day

"The Germans, in the age of Tacitus, were unacquainted with the use of letters; and the use of letters is the principal circumstance that distinguishes a civilised people from a herd of savages incapable of knowledge or reflection. Without that artificial help, the human memory soon dissipates or corrupts the ideas intrusted to her charge; and the nobler faculties of the mind, no longer supplied with models or with materials, gradually forget their powers; the judgment becomes feeble and lethargic, the imagination languid or irregular."

Edward Gibbon The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter 9

I'm not sure what to think of this

Wow

They are every bit as good as advertised.

Arcade Fire put on a show last night that had everyone leaving with looks of awe on their faces. Next record comes out and these guys (and gals) are going to be selling out stadiums. It was incredible to watch ten people on stage playing violins, french horns, hurdy gurdy, upright bass, accordian, and of course, your good old rock and roll guitars, bass, and drums. I enjoyed watching them switch instruments - those guys are incredibly versatile musicians.

Win Butler, the main lead singer who stands at an impressive 6'4", easily stole the show from his bandmates. The guy has that rock star quality that makes me wonder how long his six bandmates (three who were on stage with them are not technically part of the band) will stick together. They seem to love playing with each other now, but it's only their second record after being together four years, and they have yet to suffer from the blinding lights of international superstardom, to which they are rapidly ascending.

The band's album Neon Bible is beautifully orchestrated social commentary about the state of the world today with America as its center. Win and his brother William are expats, born and raised in Texas but living in Canada where the rest of the band are from, so the album is kind of looking at America from the outside. Neon Bible debuted at Number 2 on the US and UK charts last month and Number 1 on the Candian and Irish charts. Considering Arcade Fire releases their records on Merge Records, an independent label, such high chart positions is quite a feat. Hurray for indie labels giving the corporations a run for their money!

The show began with a video of some evangelical crackhead ranting Jesus this, Jesus that, women should not wear high heels but combat boots to fight the fight for the Lord, and other nonsense before the band launched into Black Mirror. They proceeded to play nearly every song from Neon Bible and most of the songs from their debut Funeral.

The most poignant part of the night for me was during the song Windowsill, when the crowd seemed to shout the line "I don't want to live in America no more" a bit louder than the rest of the lines. It seems a lot of US citizens are looking to fill that America-shaped hole in their hearts left there by the destructive policies of this admininstration. Arcade Fire may be one of those bands that will help to vocalize what many of my generation are thinking these days.

I don't want to hear the noises on tv
I don't want the salesmen coming after me
I don't want to live in my father's house no more

I don't want it fast, I don't want it free
I don't wanna show you what they done to me
I don't want to live in my father's house no more

I don't want to choose black or blue
I don't wanna see what they done to you
I don't want to live in my father's house no more

because the tide is high
and it's rising still
and I don't want fear at my windowsill

I don't want to give 'em my name and address
I don't want to see what happens next
I don't want to live in my father's house no more

I don't want to live with my father's debt
You can't forgive what you can't forget
I don't want to live in my father's house no more

I don't want to fight in a holy war
I don't want the salesmen knocking at my door
I don't want to live in America no more

Because the tide is high
And it's rising still
And I don't want fear at my windowsill

I don't want to see it at my windowsill
Don't want to see it at my windowsill
Don't want to see it at my windowsill

MTV what have you done to me?
Save my soul, set me free
Set me free, what have you done to me?
I can't breathe, I can't sleep
World war three, when are you coming for me?
Been kicking up sparks to set the flames free
The windows are locked now, so what'll it be?
A house on fire or rising sea?

Why is the night so still?
Why did I take the pill?
Because I don't want to see it at my windowsill
I don't want to see it at my windowsill

Of course, without the music for which they are known, you can't get the full effect of the song. You can't really get it here, either, because the quality is piss poor:


They ended with the song I was hoping they would end with - Wake Up.


The show was easily worth the double face value I paid for the ticket. In fact, I would pay double that to see them again. Although I hope it doesn't happen for many years, I envision one day when U2 hands their instruments over to Arcade Fire like the Police did to U2 all of those years ago when they became the Biggest Band in the World. I guess, though, U2 doesn't have enough instruments to hand over!


They already have U2 connections, as Wake Up was the song U2 played right before they came on stage for the Vertigo Tour, and Arcade Fire opened three shows for them. And then there was this beautiful number:

The opening band, The National, was great, too. Good stuff.

Egypt's Black Mirror

Abdel Moneim Mahmoud represents a new wrinkle in a long-time threat to the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

He's young, passionate about democracy, and well educated. Perhaps most alarming to Egypt's autocratic ruler, he's a technologically savvy member of the main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr. Mahmoud and other like-minded 20-somethings have been pushing the Brotherhood to change from within, focusing on the Internet to recruit young Egyptians and to build alliances with secular activists in the fight for reform.

The journalist and human rights lawyer is spreading the word on his Arab-language blog, "I am a Brother." But while attracting new interest in the Brotherhood, he's drawn the attention of security services, too.

Mahmoud now languishes in Egypt's feared Tora prison, though he has not yet been charged with or convicted of any crime.

Egypt is about to blow. Political oppression has accelerated rapidly in the past couple of years and is getting worse. Those of us who have paid attention to anything in the past several years can see where this is leading. Boom go the country!

Egyptians, tired of 30 years of dictatorship, have in recent years been pushing for political and economic reform. They were getting too close to real reform, however, inciting Mubarak's recent crackdown riot. The latest target of oppression? Bloggers.

What does the great United States, land of the free, have to say about this?

Referring to Egypt's constitutional reforms passed in late March, which make it harder for opposition groups to organize politically and enshrined the use of military courts against civilians, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack noted criticisms, but added that "when you are able to at some point look back … you will see a general trend toward greater political reform."

Yeah, sure, it's political reform - they've reformed the constitution to enshrine dictatorship! Decades of supporting regimes like Mubarak's have led to the current explosive situation across the entire region, and the State Department just dismisses the crackdowns?

Since I scored a ticket to tonight's show and have Arcade Fire on the brain, I thought I'd dedicate the lyrics to the latest album's first track Black Mirror to those who suffer from political oppression in all its forms.

I walked down to the ocean
After waking from a nightmare.
No moon no pale reflection.
Black Mirror, Black Mirror

Shot by a security camera
You can't watch your own image
And also look yourself in the eye
Black Mirror, Black Mirror, Black Mirror

I know a time is coming
All words will lose their meaning
Please show me something that isn’t mine
But mine is the only kind that I relate to.
Le miroir casse,
The mirror casts mon reflet partout
Black Mirror, Black Mirror, Black Mirror

The Black Mirror knows no reflection,
It knows not pride or vanity.
It cares not about your dreams.
It cares not for your pyramid schemes
Their names are never spoken.
The curse is never broken.
The curse is never broken.
Un! Deux! Trois! Dis: Miroir Noir
Black Mirror!
Un! Deux! Trois! Dis: Miroir Noir
Black Mirror!

Black Mirror, Black Mirror
Their names are never spoken, The curse is never broken,
Their names are never spoken, The curse is never broken,
Mirror mirror on the wall, show me where them bombs will fall
Mirror mirror on the wall, show me where them bombs will fall
Black Mirror

Article about 911 shows picture of someone dialing a 3

Thought it kind of funny. They need a new webmaster, too...

Verizon now charging customers for NOT using their phones

This is asinine:

Phone bills are notorious for rankling customers with fees, taxes, tariffs and other mystery assessments.

Now some phone companies are adding a new line item to monthly bills: a charge for not making long-distance calls.

The category of customers affected by the new fee is the shrinking subset of people who have no-frills home-phone service and don't pay for a long-distance-calling plan.

Verizon last month introduced the $2 fee. It is charged to customers who could dial out for long distance, but don't subscribe to a long-distance service and don't make long-distance calls.

Telecommunications companies are out of control. First of all, they make you buy the phone service to get the internet service. Then, even though you didn't want the phone service and have no intention of using it, you get charged for not using it.

It's ludicrous that you can't buy internet service without buying phone service or cable. Those of us who have no use for either of those things have no choice but to buy something we aren't going to use. And to be charged for NOT using it? I hope someone takes these thieves to court.
___

Wrong audience

I don't know why Mellencamp thought it was a good idea to invite Joan Baez to do a concert at Walter Reed, but it was pretty stupid. That'd be like inviting chickenhawk Ted Nugent to a peace vigil or inviting Dick Cheney to throw out the first pitch at a Nationals game.