More bad news

It's official. Sam Alito is the 110th Supreme Court Justice of the United States. The Senate confirmed him by a vote of 58 to 42. Now begins a period of uncertainty in this country, methinks. Will "Scalito" stay true to his word and keep his personal moral and political beliefs out of his decisions, especially since the Supreme Court is now stacked in favor of more conservative judges?

Let's hope so.

So now it's Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas versus Breyer, Ginsberg, and Stevens.

Seems Souter's roll as the court's remaining centrist has just got a lot more important. Turn your back on the dark side, David. Sandra Day O'Connor will thank you for it.

As will the rest of those of us who believe in individual freedoms.

Harbinger of doom?


Now in session:

Freescha - What's Come Inside Of You
(bleeps, glitches, and chuckles)

Various - DJ Abstract 12: The E.SP. Mix
(looks like she's never gonna hear it)

Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson
(Satchmo keeps the horn in check and gives us the vox)

Demogorgon - Nephilim
(dark and gloomy)

Nasum - Shift
(never be a fucking puppet)

3 cups of blood

Apparently the researchers at International Agency for Research on Cancer in Europe have determined there's a link between alcohol consumption and (yup, you guessed it) cancer. However, they're not recommending that people give up alcohol completely, as moderate use supposedly helps fight cardiovascular disease. Just how much is good and how much is bad depends on the individual, supposedly; genetics being what they are.

So, have a drink and get cancer. Don't have a drink and have a heart attack.

Further proof that living has been proven to cause death in laboratory rats as well as all human subjects.

Found playing the morning I drown in my own vomit:

Danger Doom - The Mouse And The Mask
(MF Doom chillin' with Danger Mouse and ATHF)

Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
(kill the poor indeed)

Peaches - The Teaches Of Peaches
(this is one raunchy bitch; wonder if she's single?)

2 Live Crew - As Nasty As They Wanna Be
(raunchy, yes; interested in their dating status, no)

Yuma Tripp - Yuma Tripp MP3s, Discs 1&2
(the master of the mashup)

Big trouble

It appears that Hamas has defeated Fatah in the Palestinian legislative elections. In other words, before you go to bed tonight, make sure you set your clock back 50 years.

This does not bode well for the Middle East peace process.

Hamas has repeatedly stated that it favors the destruction of Israel. They're also considered by the US to be a terrorist organization, so whether or not we'll be willing to even speak to these guys is questionable. I've never been a big fan of either side, Israeli or Palenstinian, but the total destruction of one state in favor of the other? No good.

Seems our push for democratic elections has blown up in our faces. No real surprise, though. Given the current global political climate and the continued souring of the Arab world's view of the United States and our allies, it was almost a foregone conclusion.

A lot more people are gonna die.

"Hamas: Banding together to undo progress and erase the future."


I would not want to be an Israeli or Palestinian right now.
Or George Bush, for that matter.
Then again, that's always been a constant...

Blue plate specials:

DJ Krush - Jaku
(the Krush mixes in the world beat)

Madvillian - Madvilliany
(god bless Zev Love X)

Skalpel - Skalpel
(play that funky music, Polish boy)

Hardfloor - Respect
(burble burlble thump grind thump)

Various - Robots Select Cuts
(mello techno)

Erg

I hate it when I think things are going well and then suddenly I find myself...

in The Friend Zone.

Love songs for loners:

Immortal - The Sons Of Northern Darkness
(must respect band that manufactures their own weapons)

Various - DJ Abstract 11: The Headcrush Party
(batten down the hatches 'cause DJ A is pissed)

Chachi Jones - Claustrophilia
(soothing glitchey goodness)

Jimmy Behan - Days Are What We Live In
(likewise)

Rktic - Northern Lights
(chilly dubwise techno)

Cruisin'

Well, I'm back.

It nearly killed me, but I managed to survive a whole week on a boat surrounded by drunken goths. Much fun was had, lemme tell ya (tho' I was sober the whole time; can you believe it?).

The only bump in the road (and it was sizeable) was the fact that my roommate snored like a chainsaw. So despite extra strong earplugs and two pillows on top of my head, I still only managed to snag about 8 hours sleep the whole week. Given my state of complete exhaustion, it's really no surprise that I caught the cruise plague that was going around the last couple of days. Yep. Got sick on the last day and spent last weekend (and most of yesterday) recovering. I've returned to the land of the living, but am still experiencing some subtle after effects. For instance, if I jump up and down really fast, I fall down...

I managed to get in about 2 and 1/2 hours of diving while down in the Bahamas. It was pretty good, although nowhere near as amazing as the Galapagos (no surprise there). Two of the three dives were pretty routine: float around, look at fish, chill out. The second dive I did, however, was in and around three wrecks. That was pretty cool. If you want to see pictures of me frolicking, check out a couple of shots. I especially like the ones of the lionfish and, of course, the one where I'm strikin' the b-boy stance...



Sonically disrupting all undersea life within a 2 mile radius:

At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
(only the dead are smiling)

CocoRosie - La Maison De Mon Reve
(these chicks should be on 4AD)

FC Kahuna - Machine Says Yes
(snagged this for a downtempo track, but the rest is pretty slammin')

Nitin Sawhney - Prophesy
(roots, dub, chill, rock; a menuful)

Various - DJ Abstract 12: The E.SP. Mix
(lil' sumpin' sumpin' I threw together for somebody; more on that later)

Damn dirty apes

"Wal-Mart would like to thank you for purchasing your Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream DVD from our website. Based on your purchase, we would also like to recommend Planet of the Apes: The Complete TV Series."

Yup, they did it.

OK, maybe they didn't say it this way exactly (I haven't seen the website; surprisingly, I really don't really frequent walmart.com), but apparently the good folks at WM suggested that customers who bought films about MLK, Malcolm X, and other famous African Americas should check out Charlton Heston, Dr. Zauis, and all his hairy buds. I mean, hell, nothing says "monkey" like Dr. King, no?

Unbelievable.

Wal-Mart officials are of course insisting that it was "human error" and that there was no malicious intent. I have to say that these guys certainly have been tasting their own feet a lot lately. How could anyone seriously group Planet Of The Apes with films like Malcolm X? Wal-Mart's system is manual, unlike Amazon or other sites where suggestions are based on other purchases made by people who bought the item, so SOMEBODY did this.

Guess it was that or Birth Of A Nation...

"Hello, and welome to Wal-Mart."


Only one of these has a parental advisory, so you could get 'em at Wal-Mart:

Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash At San Quentin
(frank, forward, and fun)

DJ Krush - Krush
(smooth dose of that headnod shit)

Keane - Hopes And Fears
(it's somewhere only we know)

Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
(yep, that would be the one with the advisory sticker)

Methinks the lady doth protest too much

I absolutely love this kind of stuff.

Apparently, an anti-gay pastor from Oklahoma City was arrested and charged with "offering to engage in an act of lewdness" after coming on to (cumming onto?) an undercover cop.

Whoops.

The Rev. Lonnie Latham had instructed members of his South Tulsa Baptist Church to make friends with homosexuals and then attempt to convince them that they could turn straight "if they accept Jesus Christ as their savior and reject their 'sinful, destructive lifestyle.'"

Yeah. And looking for a rent-boy certainly isn't sinful or destructive. Your idea of "making friends" certainly does have broad connotations, Mr. Latham.

Hear that, Lonnie? That's the closet door being ripped off the hinges, bitch.

It makes me smile when hypocrites get their shit blown up in their faces. I mean, it's one thing to be in the closet. After all, this country still isn't exactly "gay-friendly" and coming out can lead to all kinds of problems if one is not in a truly loving environment. However, it's another thing entirely to speak out against gays when you're one yourself.

Enjoy the media attention, you hump. You totally fucking deserve it.

"I love the cock."


Merry music to suit the merry mood:

Mike Dred - Code Fcd: The First Machine Codes Compilation
(Chicago acid house, son; don't cross de Dred)

Miles Davis - Miles Davis/Acoustic
(masterful, moody, and magnificent)

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Nigga Please
(you really should give him his money)

Off The Sky - Studies Of Form In Transit
(sensuously sculpted static bursts)

Outta gas

So it's been a week since I've had anything to say and guess what? I still don't. Sure, there's plenty on my mind: the continued crumbling of the Republican party (god bless you, Mr. Abramoff), the sorrow in West Virginia (welcome to the inevitability of heartbreak, folks; god doesn't care), my own state of affairs (seems someone else has decided to disappear on me), etc., etc. But I'm just out of gas. I suppose this means I'm depressed or some such, but I just haven't got the juice right now to get fired up about anything, positive or negative. I'm just breathing and that's about it. Not a nice place to be, but I trust it will pass and I'll return to my usual irascible self.

I would recommend electroshock and two CCs of:

Etta James - Etta James Rocks The House
(infectious rhythms rooted in the blues)

Scorn - Colossus
(feeling removed)

Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep
(this is what turns them into these raving madmen)

Various - Cyberdrome, Alien City Part 1
(Superhardcore headcrush mania)

Gotan Project - La Revancha Del Tango
(bringing the bang-o to the tango)